Texas (TX).

• Region: South
• Population: 30,029,572 (ranked 2nd) (2022 estimate)
• Capital: Austin (pop. 974,447) (2022 estimate)
• Largest city: Houston (pop. 2,302,878) (2022 estimate)
• Number of counties: 254
• State nickname: Lone Star State
• State motto: Friendship
• State flag: One-third (vertical) is blue with white star, other two-thirds (horizontal) red and white

Texas is located in the southwestern region of the United States, sharing its southern border along the Rio Grande with Mexico. The state also shares borders with New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The second largest state in the nation, Texas accounts for 7.4 percent of the total area of the United States. Texas was admitted to the Union as the twenty-eighth state on December 29, 1845. During the course of its history, the flags of six nations—Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America, and the United States of America—have flown over Texas.

Capital:Austin, named for Texas pioneer Stephen F. Austin, has been the capital since Texas achieved statehood in 1845. It is the fourth largest city in Texas, and is located in the south central part of the state on the Colorado River.

Flag: The Lone Star flag was first adopted by the Republic of Texas in 1839, and was retained as the state flag when Texas joined the United States. The flag features a single white star on a field of blue on the left, with two bars, one red and one white, on the right. The red symbolizes bravery, the white strength, and the blue loyalty.

The state seal also features the Lone Star at its center, wreathed by an oak branch on the left, signifying strength, and an olive branch on the right, signifying peace.

Official Symbols

• Flower: Bluebonnet
• Bird: Mockingbird
• Tree: Pecan
• Fish: Guadalupe bass
• Song: "Texas, Our Texas" by Gladys Yoakum Wright and William J. Marsh

State and National Historic Sites

• The Alamo (San Antonio)
• Battleship Texas State Historic Site (LaPorte)
• Chamizal National Memorial (El Paso)
• El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail (El Paso)
• Fort Davis National Historic Site (Fort Davis)
• Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park (Stonewall)
• Mission Espiritu Santo State Historic Site (Goliad)
• Mission Rosario State Historic Site (Goliad)
• Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site (Brownsville)
• San Antonio Missions National Historical Park (San Antonio)
• San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site (San Felipe)
• San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site (LaPorte)

State-Specific Holidays

• Texas Independence Day, March 2
• San Jacinto Day, April 21
• Emancipation Day, June 19
• Lyndon B. Johnson's Birthday, August 27

DEMOGRAPHICS

• Population: 30,029,572 (ranked 2nd) (2022 estimate)
• Population density: 111.6/sq mi (2020)
• Urban population: 83.7% (2020 estimate)
• Rural population: 16.3% (2020 estimate)
• Population under 18: 24.8% (2022 estimate)
• Population over 65: 13.4% (2022 estimate)
• White alone: 77.4% (2022 estimate)
• Black or African American alone: 13.4% (2022 estimate)
• Hispanic or Latino: 40.2% (2022 estimate)
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: 1.1% (2022 estimate)
• Asian alone: 5.7% (2022 estimate)
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone: 0.2% (2022 estimate)
• Two or More Races: 2.3% (2022 estimate)
• Per capita income: $32,177 (ranked 34th) (2021 estimate)
• Unemployment: 5.7% (2022 estimate)

American Indians: Before the arrival of European settlers, Texas was inhabited by a number of American Indians: the Caddo in the east, the Karankawa on the Gulf coast, the Tonkawa in the central region, and the Apache and Comanche in the west. Later, the Cherokee, Alabama, and Coushatta peoples emigrated from farther east. Today, only a small portion of the state's population is made up of American Indians. Federally recognized tribes in Texas include the Alabama-Coushatta, Kickapoo, and Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo.

