Question: What Texas revolutionary is best remembered for inventing a process for making sweetened condensed milk?
Answer: Gail Borden, the namesake of the Dallas-based Borden Dairy Company. Born in Norwich, New York, in 1801, he came to Texas in 1829 and became the surveyor for Stephen F. Austin’s colony. He was a delegate to the Convention of 1833, briefly published a newspaper, helped lay out the site for the City of Houston, and was the first collector of the port of Galveston. After experimenting with dehydrated meat biscuits, he developed a process for making condensed milk, which became a huge commercial success during the Civil War. The unincorporated community of Borden in Colorado County is named after him, as is Borden County in West Texas and its county seat, Gail.
