On December 10, 1836, President Sam Houston approved the
first national flag of the Republic of Texas. This Texas state flag, known as the
"National Standard of Texas" displayed a large golden five pointed star centered on an
azure ground. This Texas state flag flew over the Republic of Texas until January 25,
1839. A bill describing the "Lone Star Flag" was introduced on December 28, 1838 by
Senator William H. Wharton. This bill was passed by the Texas Congress on January 21,
1839 and approved by Texas President Mirabeau B. Lamar on January 25, 1839, almost six
years before Texas became a member of the United States of America. Early designs of the
Texas state flag are attributed to many including Joanna Troutman, Sara Dodson, Charles
Bellinger Stewart, Peter Krag and William Wharton, but it was long held that the actual
designer of the Texas State Flag, the Lone Star Flag, was not known. When Texas was
admitted to the Union in 1845, the Lone Star Flag came along. From September 1, 1879
until the 1933 Flag Act, Texas was without an official state flag.
The legislation adopted in 1933, was quite particular about the design and location of
the lone star and the colors of the Texas state flag: blood red, azure blue and white.
However, no standard for "blood red" or "azure blue" existed and flags manufactured
within the state varied in color and dimension. The statutes concerning the flag were
revisited and the official description of the state flag was revised. The Texas state
flag consists of a rectangle with a width to length ratio of two to three containing:
(1) a blue vertical stripe one-third the entire length of the flag wide, and two equal
horizontal stripes, the upper stripe white, the lower red, each two-thirds the entire
length of the flag long; and (2) a white, regular five-pointed star in the center of the
blue stripe, oriented so that one point faces upward, and of such a size that the
diameter of a circle passing through the five points of the star is equal to
three-fourths the width of the blue stripe. The colors of the Texas state flag were also
stipulated as being "Old Glory Red" and "Old Glory Blue", the same colors found in the
national flag of the United States. These colors are defined in the Standard Color
Reference of America.
