Samuel Maverick

Born in South Carolina in 1803, he studied at Yale and trained in law before moving to Texas in the 1830s. He became a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and went on to serve in public life in San Antonio and the Republic of Texas.

He was also a major landowner, and his name entered everyday language in an unusual way. Because cattle associated with him were famously left unbranded, "maverick" came to mean an independent person who does not follow the crowd.

Today, he is remembered less as an author than as a vivid figure in Texas history whose name became part of the language itself. His story connects politics, frontier life, and one of the most recognizable words in American English.