Business & Science
Ross Perot
Texarkana-born Ross Perot built Electronic Data Systems into a major Dallas technology company, later founded Perot Systems and became a prominent Texas education reformer, philanthropist and independent presidential candidate.
- Roster rank
- #156
- Category
- Business & Science
- Subject type
- Person
- Profile source
- Published Texas Icons profile
Texas story
Life and career
Henry Ross Perot was born in Texarkana in 1930, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and worked for IBM before founding Electronic Data Systems in Dallas in 1962 with about $1,000. EDS grew into a major data-processing company and was sold to General Motors in 1984.
Perot later founded Perot Systems, participated heavily in Texas education-reform debates and ran nationally visible independent presidential campaigns in 1992 and 1996. His profile spans technology, civic activism, philanthropy and politics rather than fitting neatly into a single business label.
Defining work
What to know
- Electronic Data Systems
- Perot Systems
- Texas education reform
- 1992 independent presidential campaign
Timeline
Key milestones
- 1930Born in Texarkana, Texas.
- 1953Graduates from the U.S. Naval Academy.
- 1962Founds Electronic Data Systems in Dallas.
- 1984EDS is sold to General Motors.
- 1988Founds Perot Systems.
- 1992Runs for president as an independent candidate.
- 2019Dies in Dallas.
Texas connections
Places in the story
Texarkana
Birthplace and childhood home.
Dallas
Base for EDS, Perot Systems and much of his later civic work.
Legacy
Why the story lasts
Perot helped establish Dallas as a major center of corporate data-processing and technology services.
His Texas public legacy also includes education reform, veterans-related causes and large-scale philanthropy.
Sources
Research trail
Cross-linked profiles