ENVIRONMENT AND GEOGRAPHY

• Total area: 268,597 sq mi (ranked 2nd)
• Land area: 261,232 sq mi (97.3% of total area)
• Water area: 7,365 sq mi (2.7% of total area)
• Shoreline: 367 miles
• National parks: 14
• Highest point: Guadalupe Peak (8,749 feet)
• Lowest point: Gulf of Mexico (sea level)
• Highest temperature: 120° F (Seymour; Monahans, August 12, 1936; June 28, 1994)
• Lowest temperature: -23° F (Seminole, February 8, 1933)

Topography: Texas is second only to Alaska in size, and such a huge land area contains a wide variety of landscapes. Beaches stretch along the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico, which runs from the Mexican border to the border with Louisiana. Much of eastern Texas, which is a major cotton-growing region, resembles other southern states, with cypress trees growing in the swamps and hills of pine. Farming is also important on the blackland prairies of north central Texas. The land rises from east to west, and the Balcones Escarpment in central Texas, marked by rough hills and waterfalls, delineates the edge of the Edwards Plateau in the Texas hill country and the high, rolling plains that stretch into west Texas, where mountains rise up out of the plains.

Major Lakes

• Amistad Reservoir
• Caddo Lake
• Falcon Reservoir
• Lake Lewisville
• Lake Livingstone
• Sam Rayburn Reservoir
• Lake Texarkana
• Lake Texoma
• Lake Travis
• Toledo Bend Reservoir

Major Rivers

• Brazos River
• Colorado River of Texas
• Guadalupe River
• Neches River
• Nueces River
• Pecos River
• Red River
• Rio Grande
• Sabine River
• San Antonio River
• Trinity River

State and National Parks: The parks of Texas highlight the variety of landscapes in all corners of the state, from Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument (Fritch) in the Panhandle, to Big Bend National Park along the Rio Grande in the southwest corner, to Padre Island National Seashore along the Gulf coast. Texas is home to more than one hundred national and state parks, monuments, and natural areas, including Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Salt Flat), Padre Island National Seashore (Corpus Christi), Lake Mineral Wells State Park and Trailway (Mineral Wells), Monahans Sandhills Park (Monahans), Caddo Lake State Park (Karnack), and Longhorn Cavern State Park (Burnet).

Natural Resources: Texas is rich in mineral resources, most prominently petroleum and natural gas. The fertile soils, extensive grasslands, and good climate are important resources for agriculture. The waters of the Gulf of Mexico provide a variety of fish for commercial use.

Plants and Animals: Approximately 15 percent of the state is forest land. Oak, pine, and sweet gum are important commercially. Other trees include bald cypress, cat's-claw, elm, juniper, magnolia, mesquite, native pecan, and tupelo. The plains provide rich grassland for cattle ranching, and more than five hundred different types of grass grow in Texas. Prominent among them are bluestem, buffalo, curly mesquite, grama, and side oats. Wildflowers also abound in Texas, with more than four thousand varieties such as bluebonnet, daisy, goldenrod, primrose, and sunflower. Many types of cacti also grow in the drier regions.

Large mammals found in Texas include antelope, bighorn sheep, and white-tailed deer, as well as black bear and mountain lion. Other mammals include armadillo, coyote, fox, jackrabbit, muskrat, mink, raccoon, possum, and wild pig.

A large variety of birds make their home in Texas for at least part of the year; the state is on the migration route of ducks, geese, and other birds. The one surviving flock of whooping cranes in North America makes its winter home in Aransas Wildlife Refuge. Year-round residents include predators such as hawks and owls, as well as eagles. Mourning dove, quail, and wild turkey are prized game birds.

Many reptiles, more than one hundred species, are also commonly found in Texas. Alligators live in the waters of east Texas, and among the snake population are four poisonous varieties: copperhead, coral snake, rattlesnake, and water moccasin. The rivers and lakes are home to bass, catfish, and sunfish; the salt water of the Gulf of Mexico provides habitat for crab, menhaden, oyster, and shrimp.

Climate: Like its topography, the climate of Texas is varied. The Rio Grande valley in the south is the warmest area (summer average 85 degrees Fahrenheit; winter average 60), and the Panhandle the coldest (summer average 79 degrees; winter average 35). Eastern Texas tends to be warm and humid, while farther west the weather is cooler and drier.

