| 5/22/1971: LBJ Library dedicated in Austin |
| On this day in 1971, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum was dedicated on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. It was the nation’s fifth presidential library and the first to be located on a university campus. It serves as a center for scholarly research and as a historical museum. Scholarly interest in the LBJ Library centers on its unusually rich archives of manuscripts and audiovisual records. More than 30 million pages of manuscripts, mostly papers of President Johnson, form the core of the research collection. As the most comprehensive single collection of materials on a president of the United States, the library’s holdings span Lyndon Johnson’s entire political career. Added to the Johnson papers are those of Lady Bird Johnson and many of Johnson’s contemporaries and associates. Operated by the National Archives and Records Administration, the LBJ Library is part of a system of presidential libraries devoted to research through preservation of materials related to those who have held the job of president of the United States.See also:Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and MuseumJohnson, Lyndon BainesUniversity of Texas at AustinTourism |
| 5/22/1991: Queen Elizabeth visits historic black church in Houston |
| On this day in 1991, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom visited Antioch Church, the first black Baptist church in Houston. Antioch Missionary Baptist Church was organized in 1866. John Henry Yates, a former slave and a leading figure in Houston’s black community during Reconstruction, was the first preacher.See also:Yates, John Henry [Jack]ReligionBaptist Church |
| 5/22/1911: Mexican theatrical company opens in San Antonio |
| On this day in 1911, the Carlos Villalongín Dramatic Company opened at the Teatro Aurora in San Antonio. The company was founded in Jalisco, Mexico, in 1849, and was based primarily in Nuevo León, although it toured throughout northern Mexico and the southwestern United States for many years. In May 1911 the company arrived in San Antonio, where Villalongín had contracted to perform at the Teatro Aurora for nine months. The initial residency at the Teatro Aurora met with such success that the company continued to work there for a year and a half. The troupe had expected to return to Coahuila after completing its agreement at the Aurora, but the Mexican Revolution made Carlos Villalongín, his family, and several other actors decide to remain in San Antonio, and the company took a long-term engagement at the new Teatro Zaragoza, which was owned by Sam Lucchese. The success of the Villalongín company produced a demand for high-quality performances in Spanish-language theater not only among Spanish-speaking audiences, but also in Anglo, Italian, and other communities.See also:Carlos Villalongin Dramatic CompanyMexican-American TheaterMexican RevolutionLucchese, Sam |