Houston is the fourth most populated city in the United States and the largest city within the state of Texas. It is referred to as "the energy capital of the world." The city is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area.

On August 30, 1836, Houston was founded 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 east of where the city was established.

History

Houston was granted incorporation on June 5, 1837, with James S. Holman becoming its first mayor. Also in 1837 Houston became the county seat of Harrisburg County (now Harris County) and the temporary capital of the Republic of Texas. By 1860, Houston had become a commercial and railroad center for the export of cotton. During the American Civil War, Houston functioned as a headquarters for General John Bankhead Magruder, who used the city as an organization point for the Battle of Galveston. After the Civil War, Houston businessmen began efforts to widen the city's extensive system of bayous so the city could accept more commerce between downtown and the nearby port of Galveston.

After Galveston was struck by a devastating hurricane on September 8, 1900, efforts to make Houston into a viable deep water port were accelerated. The following year, oil discovered at the Spindletop oil field near Beaumont and prompted the growth of the Texas petroleum industry. President Theodore Roosevelt approved a $1 million improvement project for the Houston Ship Channel in 1902. In 1910 the city's population reached 78,800, almost doubling from the previous decade.

Houston is well known worldwide for its energy industry - particularly for oil and natural gas - as well as for biomedical research and aeronautics. The ship channel is also a large part of Houston's economic base. Five of the six supermajor energy companies maintain a large base of operations in Houston- which includes international headquarters of ConocoPhillips; US operational headquarters of Exxon-Mobil; US headquarters for international companies Shell Oil (US subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell located in The Hague, Netherlands) and BP (whose international headquarters are in London, England).