Houston
Houston names 3 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Houston a city and county-seat of Harris co.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city and county-seat of Harris co., Tex.; on Buffalo Bayou, and on the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe, the Texas and New Orleans, the International and Great Northern, the Missouri, Kansas and Texas, and several other important railroads; 50 miles N. W. of Galveston. It is connected with Galveston by a ship canal, built by the United States Government and accommodating large steamships. It is the second city in the State in population and commercial importance. Public Interests. - The city is built on both sides of the bayou, which is crossed by several bridges. The principal buildings are the City Hall and Market House, built of brick, and containing, besides the city offices, the Houston Lyceum; the Cotton Exchange, containing the Texas Geological and Scientific Association; the Masonic Temple; Union Station, William M. Rice Polytechnical Institute; and the Postoffice. The city is lighted by gas and electricity, has an abundant water supply, oly, fire department, electric street railways, two public high schools, and a public library. Business Interests. - The city ranks first in the State in manufactures. These include oil, furniture, iron castings, cigars, brick, pottery, jewelry, sheet metal, paint, chemicals, medicine, trunks, leather goods, barrels, soap, soda water, etc. There are several railroad machine shops, sugar and pulp mills, and cotton compresses. There are many large banking institutions. The exchanges at the United States clearing house in 1919 amounted to $899,984,000; an increase over the previous year of $92,508,000. History. Houston was settled in 1836 and was the capital of the republic of Texas in 1837. Pop. (1910) 78,800; (1920) 138,276.
Houston SAMUEL, an American statesman
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
SAMUEL, an American statesman; born in Rockbridge co., Va., statesman; March 2, 1793; was of Scotch-Irish descent. In 1818 he began the study of SAMUEL HOUSTON law; in 1823 and 1825 was elected to Congress; and in 1827 governor of Tennessee. On removing to Texas in 1832 he was made a general of Texas troops. In 1836 he defeated the Mexicans at San Jacinto, which resulted in the independence of Texas, and he was elected president of the new republic. In 1845 Texas entered the Union, and Houston was chosen United States senator. He was elected governor of Texas in 1859; and was deposed for adherence to the Union in 1861. He died in Huntsville, Tex., July 25, 1863.
Houston DAVID FRANKLIN, an American public official
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
DAVID FRANKLIN, an American public official; born in 1866 in North Carolina; he graduated with the degree of Master of Arts from Harvard University in 1892. After teaching in several prominent colleges he became Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas in 1900, a position which he held until he was elected president of the University in 1905. From 1908-1916 he held the position of Chancellor of Washington University, St. Louis. He was appointed Secretary of Agriculture in 1913 by President Wilson. When Secretary Glass resigned from the Treasury Department in 1919 the President appointed Houston to the vacant post.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When Collier's wrote in 1921, Houston was Texas's second city with 138,276 people, a bayou port reached by a new ship canal and known for cotton compresses and machine shops. Today it is the fourth-largest city in the United States, with roughly 2.3 million residents and some 7 million in its metropolitan area; the Ship Channel, repeatedly deepened, serves one of the busiest ports in the country, and the economy Collier's listed has been overtaken by oil refining and petrochemicals, the Texas Medical Center, and NASA's Johnson Space Center, opened in the 1960s and the reason "Houston" was the first word spoken from the Moon in 1969. The "William M. Rice Polytechnical Institute" mentioned in passing is now Rice University. The two men are more settled subjects: the account of Sam Houston still holds, though modern historians dwell far more on his slaveholding and his dealings with the Cherokee, while David F. Houston left the Treasury in 1921 and died in 1940.
Written for this edition, 2026.