David F. Houston

Houston was born in Monroe, North Carolina on February 17, 1866. He was the son of William Henry Houston, a horse dealer and grocer, and his wife, the former Pamela Ann Stevens. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1887 and did graduate work at Harvard University, where he received a M.A. in political science in 1892. Houston married Helen Beall on December 11, 1895. They had five children: David Franklin, Jr., Duval, Elizabeth, Helen and Lawrence Reid Houston.

Houston taught political science at University of Texas. He became an adjunct member of the faculty in 1894 and was named dean of the faculty in 1899. He then became president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University) from 1902 until 1905. In 1905 he returned to UT to become that institution's president, serving until 1908. During his tenure at UT Austin, the school opened a doctoral program and a law school.

Houston left Texas to serve as chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis, a position he held from 1908 to 1913. During his tenure he established the School of Architecture and strengthened the medical school through partnerships with Children's and Barnes hospitals. He left the university to become the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

Under President William McKinley he was on the board of visitors of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Later in life, he was an overseer of Harvard University and on the Columbia University Board of Trustees.