Texans are famous for lots of different things. Some have been heroes during dangerous times. Others have played major roles in the government, serving as judges, members of Congress, and even presidents. There are also many Texans who are famous around the world as musicians, writers, and actors.

A Texas Hero

Many Texans became heroes on August 25, 2017, when Hurricane Harvey hit large parts of the state. Harvey caused the most damage of any hurricane in U.S. history. In a short time, it dumped between forty and sixty inches of rain on Houston. That’s as much as the city usually has in a whole year!

At least eighty-eight people died in the hurricane.

Streets and houses flooded. People with boats rescued victims and saved them from drowning. Neighbors helped neighbors. Onlookers formed human chains to bring people across flooded streets. Stores opened to offer shelter to the homeless. Volunteers went door to door searching for anyone who needed help. For days, people worked around the clock.

This boy found his dog at a rescue center after the hurricane.

Dr. Stephen Kimmel is a surgeon in a suburb of Houston. His house flooded, but when Dr. Kimmel got a call that a boy at his hospital needed an operation, he knew he had to help him.

Dr. Kimmel caught a ride on a rescue truck, paddled a canoe, and walked almost a mile in waist-deep water to get to the hospital. He made it! Because Dr. Kimmel never gave up, the boy had his operation.

It will take a long time for Texas to recover from Hurricane Harvey. But many Texans have the same spirit that Dr. Kimmel has, and they’ll work hard to rebuild as soon as possible.

Government

Over the years, many famous political figures have also shown the spirit of Texas. Two presidents, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson, were born in Texas. Presidents George H. W. Bush and his son George W. Bush call it their home state. And Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, was born in El Paso and went to school there.

Music

Lots of famous musicians are from Texas. In the 1970s, country-western stars from Texas, such as Willie Nelson and George Strait, began playing their music in Austin. They helped make country-western music popular all over the world. Today, Austin is called the Live Music Capital of the World.

Willie Nelson is in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Popular singers Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and her sister, Solange Knowles, grew up in Houston. Beyoncé says that she is a proud Texan and that Houston is her home. She helped people who needed food after Hurricane Harvey.

Come with us and meet some more famous Texans!

Sam Houston was a governor of both Tennessee and Texas. He is the only person in U.S. history ever to be governor of two states. Sam was also a lawyer, a U.S. senator, a congressman, a major general, and president of the Republic of Texas.

When Sam was a teenager, he ran away from home because he didn’t want to work for his brother anymore. A Cherokee chief adopted him and renamed him the Raven.

Sam spent three years with the Cherokee, learning their language and customs. He began to love and respect them. When his life grew difficult, Sam often returned to be with the Cherokee.

Sam spoke out on the rights of the Cherokee. He once led a group of Cherokee to Washington, D.C., to meet with President Monroe. He arrived dressed in Cherokee clothing.

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed on a visit to Dallas. Lyndon B. Johnson was his vice president. He became the thirty-sixth president of the United States.

Lyndon Johnson is famous for signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. These are the two most important civil rights laws in the history of the United States.

During President Johnson’s term, America was at war with North Vietnam. As the fighting got worse, more Americans were against the war. Because of this, Johnson decided not to run for president again. He retired to his Texas ranch.

Lady Bird Johnson was Lyndon Johnson’s wife and first lady of the United States. She was a good businesswoman who made speeches that helped her husband win election.

As first lady, Lady Bird helped pass laws to make America more beautiful by getting rid of billboards and litter along the highways. Lady Bird also urged people to plant flowers on their roadsides. Because bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes grow well in Texas, she suggested that Texans plant a lot of them. Lady Bird said, “Where flowers bloom, there is hope.”

Thanks to Lady Bird, drivers enjoy wildflowers along highways all over Texas. Her love of nature inspired a program against littering, with a famous bumper sticker that says “Don’t mess with Texas!”

Barbara Jordan was a teacher, lawyer, and civil rights leader. Barbara was also the first African American woman in the Texas Senate. In fact, she was the first African American man or woman in the state senate since 1883! She then became the first woman from Texas and the first African American woman from the South to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Democratic Party asked Barbara to give the most important speech at the 1976 Democratic National Convention, when Democrats choose their candidate for president. Barbara was the first African American ever to have this honor. In 1994, Barbara was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Red Adair was a legend in Texas. He was an expert at putting out oil well fires. It’s one of the most dangerous jobs anywhere! Red invented a way to put explosives in the wells to stop them from burning. After that, firefighters must cover the well. While they’re doing all of this, the well might explode at any time.

Over the years, Red and his crew put out over 2,000 oil fires both on land and on oil rigs in the sea. In the Sahara Desert, they once stopped a fire that had flames shooting 450 feet into the air! In 1991, when Red was seventy-five years old, he went to Kuwait to put out fires that Iraqi soldiers had set in a large oilfield.

He once said, “I’ve traveled all over the world, but I don’t think there is any place better than Texas.”

Selena is known as the Queen of Tejano Music. When she was very young, Selena began singing at her father’s restaurant with his band. Her brother and sister were also in the band. Selena became so popular that when she was fifteen, she was voted the best Tejano female singer of the year. In 1994, she won a Grammy for best Mexican American album.

Selena played at concerts with as many as 60,000 people in the audience. Her albums have sold more than 60 million copies.

In 1995, Selena was twenty-three years old. She was planning to fire a woman who worked for her. The woman shot and killed Selena.

Her fans were devastated. George W. Bush, who was the governor of Texas at the time, declared her birthday Selena Day in Texas. She is remembered as one of the most important Latin musicians of all time.