biography
| name: |
Austin, Stephen (Fuller)
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1793–1836)
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| biography:
| Founder of the state of Texas, born in Austinville, Wythe Co, Virginia, USA. The son of Moses Austin, he did various jobs in Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana, then studied law and founded the first legal settlement of Anglo-Americans in Texas (1822). He went to Mexico City to reconfirm his father's land grant and returned with almost dictatorial powers. He fixed the land system, mapped and charted the province, and encouraged a steady flow of immigrants from the USA. He originally opposed separation from Mexico, but was imprisoned by the Mexican authorities (1834–5) after he attempted to change Texas' status within the Mexican confederation. Freed without a trial, he participated in the Texas Revolution and sought support from the USA. He lost the election for president of the Texas Republic to Sam Houston, but served briefly as its secretary of state. |
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