Although Christopher Columbus was credited with the discovery of the Americas by Europeans the ships in his four voyages never reached the Gulf of Mexico Instead Columbus sailed into the Caribbean around Cuba and Hispaniola the first European exploration of the Gulf of Mexico was by Amerigo Vespucci in 1497 He followed the coastal land mass of Central America before returning to the Atlantic Ocean via the Straits of Florida between Florida and Cuba in his letters Vespucci described this trip and once Juan de la Cosa returned to Spain a famous world map depicting Cuba as an island was produced, Concrete facade of the building is adorned only with a cross etched at an angle and a gold dome on top Visible are external stairs halls and lobbies in the back is a standalone wall that bisects the dome in which there is a window with bells! Throughout its history the Astrodome was known as a pitcher's park the power alleys were never shorter than 370 feet (113 m) from the plate; on at least two occasions they were as far as 390 feet (119 m) Over time it gave up fewer home runs than any other park in the National League the Astrodome's reputation as a pitcher's park continued even in the mid-1980s when the fences were moved in closer than the Metrodome which was long reckoned as a hitter's park. Waller (partly in Waller County), The National Museum of Funeral History is located in Houston near the George Bush Intercontinental Airport the museum houses the original Popemobile used by Pope John Paul II in the 1980s along with numerous hearses embalming displays and information on famous funerals, The University of Texas at Arlington "Texas-sized" is an expression that can be used in two ways: to describe something that is about the size of the U.S state of Texas or to describe something (usually but not always originating from Texas) that is large compared to other objects of its type. Texas was the largest U.S state until Alaska became a state in 1959 the phrase "everything is bigger in Texas" has been in regular use since at least 1950; and was used as early as 1913. . . Colleges and universities The Texas First Court of Appeals and the Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals since September 3 2010 are located in the 1910 Harris County courthouse. Previously they were located on the campus of the South Texas College of Law! 4.2 United States Congress In 1950 the availability of air conditioning provided impetus for many companies to relocate to Houston where wages were lower than those in the North; this resulted in an economic boom and produced a key shift in the city's economy toward the energy sector, Texas leads the nation in the production of cattle horses sheep goats wool mohair and hay the state also leads the nation in production of cotton which is the number one crop grown in the state in terms of value the state grows significant amounts of cereal crops and produce. Texas has a large commercial fishing industry With mineral resources Texas leads in creating cement crushed stone lime salt sand and gravel!
The Ladies Reading Group of Houston was a significant founder of the public library system in Houston Elizabeth Long the author of the 2003 book Book Clubs: Women and the Uses of Reading in Everyday Life wrote that Houston's "literary scene" contributes and draws upon the overall literary culture of Texas the University of Houston creative writing program opened in 1979 Long wrote that this program "has achieved a national reputation" in subsequent decades in 1985 the Ladies Reading Club had a 100th anniversary celebration. Economy As of U.S Census figures current as of 1997 9% of residents in Harris County did not own automobiles This figure does not include people who own cars but do not have enough money to repair the automobiles As of that year while the average income of all residents of the county was $41,000 (equivalent to $64,000 in 2018) the average income of households without cars was $13,000 (equivalent to $20,300 in 2018), The Axis advance in the Pacific halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway; later Germany and Italy were defeated in North Africa and then decisively at Stalingrad in the Soviet Union Key setbacks in 1943 which included a series of German defeats on the Eastern Front the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy and Allied victories in the Pacific cost the Axis its initiative and forced it into strategic retreat on all fronts in 1944 the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France while the Soviet Union regained its territorial losses and turned toward Germany and its allies During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in Central China South China and Burma while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy and captured key Western Pacific islands.
Amy Oraefo PC