Precipitation also varies by region and elevation, with more in the east than in the west. Rainfall in the east is over 50 inches per year and often fewer than 10 inches in the arid west. Snowfall is also unevenly distributed; approximately 25 inches of snow falls annually in the high plains, but much of the rest of the state gets little to no snow at all.

Texas is located in the area known as "Tornado Alley," a swath stretching across Midwestern and Southern states that features the highest occurrence of tornadoes anywhere in the world. The gulf coast is also subject to hurricanes.

EDUCATION AND CULTURE

Major Colleges and Universities

• Abilene Christian University (Abilene)
• Angelo State University (San Angelo)
• Austin College (Sherman)
• Baylor University (Waco)
• Criswell College (Dallas)
• Dallas Baptist University (Dallas)
• Hardin-Simmons University (Abilene)
• Houston Baptist University (Houston)
• Lamar University (Beaumont)
• Rice University (Houston)
• Sam Houston State University (Huntsville)
• Southern Methodist University (Dallas)
• Texas A&M University (College Station)
• Texas Christian University (Fort Worth)
• Texas Southern University (Houston)
• Texas Tech University (Lubbock)
• Texas Woman's University (Denton)
• University of Dallas (Irving)
• University of Houston (Houston)
• University of North Texas (Denton, Fort Worth)
• University of St. Thomas (Houston)
• University of Texas (Austin, Dallas)
• Wiley College (Marshall)

Major Museums

• Alamo Museum (San Antonio)
• Amon Carter Museum of American Art (Fort Worth)
• Dallas Museum of Art (Dallas)
• Houston Museum of Natural Science (Houston)
• Kimbell Art Museum (Fort Worth)
• McNay Art Museum (San Antonio)
• Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (Fort Worth)
• Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (Houston)
• Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum (Canyon)
• Perot Museum of Nature and Science (Dallas)
• Republic of Texas Museum (Austin)
• Sam Houston Memorial Museum, Sam Houston State University (Huntsville)
• San Antonio Museum of Art (San Antonio)
• Texas Memorial Museum (Austin)
• Witte Museum (San Antonio)

Major Libraries

• Armstrong Browning Library, Baylor University (Waco)
• Dallas Public Library (Dallas)
• George Bush Presidential Library (College Station)
• Houston Public Library (Houston)
• Lyndon B. Johnson Library (Austin)
• Texas State Library (Austin)

Media

Over six hundred newspapers are published in Texas, including about seventy-five dailies. The state's largest papers include the Austin American-Statesman, the Dallas Morning News, the El Paso Times, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Houston Chronicle, and the San Antonio Express-News. Hundreds of other periodicals are published in the state as well. Texas is home to over five hundred commercial television stations and many radio stations.

ECONOMY AND INFRASTRUCTURE

• Gross domestic product (in millions $USD): 2,355,959.7 (ranked 2nd) (2022)
• GDP percent change: 3.4%

Major Industries: The finance, insurance, and real estate, rental, and leasing sectors contributed 17.2 percent to the state gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022. Professional and business services were the second largest industry that year, accounting for 12.1 percent of the state GDP. Engineering companies for the oil industry play a key role in this sector, as do private health care, hotels/motels, and law firms. Wholesale/retail is another major contributor; Texas is a leading wholesaler of petroleum as well as food products.

Texas is one of the leading manufacturing states, with hundreds of billions of dollars in output. Computer and electronic equipment is among the key manufactured products. Other products include chemicals, food products, petroleum products, fabricated metal products, and machinery and transportation equipment. Mining is also vital to the Texas economy. About 90 percent of the total mining income comes from natural gas and petroleum. Helium, sulphur, uranium, coal, lignite, magnesium, and iron ore are also mined in Texas. Non-metal minerals include granite, limestone, marble as well as clay, gypsum, potash, and sand and gravel.

