Here is a comprehensive summary of the Wikipedia article about Houston:
Houston is the most populous city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the U.S., with 2.3 million residents as of the 2020 census, forming the core of a 7.8 million-resident metropolitan area in Southeast Texas near the Gulf of Mexico. Founded by land investors on August 30, 1836, and incorporated on June 5, 1837, the city was named after General Sam Houston, who secured Texas's independence. Its significant growth in the 20th century was fueled by a burgeoning port, the construction of the Houston Ship Channel after the 1900 Galveston hurricane, and the Texas oil boom.
Houston diversified into major global centers, becoming home to the world's largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions at the Texas Medical Center and NASA's Johnson Space Center. Today, "Space City" boasts a broad industrial base in energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, and transportation, leading the nation in international waterborne tonnage at its port. It is also recognized as one of the most racially and ethnically diverse major cities in the U.S., with rich cultural institutions.