Texas is a state in the southern region of the United States with the abbreviation of TX. Texas officially became the 28th state on December 29, 1845, making the state 180 years old, as of December, 2025. It is believed that Texas’ name is derived from the American Indian word Tejas, which means friends or allies.
Texas is the 2nd largest state and the 2nd most populous; the capital of Texas is Austin and its demonym is Texan. Texas is bordered by the states of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana; the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, and Chihuahua; and the gulf of America.
The motto of Texas is Friendship.
Texas’ nickname became official in 2015, which is The Lone Star State. The lone star is featured in the Texas state flag, the Texas state seal, and the Texas commemorative state quarter. The Lone Star is also Texas’ official state gemstone cut.
The landscape of Texas features coastal plains along the gulf; prairies, Texas Hill Country, and live oak and juniper woodlands in central Texas; grasslands, expansive ranches, and farmland in north Texas and the panhandle; and basins, rugged terrain, and rocky hills and mountains in west Texas.
Texas is known for producing more oil and gas than any other state, for having the most farmland, for having more counties than every other state, for having the least populous county (Loving County with a population of 64), for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, for founding many renowned brands — such as Buc-ee’s, H-E-B, Whataburger, and Dr Pepper — for being the site of the tragic battle of the Alamo, and for its iconic cuisine, such as Tex-Mex food, barbecue, ribs, and slow-smoked brisket. Texas’ land contains many valuable metals such as iron, copper, lead, zinc, silver, uranium, and several rare earth metals.
On June 20, 1925, Audie Murphy was born in Kingston, Texas. Early in Murphy’s life, his father had abandoned his family and his mother died. In fifth grade, Murphy left school to pick cotton and find other jobs to support his family; he became a skilled marksman, which allowed him to hunt for enough food for the family. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, 16-year-old Audie Murphy was too young to enlist, therefore his older sister helped him falsify documentation about his birthdate so he could enlist. Murphy first tasted combat during the allied invasion of Sicily, and he later participated in the liberation of Rome and invasion of southern France. Murphy’s most famous acts of heroism occurred in the area of France known at the time as the Colmar Pocket, where Murphy was moved in January, 1945. On January 24th, the now 19-year-old Murphy moved with the 3rd Division to the town of Holtzwihr, where they encountered a fierce German counterattack, during which Murphy was wounded in both legs. On the 26th, Murphy was made commander of Company B, and while awaiting reinforcements that day, the German infantry and cavalry launched another counterattack on Murphy and his men. Murphy ordered his men to withdraw to prepared positions, and during the withdrawal, the Germans scored a direct hit on an American M10 tank destroyer, which set it on fire and caused its crew to abandon it. Murphy remained alone to defend his men’s withdrawal, firing his M1 carbine and directing artillery on the Germans, who were now bearing down and firing on his position. Murphy mounted the now abandoned and burning tank destroyer, which was at risk of exploding at any moment, and fired its .50 caliber machine gun on the advancing German infantry, killing a squad in a nearby ditch that was attempting to flank him. Murphy was wounded in the leg again, but continued to fire on the German soldiers and tanks; after a full hour of standing in the burning tank destroyer and stalling the German assault, Murphy’s machine gun ran out of ammunition, at which point he left the scene and rejoined his men. Despite his injuries, Murphy led his men to repel the German counterattack, demanding that he remain with his men while his wounds were treated. For his bravery on that day, Murphy received the Medal of Honor; shortly thereafter, he was promoted to first lieutenant and moved to Regimental Headquarters where he served as a liaison officer. Murphy became the most highly decorated enlisted soldier in US history, receiving every American military combat award for valor and even several French and Belgian awards for heroism. After the war, Murphy began his acting career, appearing in Westerns, the series Whispering Smith, and he even played himself in the 1955 film To Hell and Back, which was based on his service during the war. Murphy also became a songwriter and a regular participant in horse racing. Sadly, on May 28, 1971, at the age of 45, Murphy was aboard a private plane in rainy, foggy conditions with zero visibility when the plane crashed into the side of a mountain near Roanoke, Virginia, just off the present-day Appalachian Trail. Murphy left behind a widow and two sons.
In the summer of 1958, Jack Kilby was working at Texas Instruments when he developed an integrated circuit that was the first microchip. All of the computers that we rely on today could not exist without the microchip. Kilby would go on to help invent the handheld calculator and the thermal printer.
On April 21, 1836, the Battle of San Jacinto occurred in what is now Harris County, Texas. After Mexican General Santa Anna captured the Alamo and killed every defender, many Texan soldiers were seething and desiring revenge. American General Sam Houston and his men were approximately 75 miles from the Alamo when it fell, and upon receiving the news, Houston led his men east, away from the Alamo. Santa Anna pursued Houston in this perceived retreat for the next 6 weeks, coving about 200 miles. Houston had nearly reached the gulf when he led his men in a surprise attack on Santa Anna’s camp. As Houston led the attack on horseback, he was shot just above the ankle and his horse was shot out from under him. Despite this, his troops furiously exacted revenge on the Mexican forces. The battle only lasted 18 minutes, during which 650 Mexicans were killed, 200 were wounded, and 300 were captured, while the Americans only suffered 11 killed and 30 wounded. Santa Anna disguised himself as a common soldier to escape, but when he was captured, his identity was revealed as his men instinctively saluted him and cried out “El Presidente” upon seeing him. Santa Anna was released after being compelled to cede all of Texas in exchange for his life. This battle resulted in a Texan victory and was the final battle of the Texas Revolution. The area surrounding the battlefield is now the city of Houston, Texas, named after General Sam Houston.
An interesting fact about Texas is that the state has been under the control of 6 nations, which the state commemorates as the six flags. The six nations to have control over Texas are Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States, and the United States, however, Texas has changed hands 8 times. Spain ruled the land from 1519 to 1685, then France claimed the land from 1685 to 1690, then Spain regained it from 1690 to 1821, at which point Mexico owned Texas from 1821 to 1836, then Texas became its own, independent republic from 1836 to 1845, then it joined the United States from 1845 to 1861, before joining the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865, then was readmitted to the United States from 1865 to the present.
A strange fact about Texas is that the state is large enough that it has a ranch named King Ranch, which spans across 6 counties and is 1.25 times the size of the state of Rhode Island, furthermore, the state is so large that the city of El Paso in west Texas is closer to Los Angeles, California, than it is to the Texas-Louisiana state line in east Texas.
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Onward American 🇺🇸
Source: Origins of State Names
Source: Demonyms for US States
