They worked hard, overcame obstacles, bucked conventional wisdom, and touched our lives. Meet the most impressive, intriguing, and influential Texans of 1996.

Gulf pro.

Courting controversy.

Collecting their culture.

Ace in the Whole.

Freedom fighter.

Family planner.

The last tycoon.

The running man.

Breadth of a salesman.

Fashionably affordable.

Lone Ranger.

Cracking the whip.

It’s good to be King.

The voice of God.

Form follows dysfunction.

Head of the class.

Scripting success.

Drugstore Cowboy.

Practicing what he preaches.

Sins of admission.

The time is ripe, and so are the chiles: This tiny, homey town in New Mexico is the ideal spot for a fall weekend getaway.

In an era of AIDS and family values, who’s crazy enough to have a tattoo? Some twenty million Americans, including sports stars, Academy award winners, the CEO of Nike, a Republican Secretary of State—and me.

Since the late eighties, dozens of big churches in Texas have put rapid growth ahead of financial health. Austin’s Great Hills Baptist is only the latest to pay the price.

The time is ripe, and so are the chiles: This tiny, homey town in New Mexico is the ideal spot for a fall weekend getaway.

An airline deal sets off an American revolution.

The drought drives cattle ranchers online.

An archeological dig in Matagorda Bay unearths a bureaucratic feud.

Thirty years later, the legacy of Charles Whitman’s shooting spree at the University of Texas still towers above us.

What is Darrell Royal’s code name, and what does his middle initial stand for?

Poisonous words for the girl who poisoned her daddy. Plus: Dredging up controversy over the Intracoastal Canal.