People from Texas

People from Texas
Name	People from Texas
Region	Texas
Population	Diverse
Languages	English language, Spanish language
Related	Mexican American, African Americans, Czech Americans

Contents

People from Texas.

Texas has produced a wide array of influential figures across politics, culture, science, business, and sports, with roots tying to Spanish Texas, Republic of Texas, Mexican–American War, Civil War. The state's population reflects waves tied to Mexican immigration to the United States, Great Migration (African American), Dust Bowl, Oil boom, Technology commercialization that shaped communities from Houston to El Paso and Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Texans have played major roles in national events such as the Space Race, World War II, Civil Rights Movement, and the Energy crisis.

History and demographic overview

Early inhabitants included peoples linked to Caddo people, Coahuiltecan, Karankawa people, and later settlers from Spain, France, and Mexico during Spanish Texas and Mexican Texas. Anglo migration accelerated after the Adams–Onís Treaty and Texas Revolution, bringing settlers associated with Stephen F. Austin and veterans of the Battle of San Jacinto. Enslaved African Americans were brought via the Transatlantic slave trade and shaped plantation economies prior to the Civil War. Postbellum industrialization tied to discoveries at Spindletop and companies like Gulf Oil and ExxonMobil spurred urban growth in Houston and Beaumont. Twentieth-century demographic shifts were influenced by Mexican Revolution, Bracero program, Interstate Highway System, and high-tech growth around Silicon Hills and NASA Johnson Space Center. Contemporary Texas demographics show significant populations of Mexican American, African Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Filipino Americans, Korean Americans, and Indian American communities concentrated in metropolitan regions and borderlands.

Business and industry: magnates tied to H. L. Hunt, Howard Hughes, Ross Perot, Michael Dell, Mark Cuban, T. Boone Pickens, Ray Lee Hunt, Lutcher Stark, Lyda Hill.

Law and judiciary: jurists associated with Tom C. Clark, John Nance Garner, William Wayne Justice, Priscilla Owen, Carlos C. Cadena.

Military and exploration: leaders linked to Sam Houston (soldier), Audie Murphy, Chester W. Nimitz, John J. Pershing, Neil Armstrong (born in Ohio but connected via NASA Johnson Space Center partnerships), Alan Bean.

Arts and letters: authors and poets like Larry McMurtry, Cormac McCarthy, Larry L. King, Jill McCorkle, Katherine Anne Porter, Walter Cronkite (born in Missouri but associated through Texas reporting), Elmer Kelton.

Science and academia: researchers and educators such as Michael S. Brown, Joseph L. Goldstein, Jim Allison, Mary Gates, Homer L. Dodge.

Media and journalism: figures associated with Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Bill Moyers.

Texan identity draws from events like the Texas Revolution, symbols such as the Lone Star Flag, and cuisine traditions connected to Tex-Mex cuisine and barbecue in Texas. Regional cultures vary between East Texas's links to the Deep South, West Texas's ties to New Mexico and Mexican heritage, South Texas's borderland biculturalism, and the urban cultural scenes of Austin's South by Southwest, Houston's Juneteenth celebrations, and Dallas's arts districts. Religious life in Texas includes institutions such as the Southern Baptist Convention, Roman Catholic Church, United Methodist Church, and vibrant communities tied to Baptist churches and Hispanic Catholic traditions.

Internal migration has moved populations from rural counties to metropolitan cores like Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, San Antonio–New Braunfels, and Austin–Round Rock. International migration involves arrivals from Mexico, El Salvador, India, China, Vietnam, shaping enclaves in McAllen, Laredo, Arlington, and Plano. Economic drivers include oil industry cycles, growth in technology commercialization, and policies influenced by figures like Rick Perry and Greg Abbott. Diaspora communities maintain ties to Texas through organizations in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington, D.C..

Texas politicians have influenced national policy via presidencies, governorships, and congressional leadership: Lyndon B. Johnson's legislative agenda, George W. Bush's presidency, and senators like John Cornyn, Kay Bailey Hutchison. State-level governance features figures such as Greg Abbott, Rick Perry, Ann Richards, and policy debates tied to incidents like the Galveston hurricane of 1900 response and crises at Port Arthur and Houston Ship Channel. Civil rights-era activism featured leaders connected to League of United Latin American Citizens, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and local organizers in Brownsville and Dallas County.

Texas has produced entertainers who shaped genres from country music at venues like Grand Ole Opry to blues in Austin and Houston. Film and television production centers include Austin Film Festival and studios in Dallas; notable filmmakers and actors have ties to O. Henry-inspired storytelling, Broadway tours through Houston, and music festivals such as South by Southwest. Professional sports franchises include Dallas Cowboys, Houston Astros, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, and athletes from Texas colleges such as Texas Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies frequently advance to NFL and MLB rosters.

Higher education institutions such as University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, Rice University, Southern Methodist University, and Texas Tech University have produced researchers and entrepreneurs who founded companies tied to Silicon Hills, Texas Medical Center, and energy firms like ExxonMobil and Halliburton. Texas-affiliated Nobel laureates include Michael S. Brown and Joseph L. Goldstein; NASA's Johnson Space Center anchored astronaut training and missions linked to Apollo program and Space Shuttle program. Business leaders from Texas influenced global markets through ventures such as Dell Technologies, Southwest Airlines, Dr Pepper, and energy conglomerates shaping commodity markets.

Category:People by U.S. state