Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American empresario born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri.

He was known as the Father of Texas, led the second, but first legal and ultimately successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families from the United States.

The capital of Texas, Austin in Travis County, Austin County, Austin Bayou, Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Austin College in Sherman, and a number of K-12 schools are named in his honor.