Houston, Texas

1969Apollo 11 Moon Landing — Mission Control: NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston served as Mission Control for the Apollo 11 mission. When Neil Armstrong radioed 'The Eagle has landed,' it was Houston that heard it first. The city's role in the Moon landing cemented its identity as Space City.

2017Hurricane Harvey: The Category 4 hurricane stalled over Houston, dumping unprecedented rainfall and flooding a third of the city. Over 100 people died and $125 billion in damage made it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

1901Spindletop Oil Gusher: Though technically near Beaumont, the Spindletop strike transformed Houston into the command center of the American petroleum industry. Dozens of oil companies established headquarters in the city within a decade.

1900Galveston Hurricane Redirects Growth to Houston: The deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history killed up to 12,000 people in nearby Galveston. The devastation shifted commerce and shipping inland to Houston, fundamentally altering the city's trajectory.

1914Houston Ship Channel Opens: The completion of the 50-mile ship channel connecting Houston to the Gulf of Mexico turned the landlocked city into a major port, enabling its rise as an industrial and energy powerhouse.

1962NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Opens: The facility that would become the Johnson Space Center opened in Clear Lake, establishing Houston as the nerve center of American human spaceflight for decades to come.

1965Astrodome Opens as 'Eighth Wonder of the World': The Harris County Domed Stadium became the world's first enclosed sports arena. Dubbed the Eighth Wonder of the World, it revolutionized stadium design and introduced AstroTurf.

2001Tropical Storm Allison: The storm dropped 40 inches of rain on Houston over five days, killing 23 people and causing $9 billion in damage. The flooding of the Texas Medical Center was the worst in its history.

1981Kathy Whitmire Elected First Female Mayor: Whitmire's election as Houston's first female mayor marked a significant shift for the traditionally conservative city and began a trend toward increasingly diverse leadership.

2005Houston Shelters Katrina Evacuees: Houston opened the Astrodome and convention center to over 250,000 evacuees from Hurricane Katrina, in one of the largest emergency sheltering operations in American history.