Texas Originals | Houston Public Media

  SAMUEL (SAM) TALIAFERRO RAYBURNJanuary 6, 1882–November 16, 1961   As a young man, Sam Rayburn audaciously declared that he would study law, enter politics, and one day serve in the United States Congress. He went on to spend forty-nine years in the U.S. House of Representatives, including a record seventeen years as House Speaker. Known affectionately as “Mr...

DONALD CLARENCE JUDD June 3, 1928–February 12, 1994 Born in 1928, the artist Donald Judd was nurtured in the cultural hotbed of New York City. But the austere, high desert of West Texas became his artistic home.In the sixties, Judd began creating pared-down, geometric sculptures out of metal and Plexiglas. He didn’t intend these works to represent anything; instead, they were things in themselves, meant to be experienced rather than analyzed.On a road trip in the... Read More

ROSA MARÍA HINOJOSA DE BALLÍ1752–1803   In 1790, the woman now known as the first “cattle queen” of Texas — Rosa Maria Hinojosa de Ballí — inherited 55,000 acres in what is now South Texas. Her father and husband had applied to the Spanish crown for the land, but both died before their request was approved. It soon became clear that in addition to the land, Doña Rosa possessed a strong will, exceptional foresight, and.....

JOVITA IDÁRSeptember 7, 1885 – June 15, 1946   Journalist and activist Jovita Idár was born in Laredo in 1885. As a young woman, she abandoned a teaching career to write for her father’s weekly newspaper, La Crónica. In her articles, Idár denounced the dismal social, educational, and economic conditions of Texas Mexicans...

EUGENE C. BARKER November 10, 1874–October 22, 1956Eugene Barker, in the words of his biographer, “did more than any other historian to show the influence that Texas exerted in shaping the destiny of the United States.”Born in East Texas in 1874, Barker first attended The University of Texas at Austin in 1895. His life intertwined with that of the young school, helping to make it the “university of the first class” called for in the... Read More

July 17, 1871­–September 20, 1968   Known as “Miss Amarillo,” Laura V. Hamner devoted much of her life to recording and sharing the history of the Texas Panhandle. Hamner was born in 1871. She served as postmistress in the Panhandle town of Claude, and then, for more than a decade, as superintendent of the Potter County schools. Hamner turned to writing in her late fifties. She became known for “prowling” the Panhandle, interviewing ranchers, cowboys,.....

CLETO LUNA RODRÍGUEZ April 26, 1923–December 7, 1990 His portrait hangs in the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes. A section of U.S. Route 90 in San Antonio is named for him, as is the school he attended as a boy. For his heroism in World War II, he received the nation’s highest military honor.San Marcos native Cleto Rodríguez was born in 1923. By the age of nine, he had lost both parents and was raised in San... Read More

AMELIA EDITH HUDDLESTON BARR March 29, 1831–March 10, 1919 In 1888, the historical novel Remember the Alamo was published to popular and critical acclaim. Set during the Texas fight for independence, the book includes vivid portraits of Santa Anna, Sam Houston, and Davy Crockett. The novel’s unlikely author was Amelia Barr, a British writer who lived in Texas in the mid-nineteenth century.Barr moved to America with her husband and daughters in 1853. They lived briefly in... Read More

 ANNIE WEBB BLANTON (August 19, 1870–October 2, 1945) As a public official, suffragist, and educator, Annie Webb Blanton devoted her life to women’s rights. “Everything that helps to wear away age-old prejudices,” she said, “contributes towards the advancement of women and of humanity.”Born in Houston in 1870, Blanton pursued a career in teaching to demonstrate her independence...

ELMER KELTON April 29, 1926–August 22, 2009 Author of more than forty Westerns, the writer Elmer Kelton depicted the South Texas Plains with both romance and realism. These were qualities that Kelton knew well, having spent his entire life in the region.Born in 1926, Kelton grew up on the McElroy ranch near Midland, where his father was the general manager. Young Elmer, with his poor eyesight and love of books, realized he would never become the... Read More