Tourism: The varied natural attractions of the state, such as Big Bend National Park, draw many visitors to Texas. Historical sites, such as the famous Alamo, are also popular tourist destinations. Many visitors flock to the Johnson Space Center each year, while other tourists enjoy Texas' large selection of sporting events, as well as the state's many theme parks.

Energy Production: Texas leads all other states in the production of electric power. In 2022, it was the top-producing state for crude oil, natural gas, lignite coal, and wind power generation capacity. Natural gas is the state's chief source of electricity, followed by coal and renewable resources. Texas also has two nuclear power plants.

Agriculture: About three-quarters of the land in Texas is used for agriculture. The majority of this land is grazing land for cattle, the leading agricultural product. Beef cattle account for more than half of the state's total agricultural income. Other livestock includes dairy cattle, chickens, turkeys, hogs, angora goats, and sheep. Cotton is the number-one crop in the state, and Texas leads the country in cotton production. Other field crops include corn, hay, oats, peanuts, potatoes, rice, sorghum, soybeans, sugar beets, sugar cane, and wheat. Texas is also a leading producer of greenhouse and nursery products, such as flowers and shrubs. Watermelons, pecans, and citrus fruits are also important agricultural products.

Airports: There are more than 350 regional and municipal airports located around the state of Texas. Principal among them are Amarillo International Airport, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Corpus Christi International Airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport (Houston), and San Antonio International Airport.

Seaports: Texas has several deepwater ports on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Houston is the state's leading port, and cargo shipped into the port is often transported via truck to Mexico. Other deepwater ports include Beaumont, Brownsville, Calhoun, Corpus Christi, Cedar Bayou, Freeport, Galveston, Orange, Port Arthur, and Port Isabel. Petroleum, chemical products, sulfur, fertilizer, rice, sorghum, and wheat are among the leading exports. Major inbound cargo includes crude oil, iron and aluminum ore, iron products, and nonferrous metals.

GOVERNMENT

• Governor: Greg Abbott (Republican)
• Present constitution date: 1876
• Electoral votes: 40
• Number of counties: 254
• Violent crime rate: 446.5 (per 100,000 residents)
• Death penalty: Yes

Constitution: The current state Constitution was adopted in 1876, and has been amended numerous times. This Constitution is the fourth in the state's history.

Branches of Government

Executive: The governor serves as the state's chief executive officer. Both the governor and lieutenant governor are elected every four years; there are no term limits for the offices. The governor's duties include serving as commander in chief of the state's military, signing or vetoing legislation, declaring special elections and convening special sessions of the legislature, and making appointments for state and district offices. Among these, the governor appoints the secretary of state and the adjutant general.

Other state officials elected to four-year terms are the attorney general, commissioner of agriculture, commissioner of the general land office, and comptroller of public accounts.

Legislative: The state legislature is comprised of a thirty-one-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. State senators serve four-year terms, and representatives serve two-year terms.

Judicial: The highest civil court in Texas is the state Supreme Court. The court is comprised of nine justices, including one chief justice. Justices are elected to six-year terms. The Court of Criminal Appeals is the highest criminal court, and is comprised of nine judges, each elected to a six-year term. In addition to these courts, the judicial system is made up of fourteen supreme judicial districts, courts of appeals, district courts, county courts, municipal courts, and justice of peace courts.

HISTORY

c.1500 BCE A community of farmers settle at the conjunction of the Rio Grande and the Rio Conchos. Their corn farms may represent the longest continuously farmed land in Texas.

800–1500 BCE Stone dwellings in the Panhandle region are occupied by peoples who both hunt and farm. (Today, this area is referred to as the Buried City.)

c.1400 BCE The Caddo people establish an agricultural settlement in eastern Texas.

1519 Spaniard Alonso de Pineda explores coastal Texas along the Gulf of Mexico and claims the Texas region for Spain.

1528 After his ship is wrecked on the coast, Spaniard Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca explores the interior of Texas.

