Stephen Fuller Austin_

Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario, i.e. a person granted the right to settle on land in exchange for recruiting and taking responsibility for settling the eastern areas of the Tejas region of Mexico in the early nineteenth century. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas, he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families and their slaves from the United States in 1825. Born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri, Austin served in the Missouri territorial legislature. He moved to Arkansas Territory and later to Louisiana.