Texas Originals | Houston Public Media

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca ca. 1490–ca. 1559 Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca first set foot on land that would become Texas in 1528, when his crude raft ran aground near Galveston Island. The raft held survivors of an ill-fated Spanish expedition to settle Florida.Cabeza de Vaca then embarked upon what one scholar described as “the most remarkable [journey] in the record of American exploration.”He lived for several years among Texas Indians, learning the... Read More

Frederick Law Olmsted April 26, 1822–August 28, 1903   Connecticut-born Frederick Law Olmsted is best known for his design of New York’s Central Park. But his writings on the slaveholding South, including Texas, enjoyed critical acclaim in the 1850s for their detailed descriptions and keen social commentary. The New York Times commissioned Olmsted to journey through the South recording his observations. Olmsted made two separate trips...

Héctor P. García January 17, 1914–July 26, 1996Physician and pioneering activist Héctor P. García was once described as "a man who in the space of one week delivers twenty babies, twenty speeches, and twenty thousand votes."Born in Mexico in 1914, García grew up in Mercedes, Texas, in the lower Rio Grande Valley. He earned undergraduate and medical degrees from The University of Texas and served in the Army with distinction in World War II.In 1946,... Read More

CHARLES GOODNIGHT March 5, 1836­–December 12, 1929 Charles Goodnight liked to point out he was born in 1836, the year the Republic of Texas was founded, and moved here in 1845, the year Texas joined the United States. A legendary rancher and trailblazer, Goodnight became known as the “father of the Texas Panhandle.”Goodnight was nine years old when his family arrived in Texas from Illinois. He served as a frontier scout and Texas Ranger in his... Read More

Fray Damián Massanet In 1683, Franciscan priest Damián Massanet left Barcelona to serve as a missionary in the New World. He lived the rest of his life in Mexico, and died in obscurity, but holds an important place in the history of Spanish settlement in Texas.Massanet spent several years building missions in Mexico. Then, in 1690, he accompanied General Alonso De León, governor of the state of Coahuila, to establish a Spanish presence in Texas. In... Read More

George Thomas “Mickey” Leland November 27, 1944–August 7, 1989   When the Texas House of Representatives met in January 1973, three of the new members were the first African Americans elected to the House since Reconstruction. One of these, twenty-eight-year-old Mickey Leland, entered the Capitol wearing an Afro and a vibrant dashiki. The New York Times described him as “a jolt to the conservative Texas body.” Image courtesy of the Office of the Clerk, U.S.... Read More

Albert Horton Foote Jr. March 14, 1916–March 4, 2009The quiet cotton-farming community of Wharton, Texas, is the touchstone for the career of playwright and screenwriter Horton Foote.Born in 1916 and raised in Wharton, Foote first dreamed of becoming an actor. But he soon discovered that his true genius lay in writing, not performing.He began writing plays about everyday people living in small Texas towns like his boyhood home, and his work was praised for its... Read More

JANE McMANUS STORM CAZNEAU April 6, 1807–December 10, 1878   Writer and promoter Jane McManus Storm Cazneau helped shape Texas and American history in the mid-nineteenth century. Working as a journalist in the 1840s and 50s, Cazneau campaigned tirelessly for Texas independence. Her columns in periodicals such as the New York Sun helped sway public opinion in support of Texas statehood—and America’s “manifest destiny” more generally...

Etta Moten and Claude Barnett posed in front of their private African art collection at their home in Chicago, 1960s. Image Credit: Etta Moten Barnett Papers, Chicago Public Library, Carter G. Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature   ETTA MOTEN BARNETTNovember 5, 1901–January 2, 2004 Acclaimed singer and actress Etta Moten Barnett was born in Weimar, Texas, in 1901. By the age of ten, she was singing in... Read More

William (Willie) Morris November 29, 1934–August 2, 1999 Willie Morris was born in Mississippi and made his name in New York, but he left an indelible mark on Texas journalism.In 1952, Morris enrolled at the University of Texas, where he worked as a reporter for the Daily Texan. Morris ultimately became editor-in-chief, writing blunt editorials about the lack of student representation in university decisions, and the influence of lobbyists on the state legislature...