Houston history

Fondly known as the Bayou City, once nicknamed Space City, and widely recognised as the energy capital of the world, Houston was founded in 1836 (by brothers Augustus and John Allen) on the banks of Buffalo Bayou.

This southeast Texan city is named after General Sam Houston, of the Texas Army, that won independence from Mexico. Within a year of its foundation, Houston became the capital of the Republic of Texas until 1840, when that honour was transferred to Austin. However, this republic was rather short-lived as Texas joined the United States in 1845.

Houston emerged as a commercial centre, particularly for cotton, but boom times were ahead when oil was discovered at the very beginning of the 20th century which resulted in the deep water Port of Houston being established. Demand for petrol escalated in World War II and associated industry mushroomed.

The population increased as people moved to the city in search of jobs in the oil industry as well as the newly opened space centre. However, the oil crisis in the 1980s sent the city into a deep recession. Houston has emerged as a city with more diverse industry, less reliant on the oil industry, and is at the forefront of cutting edge technology. In the 21st century it is a city of science, medicine, engineering and high finance with many headquarters of global companies based here as well as many Fortune 500 companies.