The Texas Portal
Texas (/ˈtɛksəs/ TEK-səss, locally also /ˈtɛksɪz/ TEK-siz; Spanish: Texas or Tejas, pronounced [ˈtexas]) is the most populous state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south and southwest. Texas has a coastline on the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast. Covering 268,596 square miles (695,660 km2), and with over 30 million residents as of 2023, it is the second-largest U.S. state by both area and population. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State for its former status as an independent republic. The Lone Star can be found on the Texas state flag and the Texas state seal. Spain was the first European country to claim and control the area of Texas. Following a short-lived colony controlled by France, Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming the Republic of Texas. In 1845, Texas joined the United States as the 28th state. The state's annexation set off a chain of events that led to the Mexican–American War in 1846. Following victory by the United States, Texas remained a slave state until the American Civil War, when it declared its secession from the Union in early 1861 before officially joining the Confederate States of America on March 2. After the Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation. Historically, four major industries shaped the Texas economy prior to World War II: cattle and bison, cotton, timber, and oil. Before and after the Civil War, the cattle industry—which Texas came to dominate—was a major economic driver and created the traditional image of the Texas cowboy. In the later 19th century, cotton and lumber grew to be major industries as the cattle industry became less lucrative. Ultimately, the discovery of major petroleum deposits (Spindletop in particular) initiated an economic boom that became the driving force behind the economy for much of the 20th century. Texas developed a diversified economy and high tech industry during the mid-20th century. , it has the most Fortune 500 company headquarters (53) in the United States. With a growing base of industry, the state leads in many industries, including tourism, agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace, and biomedical sciences. Texas has led the U.S. in state export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product. (Full article...) Selected article - Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. Since 2021, Texas A&M has enrolled the largest student body in the United States, and is the only university in Texas to hold simultaneous designations as a land-, sea-, and space-grant institution. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and a member of the Association of American Universities. The university was the first public higher education institution in Texas; it opened for classes on October 4, 1876, as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (A.M.C.) under the provisions of the 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Act. In the following decades, the college grew in size and scope, expanding to its largest enrollment during WWII before its first significant stagnation in enrollment post-war. Enrollment grew again in the 1960s under the leadership of President James Earl Rudder, during whose tenure, the college desegregated, became coeducational, and ended the requirement for participation in the Corps of Cadets. In 1963, to reflect the institution's expanded roles and academic offerings, the Texas Legislature renamed the college Texas A&M University; the letters "A&M" were retained as a tribute to the university's former designation. (Full article...)Selected biography -Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor, and songwriter. He was widely celebrated as the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II, and has been described as the most highly decorated soldier in U.S. history. He received every military combat award for valor available from the United States Army, as well as French and Belgian awards for heroism. Murphy received the Medal of Honor for valor that he demonstrated at the age of 19 for single-handedly holding off a company of German soldiers for an hour at the Colmar Pocket in France in January 1945, before leading a successful counterattack while wounded and out of ammunition. Murphy was born into a large family of sharecroppers in Hunt County, Texas. After his father abandoned them, his mother died when he was a teenager. Murphy left school in fifth grade to pick cotton and find other work to help support his family; his skill with a hunting rifle helped feed his family. (Full article...)Texas news
Wikinews Texas portal
ListsState symbols
Texas topicsSelected image Credit: User:Ichabod Dr Pepper Museum in Waco, Texas. Damage inflicted by the 1953 Waco Tornado can be clearly seen in the newer, lighter bricks along the top-front quarter of the building. Cities -
Irving is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and is an inner ring suburb of Dallas. Irving is noted for its racial and ethnic diversity. The city had a population of 256,684 according to the 2020 United States Census, making it the twelfth-most populous city in Texas, and the 87th most populous in the U.S. Irving includes the Las Colinas mixed-use master-planned community and part of the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. (Full article...)
General imagesThe following are images from various Texas-related articles on Wikipedia.
CategoriesSelect [►] to view subcategories
Related pages
Attractions
 Things you can doAssociated WikimediaThe following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
SourcesMore portals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
.png)