1541 West Texas is part of the region explored by Spaniard Francisco Vasquez de Coronado as he searches the Southwest for gold and the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola.

1598 Spanish explorer Juan de Onate and members of his expedition hold a thanksgiving feast with the Indigenous peoples in the area of present-day El Paso. Onate claims the Rio Grande region for Spain.

1682 Corpus Christi de la Isleta, near present-day El Paso, is established as the first permanent Spanish settlement and mission.

1685René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, establishes Fort St. Louis on Matagorda Bay. The French colony fails less than two years later after La Salle is murdered by one of his own men and the colonists fall to disease and American Indian attacks.

1690 San Francisco de los Tejas, the first Spanish mission in east Texas, is established. The project is abandoned three years later.

1691 Texas becomes a Spanish province.

1716 The presidio Nuestra Senora de los Dolores de los Tejas is constructed to protect Spanish missions in east Texas.

1718 The mission San Antonio de Valero is established in present-day San Antonio. The Alamo acts as the mission's chapel building.

1731 A group of colonists from the Canary Islands settle in San Antonio. The first election in Texas history is held, as voters in San Fernando elect their town officials.

1758 Comanches attack and destroy mission Santa Cruz de San Saba, northwest of San Antonio.

1799 Spanish settlers repel an attempted invasion by American forces.

1813 Jose Alvarez de Toledo begins publication of Gaceta de Texas, the first Texas newspaper, in Nacogdoches.

1821 With permission from the Spanish government, Stephen F. Austin brings the first American colonists to Texas. After Mexico gains independence from Spain, Texas becomes part of the Mexican Republic.

1829 Irish colonists settle in southern Texas.

1830 Additional American settlement in Texas, as well as the importation of enslaved people, is prohibited by the Mexican government.

1835 The Texas Revolution begins as the town and fort of Goliad are taken over by revolutionaries. The Declaration of Texas Independence is signed on December 20. The Texas Rangers are formed the same year.

1836 General Antonio López de Santa Anna and the Mexican army defeat the Texan defenders at the Alamo on March 6 after a thirteen-day siege. Santa Anna's forces are defeated in the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21. On September 1, Sam Houston is elected the first president of the Republic of Texas.

1837 The Republic of Texas is officially recognized by the United States.

1839 Austin is declared the new capital of Texas.

1845Texas is admitted to the Union on December 29.

1846 The United States declares war on Mexico; the Battle of Palo Alto, near Brownsville, is the first major battle of the war.

1848 Mexico surrenders its claim to Texas when the war ends.

1850 In the Compromise of 1850, Texas gives up its claim to lands in present-day New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.

1861 Texas secedes from the Union to join the Confederate States of America.

1865 The Battle of Palmito Ranch, fought on May 13 near Brownsville, is the final battle of the Civil War. The battle takes place after the April 9 surrender at Appomattox because word of the surrender does not reach Texas until later.

1866 The first big cattle drive to Kansas takes place. Huge drives move Texas cattle north to the railroads and then to eastern markets. The era of the drives lasts for about twenty years, until the railroads are expanded. Also in 1866, the first Texas oil well is drilled in Nacogdoches County.

1868 Canals constructed in Del Rio begin irrigation projects throughout the state.

1870 Edmund J. Davis is elected as the first Republican governor of Texas.

1900 In the worst natural disaster in American history, the "Great Hurricane" strikes Galveston and kills more than eight thousand people, destroying most of the city in the process.

1901 A gusher announces the discovery of the Spindletop oil field near Beaumont, triggering the oil boom.

1910 The first US Army airplane, designed by the Wright brothers, flies at Fort Sam Houston.

1916 Texas border towns are raided by Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa during the Mexican Civil War.

1917 Governor James E. Ferguson is impeached and removed from office after allegations of widespread corruption in his administration.

1918 Annie Webb Blanton is elected state superintendent of public instruction, becoming the first woman to hold a state office.

