A pioneer in Texas, Gail Borden (1801-1874) became an inventor whose most notable contributions lay in condensing and preserving foods, particularly milk.

Gail Borden was born in Norwich, N.Y., on Nov. 9, 1801. His family moved to Kentucky in 1814. Taught surveying by his father, he helped lay out the city of Covington. The family soon moved to Indiana Territory; Gail, Jr., served briefly as Jefferson County surveyor and taught school. In 1821 he moved to southwestern Mississippi for health reasons. He taught school and worked as a deputy U.S. surveyor for 7 years.

Still searching for a better climate, Borden moved to Texas in 1829. After farming and raising cattle briefly, he returned to surveying. As Stephen Austin's superintendent of official surveys, Borden prepared the first topographical map of Texas. He headed the Texas land office from 1833 until the Mexican invasion. With his brother, Thomas, in 1835 he founded the first permanent...