Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 - December 27, 1836) was an American empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas", and the founder of Texas, he led the second, and ultimately, the successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families from the United States to the region in 1825. Born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri, Austin served in the Missouri territorial legislature before moving to Arkansas Territory and later Louisiana. His father, Moses Austin, received an empresario grant from Spain to settle Texas.

Stephen F. Austin was born in the mining region of southwestern Virginia (Wythe County) in what is known as Austinville today, some 256 miles (412 km) southwest of Richmond, Virginia. He was the second child of Mary Brown Austin and Moses Austin; the first, Eliza, lived only one month. On June 8, 1798, when Stephen was four years old, his family moved west to the lead-mining region of present-day Potosi, Missouri, 40 miles west of the Mississippi River. His father Moses Austin received a sitio from the Spanish government for the mining site of Mine a Breton, established by French colonists. His great-great-grandfather, Anthony Austin (b.1636), was the son of Richard Austin (b.1598 in Bishopstoke, Hampshire, England), he and his wife Esther were original settlers of Suffield, Massachusetts, which became Connecticut in 1749.  When Austin was eleven years old, his family sent him back east to be educated, first at the preparatory school of Bacon Academy in Colchester, Connecticut, and then at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, from which he graduated in 1810. After graduation, Austin began studying to be a lawyer. At age 21, he served in the legislature of the Missouri Territory. As a member of the territorial legislature, he was "influential in obtaining a charter for the struggling Bank of St. Louis."  Left penniless after the Panic of 1819, Austin decided to move south to the new Arkansas Territory. He acquired property on the south bank of the Arkansas River, in the area that would later become Little Rock. After purchasing the property, he learned the area was being considered as the location for the new territorial capital, which could make his land worth a great deal more. He made his home in Hempstead County, Arkansas. Two weeks before the first Arkansas territorial elections in 1820, Austin declared his candidacy for Congress. His late entrance meant his name did not appear on the ballot in two of the five counties, but he still placed second in the field of six candidates. Later, he was appointed as a judge for the First Circuit Court. Over the next few months, Little Rock did become the territorial capital, but Austin's claim to land in the area was contested, and the courts ruled against him. The Territorial Assembly reorganized the government and abolished Austin's judgeship.  Austin left the territory, moving to Louisiana. He reached New Orleans in November 1820, where he met and stayed with a New Orleans lawyer and former Kentucky congressman, Joseph H. Hawkins, and made arrangements to study law.

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