Both John Chapman Allen and his brother Augustus were born in New York, four years apart. Augustus had studied math at Polytechnic Institute at Chittenango, New York and became a math professor there. John worked as a bellboy, then a clerk, eventually owning part of the store he worked at with his brother. Then, in 1832, John and Augustus decided to do something different and headed for Texas.
On this day August 30th, in 1836, the city Houston is founded by brothers Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen. The brothers protected their city by keeping supply channels open during the Texas War of Independence, and defended the coast with a boat they outfitted themselves. After the war, John was voted into the Republic of Texas Congress, where he lobbied to make Houston the capital.
Houston would remain its capital for a few years, which enabled its growth, but later the capital would be moved to Austin. Houston currently has 2.1 million residents, and nearly 5 million in its broader metropolitan area. Houston is named after former general Sam Houston, who would then serve as president for the Republic of Texas. Houston has the most headquarters of fortune 500 companies after New York City. Many of these are oil and energy companies.