The 250 people on this list—Texas natives and those who made their mark right here in the Lone Star State—are being ranked by influence, impact, popularity, and the spirit and identity that makes them quintessentially Texan. Presidents and politicians, singers and movie stars, members of the media, pioneers, scientists, oil magnates and the infamous all live together on the Texas 250.
But to be transparent, here was the methodology we used in coming up with our list.
1. Scoring system
A collection of Chron staff members brainstormed a list of more than 400 people who made a mark in Texas. Then we asked the following five questions of each person, answering with a rating between 1 (least) and 10 (most):
2. Tiered rankings
After collecting overall scores for each person, the subjects were ranked and placed in initial tiers (1-50, 51-100, 101-150, 151-200, 201-beyond). A core team of Chron staff members discussed and moved names around the tiers. Multiple iterations of the list were presented over weeks to Chron staff for further debate and placement.
During this period we debated the importance of some occupations and fields over others in Texas history (banking, oil and football rate high), and we ensured the entirety of Texas was represented in the list.
3. List setting
Once we felt comfortable with tiers, the core team went name-by-name through the list, adjusting up and down and stress testing with outside input. The finished product is our most confident version of a list showcasing the top 250 people who have shaped Texas since 1776.