1937 More than three hundred people, mostly students and teachers, are killed in an explosion at London Consolidated School in Rusk County. The cause of the explosion is thought to be a natural-gas leak under the building.

1943 Martial law is declared after a race riot in Beaumont.

1944 The US Supreme Court overturns the state's "white primary" voting law, which instituted a poll tax in order to discourage African American people and low-income White people from voting in popular elections.

1947 A massive explosion at a refinery dock in Texas City results in hundreds of deaths and the near-destruction of the city.

1950 A US Supreme Court decision ends racial segregation at the University of Texas Law School.

1954 Women gain the right to serve on juries in Texas.

1957 Approximately five hundred people are killed when Hurricane Audrey batters the gulf coast of Texas.

1962 NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center opens in Houston. Two years later it moves to a new location; this new facility is renamed the Johnson Space Center in 1973.

1963 President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas. Governor John B. Connally is also shot and injured in the attack. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Texas native, is sworn in as president.

1966Barbara Jordan of Houston becomes the first African American woman to be elected to the Texas State Senate. That year, Charles Whitman embarks on a shooting rampage from an observation tower on the University of Texas campus in Austin, killing seventeen people.

1979 Tornadoes in West Texas kill fifty-three people and cause over $400 million in property damage.

1990 Democrat Ann Richards becomes the first woman elected governor of Texas.

1992 Texas institutes its first state lottery.

1993 In Waco, a standoff between Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and a religious cult called the Branch Davidians, led by David Koresh, ends after fifty-one days when the cult's compound is burned to the ground. Over ninety people are killed. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Republican, becomes the first woman elected to the US Senate from Texas.

1996 Nearly half of Texas' congressional districts are redrawn after the US Supreme Court rules that the state's race-based districting practices are unconstitutional.

2000 Former Texas Governor George W. Bush is named president of the United States after a disputed election.

2003 A group of Democrats from the state House of Representatives flee Texas in order to prevent a vote on a Republican-backed redistricting measure that would bolster the GOP's standing in the state legislature.

2004 Former Texas governor George W. Bush is reelected as president of the United States.

2007 Governor Rick Perry signs an executive order requiring all girls entering the sixth grade to be vaccinated again human papillomavirus (HPV), a common cause of cervical cancer. Conservative critics of the decision argue that the vaccine will promote sexual activity among young people.

2008Hurricane Ike strikes the Texas Gulf Coast and causes billions of dollars in damages, making Ike the costliest hurricane in Texas to date.

2009 On November 5, Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan opens fire on his fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, killing thirteen people.

2013 A massive explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, on April 17 kills fourteen people, mostly first responders, and levels a number of nearby homes.

2014 The first case of the Ebola virus in the United States is discovered in Dallas.

2016 Former governor Rick Perry is announced as President Donald Trump's choice for Secretary of Energy, drawing criticism from Democrats and others who noted Perry had in his own presidential campaign stated his intention to abolish the Department of Energy.

2017 Hurricane Harvey causes drastic flooding that devastates the Houston area, making it one of the costliest hurricanes on record with approximately $125 billion in damages. At least 107 people are killed over the course of the storm.

2021 In February, a winter storm brought record-low temperatures, ice, and snow across the state, and caused the state's power grid to fail, leaving 4 million residents without power. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 210 storm-related deaths.

2022 A mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in May leaves twenty-one dead.

FAMOUS PEOPLE

Paul Neal "Red" Adair, 1915–2004 (Houston), Oil well firefighter.

Alvin Ailey, 1931–1989 (Rogers), Choreographer.

Mary Kay Ash, 1915–2001 (Hot Wells), Cosmetics entrepreneur.

Gene Autry, 1907–1998 (Tioga), Singer; actor.

Beyoncé (Knowles-Carter), 1981– (Houston), Singer.

Carol Burnett, 1933– (San Antonio), Actor; comedian.

