Portal:Houston
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Houston (pronounced /'hjuːstən/) is the largest city in the state of Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States of America. As of the 2006 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population of 2.14 million within an area of 600 square miles (1,600 km²). Houston is the seat of Harris County and an economic center of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area—the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. with a population of more than 5.5 million.
Houston was founded on August 30, 1836 by brothers Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen on land near the banks of Buffalo Bayou. The city was incorporated on June 5, 1837 and named after then-President of the Republic of Texas—former General Sam Houston—who had commanded at the Battle of San Jacinto, which took place 25 miles (40 km) east of where the city was established. The burgeoning port and railroad industry, combined with oil discovery in 1901, has induced continual surges in the city's population. In the mid-twentieth century, Houston became the home of the Texas Medical Center—the world's largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions—and NASA's Johnson Space Center, where Mission Control Center is located.
Houston's economy has a broad industrial base in the energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, and technology; only New York City is home to more Fortune 500 headquarters. The area is a leading center for building oilfield equipment. The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled and second in total cargo tonnage handled. The city has a multicultural population with a large and growing international community. As a world city, it is home to many cultural institutions and exhibits—attracting more than 7 million visitors a year to the Houston Museum District. Houston has an active visual and performing arts scene in the Theater District and is one of five U.S. cities that offer year-round resident companies in all major performing arts.
The University of Houston is a public doctoral/research university located in Houston, Texas. It is the flagship institution and the only doctoral degree-granting university in the University of Houston System, which includes three other universities and two multi-institution teaching centers. Founded in 1927, the University serves more than 35,300 students in 12 academic colleges and in the interdisciplinary Honors College on a 560-acre (2.3 km²) campus southeast of Downtown Houston. UH offers 109 bachelor's, 131 master's, 51 doctoral, and three professional degree programs. It currently is the third-largest university in Texas and twenty-third largest university in the United States by enrollment, awarding more than 6,600 degrees annually.
The University of Houston conducts research in each academic department and operates more than 40 research centers and institutes on campus. Interdisciplinary research conducted at UH includes superconductivity, space commercialization, biomedical engineering, economics, education, petroleum exploration, and virtual technology.
George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12, 1924) was the forty-first President of the United States (1989–1993). Before his presidency, Bush held a multitude of political positions, including Vice President of the United States in the administration of Ronald Reagan (1981–1989).
Bush was born in Massachusetts to Senator Prescott Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush. Following the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941, at the age of 18 Bush postponed going to college and became the youngest naval aviator in US history. He served until the end of the war, then attended Yale University. Graduating in 1948, he moved his young family to West Texas and entered the oil business, becoming a millionaire by the age of 40.
He became involved in politics soon after founding his own oil company, serving as a member of the House of Representatives, among other positions. He ran unsuccessfully for president of the United States in 1980, but was chosen by party nominee Ronald Reagan to be the vice presidential nominee; the two were subsequently elected. During his tenure, Bush headed administration task forces on deregulation and fighting drug abuse.
Destiny's Child, sometimes abbreviated as DC, was an American R&B and pop girl group. Originally a quartet, it eventually became a trio consisting of Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group released four major studio albums with nine worldwide number-one singles. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Destiny's Child has sold 17.5 million records wordwide,becoming the second best-selling female group of all time just behind TLC.
Formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical endeavors while in their pre-teens. After years of struggling on the road, they signed in to Columbia Records. The release of their breakthrough album, The Writing's On The Wall, launched them to crossover mainstream that established them as a viable artist. While in their commercial peak, the group was plagued by public turmoil involving lawsuits; it eventually preempted two members. The strife, however, was believed to only push the remaining members to greater achievements; they recorded their third album, Survivor, which the public interpreted as a channel to the experience. In 2002 Destiny's Child announced a two-year hiatus which involved solo projects; the break allowed them to earn individual success. They re-united to record their final album, and again disbanded in 2005 to pursue individual careers in music, theatre, television, and film.
- ...that the Houston Volunteers signed up to replace those lost aboard USS Houston after its sinking in 1942 by the Japanese Navy?
- ...the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at Johnson Space Center is where the first astronauts returning from the moon were quarantined and where samples of lunar soil and moon rock are stored?
- ...many buildings in downtown are linked by a system of tunnels and skywalks. The tunnel system also includes shops, restaurants, and convenience stores?
- ...in 2001, Tropical Storm Allison dumped up to 39 inches of rain on parts of the city, causing billions of dollars in damage and killing 43 people. To date, the flooding caused by Allison was the worst in the city's history?
- ...University of Houston is ranked second among national universities for Campus Ethnic Diversity in U.S. News & World Report 2007 America's Best Colleges?
- ... construction of the 610 Loop began in 1950? The loop was completed in 1976 with the interchange that connects Loop 610 to Interstate 10 east of Houston?
- ... Howard Hughes died en route to the The Methodist Hospital on April 5, 1976 on an airplane that departed Mexico?
- ... Kathryn J. Whitmire former Mayor of the city of Houston, Texas, from 1982 to 1991, is now living in Hawaii where she is in the real estate business?
- ... the Houston Comets have won more championships than any other team in the WNBA?
- ... Lakewood Church is the largest and fastest growing church in the United States with more than 40,000 attendees during its services?
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- One of the world's most famous fossils—the 3.2 million-year-old Lucy skeleton unearthed in Ethiopia in 1974—will go on display abroad for the first time in the United States. A team from the Houston Museum of Natural Science spent four years negotiating the U.S. tour, which started in Houston last September 2007.
"Houston, this is Apollo 10. You can tell the world we have arrived."
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