Portal:Houston/Selected biography archive/2007
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Denton Cooley, a world-renowned surgeon that was born and raised in Houston, has pioneered many techniques used in cardiovascular surgery. He performed the first successful human heart transplant in the United States in 1968. In 1969, he became the first heart surgeon to implant an artificial heart in man. Cooley and his associates have performed more than 100,000 open heart operations — more than any other group in the world. (September 30)
Barbara Charline Jordan (February 21, 1936 – January 17, 1996) was an American politician from Texas. She served as a member of Congress from 1973 to 1979. Jordan was born in Houston, Texas's Fifth Ward. Her parents were Rev. Benjamin M. Jordan and Arlyne (Patten) Jordan. Barbara Jordan attended Wheatley High School and graduated magna cum laude from Texas Southern University in 1956 and from Boston University Law School in 1959. She passed the Bar Exams in Massachusetts and Texas before returning to Houston to open a law practice. (October 5)
Michael Dell (born February 23, 1965 in Houston, Texas) is the founder of Dell, Inc. He had his first encounter with a computer at the age of 15 when he broke down a brand new Apple II computer and rebuilt it, just to see if he could. Dell attended Memorial High School in Houston, Texas, where he did not excel scholastically. After graduating high school, he attended the University of Texas at Austin intending to become a physician. While at the university, he started a computer company called PC's Limited in his dormitory room. (October 11)
Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was a pioneering aviator, engineer, industrialist and film producer. He was widely known as a playboy and one of the wealthiest people in the world. He is famous for setting multiple world air-speed records, building the Hughes H-1 Racer and H-4 Hercules airplanes, producing the movies Hell's Angels and The Outlaw, and for his increasingly eccentric behavior later in life. Hughes is interred in the Glenwood Cemetery in Houston. (October 16)
Richard William "Dick" Dowling (1838 – 1867) was the victorious commander at the Second Battle of Sabine Pass in the American Civil War, and is considered Houston's first prominent citizen and hero. Orphaned, Dowling settled in Houston where he established a successful chain of saloons starting in 1857. After the battle of Sabine Pass, Dowling was elevated to hero status in his hometown of Houston. He subsequently served as a recruiter for the Confederacy and was personally commended for his action at the battle by Jefferson Davis. After the war Dowling returned to his saloon business in Houston and quickly became one of the city's leading businessmen. (October 29)
James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930 in Houston), American politician and diplomat, was Chief of Staff in President Ronald Reagan's first administration, United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1985 to 1988 in the second Reagan administration, and Secretary of State in the administration of President George H. W. Bush. He is also the founder of the James Baker Institute. Baker was educated at The Hill School and Princeton University, where he was elected to receive membership of The Ivy Club, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1952. He then served in the United States Marine Corps for two years as a lieutenant, after which he attended The University of Texas School of Law, where he received his J.D. in 1957. (November 8)
Glenn Herbert McCarthy (1907-1988) was a wildcatter and a flamboyant oil tycoon. His nicknames that the oil industry community and the media would bestow upon him were "Diamond Glenn" and "The King of the Wildcatters". In addition to establishing himself as a successful oil prospector and businessman, he would own multitudes of businesses in diverse fields. He would also found the Shamrock Hotel in Houston that would have such notoriety that Hollywood would recognize him not just as a host, but with a fictional movie character in his likeness.
Glenn McCarthy started his own brand of bourbon whiskey under the label "Wildcatter". In addition to owning the KXYZ Radio station in Houston, he would own two banks, the McCarthy Chemical Company, a magazine, 14 newspapers, and a movie production company. He would serve as chairman of the now defunct Eastern Air Lines and president of the United States Petroleum Association. His later life would be spent for the most part out of the spotlight in the La Porte area near Houston. (December 1)
Michael Ellis DeBakey is a pioneering cardiovascular surgeon and researcher. His motto is "Strive for nothing less than excellence." Dr. DeBakey is best known for his pioneering work in cardiovascular surgery. In 1948, Dr. DeBakey moved to Houston, Texas, and became chairman of the Cora and Webb Mading Department of Surgery at the Baylor University College of Medicine. Dr. DeBakey was one of the first to perform coronary artery bypass surgery, and in 1953 he performed the first successful carotid endarterectomy. In recognition of his work, he received the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research in 1963. In 1965 Time Magazine featured Dr. DeBakey on its cover for his pioneering work and innovations in cardiovascular surgery and the artificial heart. (March 2007)
Billy F. Gibbons (born December 16, 1949), nicknamed the Reverend Willie G, is best known as the guitarist for that "Little Ol' band from Texas", ZZ Top. He is also the lead vocalist and composer for many of the band's classic songs. A Houston native, Gibbons is known for playing a classic 1959 Gibson Les Paul guitar he calls Miss Pearly Gates. Many guitarists have copied his rich guitar tones. The 1973 rock and roll classic "La Grange" is a fine example of Gibbons' tone and technique. He is known to play his guitar using a quarter or a peso as a pick, lending a distinctive sound to his playing. Gibbons obtained the nickname, "the Reverend" as a result of becoming ordained by the Universal Life Church in order to legally preside over a friend's wedding. (April 2007)
Vincent Paul Young, Jr. (born May 18, 1983 in Houston, Texas), commonly Vince Young, or "VY", is an American football player. He is a dual-threat quarterback, and the current starting quarterback for the National Football League Tennessee Titans. Young was drafted by the Tennessee Titans as the #3 overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft on April 29, 2006. He was awarded honors in his rookie season: NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and a roster spot on the AFC Pro Bowl team. EA games announced on April 14, 2007 that Vince Young will be on the cover of the Madden football video game for 2008. (May 2007)
Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr. (born January 16, 1935 in Houston, Texas), is considered by many as the greatest American automobile racing driver of all time. He holds the all-time USAC career wins record with 159 victories. Foyt attended Pershing and Hamilton middle schools and Lamar and San Jacinto high schools, but he dropped out to become a mechanic. He started his USAC career in a midget car at the 1956 Night before the 500 in Anderson, Indiana. His first midget car win was at a 100 lap event at Kansas City in 1957, and finished seventh in the season points standings. He left midget cars after the 1957 season to drive in sprint cars and Championship Car. He did occasionally compete in midget car events. He won the 1960 and 1961 Turkey Night Grand Prix, the first two years that it was held at Ascot Park. He won the 1961 Hut Hundred after starting last, and finished seventh in National Midget points that year. He won the 1970 Astro Grand Prix, an event that he promoted in his hometown of Houston. He ended his career with 20 midget car feature wins. (June 2007)
