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Houston
is the fourth-largest city in the United States of America
and the largest city within the state of Texas. As of
the 2006 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population
of 2.2 million within an area of 600 square miles (1,600
km²). Houston is the seat of Harris County and the
economic center of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown
metropolitan area—the sixth-largest metropolitan
area in the U.S. with a population of around 5.6 million.
Houston was founded on August 30, 1836 by brothers Augustus
Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen[5] 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 (40 km) east of where the city was established.
The burgeoning port and railroad industry, combined with
oil discovery in 1901, has induced continual surges in
the city's population. In the mid-twentieth century, Houston
became the home of the Texas Medical Center—the
world's largest concentration of healthcare and research
institutions—and NASA's Johnson Space Center, where
the Mission Control Center is located.
Houston's economy has a broad industrial base in the
energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, transportation, and
health care sectors; only New York City is home to more
Fortune 500 headquarters in the city limits.[6] Commercially,
Houston is ranked as a gamma world city, and the area
is a leading center for building oilfield equipment. The
Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international
waterborne tonnage handled and second in total cargo tonnage
handled.[7] The city has a multicultural population with
a large and growing international community. It is home
to many cultural institutions and exhibits—attracting
more than 7 million visitors a year to the Houston Museum
District. Houston has an active visual and performing
arts scene in the Theater District and is one of few U.S.
cities that offer year-round resident companies in all
major performing arts.[8]
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