Ciara (Princess Wilson), 1985– (Austin), Singer; actor.

Joan Crawford, 1908–1977 (San Antonio), Actor.

Dwight David Eisenhower, 1890–1969 (Denison), 34th US president; World War II general.

A. J. Foyt, 1935– (Houston), Auto racer.

George Foreman, 1949– (Marshall), Boxer; entrepreneur.

Buddy Holly, 1936–1959 (Lubbock), Musician.

Howard Hughes, 1905–1976 (Houston), Businessman; film producer.

Lyndon B. Johnson, 1908–1973 (Stonewall), 36th US president.

Janis Joplin, 1943–1970 (Port Arthur), Singer.

Barbara Jordan, 1936–1996 (Houston), US congresswoman from Texas.

Matthew McConaughey, 1969– (Uvalde), Actor.

Audie Murphy, 1924–1971 (Kingston), World War II hero; actor.

Willie Nelson, 1933– (Abbott), Musician; songwriter.

Chester Nimitz, 1885–1966 (Fredricksburg ), World War II admiral.

Sandra Day O'Connor, 1930– (El Paso), Supreme Court justice.

H. Ross Perot, 1930–2019 (Texarkana), Businessman; presidential candidate.

Katherine Anne Porter, 1890–1980 (Indian Creek), Author.

Dan Rather, 1931– (Wharton), Television journalist.

Gene Roddenberry, 1921–1991 (El Paso), Screenwriter; Star Trek creator.

Selena, 1971–1995 (Lake Jackson), Singer.

Forest Whitaker, 1961– (Longview), Actor.

Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias, 1911–1956 (Port Arthur), Olympic athlete; golfer.

TRIVIA

• The Johnson Space Center in Houston serves as headquarters for all of NASA's manned space flights.
• During the period of July 24–26, 1979, the Tropical Storm Claudette brought 45 inches of rain to an area near Alvin, Texas, contributing to more than $600 million in damages. Claudette produced a longstanding United States 24-hour rainfall record of 43 inches.
• Although people tend to associate cattle with Texas, sheep are also important: Texas produces more wool than any other state.
• Texas became part of the United States through a treaty between nations (the United States and the Republic of Texas) rather than through the annexation of territory. It is the only state to have done so.
• The Waco Bridge, constructed in 1870, was the first suspension bridge in the United States. It is still used today as a walking bridge over the Brazos River.
• The Houston Astrodome, which opened in April 1965, was the first domed stadium in the United States.
• Fossils of over twenty different types of dinosaur species have been found in Texas.

Bibliography

Buenger, Walter. "Texas and the History of American Foreign Policy." Diplomatic History, vol. 36, no. 3, 2012, pp. 495–98.

Krause, Mariella, et al. Lonely Planet Texas. 4th ed., Lonely Planet, 2014.

"State BEARFACTS." Bureau of Economic Analysis, US Dept. of Commerce, 31 Mar. 2023, apps.bea.gov/regional/bearfacts/. Accessed 22 Sept. 2023.

Stephens, Ray, and Carol Zuber-Mallison. Texas: A Historical Atlas. U of Oklahoma P, 2012.

"Texas." Quick Facts, US Census Bureau, 2022, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/TX/PST045221. Accessed 22 Sept. 2023.

"Texas: 2020 Census." United States Census, 25 Aug. 2021, www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/texas-population-change-between-census-decade.html. Accessed 12 Oct. 2022.

Von Drehle, David, and Hilary Hylton. "A Fight for the Texas Democrats." Time, vol. 171, no. 9, 2008, pp. 28–30.

Weber, Andrew. "Texas Winter Storm Death Toll Goes Up to 210, Including 43 Deaths in Harris County." Houston Public Media, 14 July 2021, www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/energy-environment/2021/07/14/403191/texas-winter-storm-death-toll-goes-up-to-210-including-43-deaths-in-harris-county/. Accessed 21 Oct. 2021.

Melissa Sherman