Important People in Texas History

Identify the following people including the dates of their birth and death, political affiliations, and significance in the history of Texas. (Use your own paper.)

1. Sam Houston: March 2, 1793 - July 26, 1863. Democrat. The first and third president of the Republic of Texas, a U.S. senator (representing Texas), and the seventh governor of Texas.

2. Cabeza de Vaca: c. 1488/1490 - c. 1557/1558. Not applicable. A Spanish explorer who is largely responsible exploring what is now known as the state of Texas. One of four survivors of the Narváez expedition.

3. Stephen F. Austin: November 3, 1793 - 27 December 1836. (I'm not sure of his political party, but he ran against Houston for the presidency of Texas.) The "Father of Texas", Austin is largely known for bringing nearly 300 American families and unmarried men to Texas for the purpose of colonization. Organized what would eventually become the Texas Rangers law enforcement agency. The first Secretary of State of the Republic of Texas.

4. Moses Austin: October 4, 1761 - June 10, 1821. Not applicable (as he was not a politician). The first to gather (white) Americans for colonization in Spanish Texas, but died before the plan could be carried out in full. Father of Stephen F. Austin.

5. William Barrett Travis: August 9, 1809 - March 6, 1836. Not applicable (as he was not a politician). A noted leader in the Battle of the Alamo. Best known for his letter To the People of Texas and All Americans in the World in which he declared "I shall never surrender or retreat [snip] Victory or Death."

6. Estevan the Moor - c. 1500 - 1539. Probably whichever political party that would've set him free. The first African-born slave to travel through Texas and one of four survivors (along with de Vaca) of the Narváez expedition.

7. Lyndon B. Johnson - August 27, 1908 - January 22, 1973. Democrat. Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 10th District and United States Senator from 1949-1961. (He would, of course, go on to be the 36th President of the United States following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas.)

8. William Clements - April 13, 1917 - May 29, 2011. Republican. The 42nd and 44th Governor of Texas and the first GOP governor since Reconstruction. Also a major figure in the SMU "death penalty" scandal.

9. Ralph Yarborough - June 8, 1903 - January 27, 1996. Democrat. A United States senator who authored the "Great Society" legislation and the only southern senator to vote in favor of every civil rights bill from 1957 to 1970.

10. John Reagan - October 8, 1818 - March 6, 1905. Democrat. Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 1st and 3rd district, as well as a Senator. Also Postmaster of the Confederate States of America.

11. Willie Nelson: April 30, 1933 - present. Democrat. Pioneer of "outlaw country", an alternative