This is the story of how Bernard Harris dreamed big, defied the odds, and achieved something astronomical.

Over the years, Texasliving has shared the stories of many inspiring women across the state of Texas. Though all have incredible stories, here are a few of the noteworthy individuals.

The most gifted female athlete of the 20th century, and perhaps of all time, was a Texas woman called Babe. Mildred Ella “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias became a U.S. sensation and an international phenomenon after she won three medals in track and field at the 1932 Olympics.

The famed founder of the San Antonio airfield by the same name, Katherine Stinson may have been the fourth licensed female pilot in history, but she went on to perform the first of many aviation feats. A woman in a man’s world, she bucked traditional stereotypes and became a worldwide sensation.

Artist, philathropist, and art collector Linda Pace flipped the script to make her artist’s dreams a reality. Ruby City is tangible evidence of her significant impact on the arts in her hometown of San Antonio.

Robert Harvey Harold Hugman did not earn a degree in architecture, but what he lacked in the culmination of a formal education, he more than compensated for in foresight, vision, and tenacity. The architect of one of San Antonio’s most famed tourist destinations, the San Antonio River Walk, Hugman left a tangible legacy that will endure for generations to come.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Lonesome Dove to books like Horseman, Pass By and The Last Kind Words Saloon, America has seen the Old West through the eyes of Larry McMurtry. McMurtry’s lifelong pursuit began with just an inheritance of a small sack of books.

His name may not be as recognizable as his brainchild, TOMS, the $625 million apparel company best known for their canvas slip-on shoes, but Blake Mycoskie does not appear to be someone who concerns himself with frivolities like fame. Often seen in pictures with a signature look of long hair, a beard, and a festival of pendants around his neck (including […]

For Bobby Lackey, it seems, it is not the third time – but the first – that has always been the charm. Now in his 80s, the Weslaco native set the stage for a standout collegiate career in football at the University of Texas at Austin when, in 1957, in one of his first games as starting quarterback for the Longhorns, he […]

Most know the name “Sully” from that fateful day, January 15, 2009, when he piloted US Airways Flight 1549 through a historic water landing on Manhattan’s Hudson River after the aircraft encountered an unprecedented bird strike shortly after takeoff. Captain Sullenberger’s entire life had prepared him for such an event, although most commercial airline pilots never have to experience dual engine […]

From fry cook of a fast-food chicken joint to king of a Texas taco empire, Michael Rypka may have moved up the ranks quickly, but it was not always an easy climb. Rypka started Torchy’s Tacos with little more than a dream and a used trailer, back before food trucks were cool. Even when his […]

Wade Bowen’s music career has taken him everywhere. With tour dates in France, the U.K., and Germany, Wade has journeyed all across the world sharing his heart through country music. Yet, regardless of where he has roamed, one place is always in the back of his mind beckoning him home . . . his beloved […]

Mary Elizabeth Holdsworth Butt was Howard Edward Butt’s wife, but also the name and face behind countless social causes benefiting Texas’s children, mentally challenged, and underprivileged.

Some people are legendary because of what they have done, but others and perhaps the most important ones, are legendary because of who they are. Grace Dobson, also known as Lady Grace, is the famous face behind the Whataburger empire.

Roy “the Judge” Hofheinz, former mayor of Houston and the man who built the Astrodome, was an extravagant, boisterous personality, a man whose life accomplishments matched perfectly his outsized character and quirky genius.