Some More Famous Texans

Texas history is full of fascinating people involved in all areas of life, from the military to ballet dancing. Here are just a few of our state’s best known citizens.

Sandra Day O'Connor

Sandra Day O'Connor was born in El Paso, Texas and raised on a cattle ranch in Arizona. Despite these humble beginnings, she attended Stanford Law School and graduated near the top of her class. She experienced many challenges in her career, including a large number of law firms that refused to hire her based on nothing but her gender. Her persistence in the face of such bad treatment paid off, and in 1981 she became the first woman to serve on the US Supreme Court.

King Vidor

Born in 1894, Vidor survived the devastating Galveston hurricane of 1900 and went on to become a widely acclaimed director. His first project, a silent film about the hurricane, was released in 1913, when he was only 19. In 1929 he released his first sound film, a groundbreaking movie called Hallelujah! The movie's cast was all African American, and it was one of the first American movies to portray Black Americans in a way that was not stereotyped or derogatory.

His last film The Metaphor was completed in 1980, making him the director with the longest running career in history. He died in 1982.

Barbara Jordan

Born and raised in Houston, Barbara Jordan was inspired to enter the field of law when a Black female lawyer gave a presentation at her high school. She graduated from Boston University Law School in 1959 and went on to break a very impressive series of records. She became the first Black woman to serve on the Texas Senate in 1966, the first Black Southern woman elected to US House of Representatives in 1972, and the first Black woman to give the keynote address at a party convention in 1976.

Barbara Jordan died of MS in 1996 at the age of 59. Bill Clinton once said that if it wasn't for her bad health, he would have appointed her as a Supreme Court justice.

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