The Six Flags chain originated in 1957 with the creation of The Great Southwest Corporation by Angus G. Wynne and other investors. Construction of Six Flags Over Texas started in 1960, and the park was opened the next year for a short (45-day) season. The first park initially featured a Native American village, a gondola ride, a railroad, some Wild West shows, a stagecoach ride, and Skull Island, a pirate-themed adventure attraction.
John Quincy Adams (1825-1829) had one of the more unusual and, arguably, dangerous pets: an alligator that had been gifted to him by the Marquis de Lafayette.
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. The two living species are the American alligator (A. mississippiensis) and the Chinese alligator (A. sinensis). In addition, several extinct species of alligator are known from fossil remains. Alligators first appeared during the Oligocene epoch about 37 million years ago.