Sir Syed Ahmed Taqvi bin Syed Muhammad Muttaqi KCSI known as Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, was an Islamic pragmatist, Islamic reformer, philosopher of nineteenth century British India. Born into a family with strong debts to the Mughal court, Ahmed studied the Quran and Sciences within the court, he was awarded an honorary LLD from the University of Edinburgh in 1889. In 1838, Syed Ahmed entered the service of East India Company and went on to become a judge at a Small Causes Court in 1867, retiring from 1876. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, he remained loyal to the British Raj and was noted for his actions in saving European lives. After the rebellion, he penned the booklet The Causes of the Indian Mutiny – a daring critique, at the time, of British policies that he blamed for causing the revolt. Believing that the future of Muslims was threatened by the rigidity of their orthodox outlook, Sir Ahmad began promoting Western–style scientific education by founding modern schools and journals and organising Islamic entrepreneurs.

In 1859, Syed established Gulshan School at Muradabad, Victoria School at Ghazipur in 1863, a scientific society for Muslims in 1864. In 1875, founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, the first Muslim university in Southern Asia. During his career, Syed called upon Muslims to loyally serve the British Raj and promoted the adoption of Urdu as the lingua franca of all Indian Muslims. Syed critiqued the Indian National Congress. Syed maintains a strong legacy among Indian Muslims, he influenced other Muslim leaders including Allama Iqbal and Jinnah. His advocacy of Islam's rationalist tradition, at broader, radical reinterpretation of the Quran to make it compatible with science and modernity, continues to influence the global Islamic reformation. Many universities and public buildings in Pakistan bear Sir Syed's name. Aligarh Muslim University celebrated its 200th birth centenary with much enthusiasm on 17 October 2017. Former President of India Pranab Mukherjee was the chief guest. Syed Ahmed Taqvi'Khan Bahadur' was born on 17 October 1817 in Delhi, the capital of the Mughal Empire in the ruling times of Mughal Emperor Akbar II.

Many generations of his family had since been connected with the administrative position in Mughal Empire. His maternal grandfather Khwaja Fariduddin served as Wazir in the court of Emperor Akbar Shah II, his paternal grandfather Syed Hadi Jawwad bin Imaduddin held a mansab – a high-ranking administrative position and honorary name of "Mir Jawwad Ali Khan" in the court of Emperor Alamgir II. Sir Syed's father, Syed Muhammad Muttaqi, was close to Emperor Akbar Shah II and served as his personal adviser. However, Syed Ahmad was born at a time when his father was regional insurrections aided and led by the East India Company, the British Empire had diminished the extent and power of the Mughal state, reducing its monarch to figurehead. With his elder brother Syed Muhammad bin Muttaqi Khan, Sir Syed was raised in a large house in a wealthy area of the city, they were exposed to politics. Their mother Aziz-un-Nisa played a formative role in Sir Syed's early life, raising him with rigid discipline with a strong emphasis on modern education.

Sir Syed was taught to read and understand the Qur'an by a female tutor, unusual at the time. He received an education traditional to Muslim nobility in Delhi. Under the charge of Lord Wellesley, Sir Syed was trained in Persian, Arabic and orthodox religious subjects, he read the works of Muslim scholars and writers such as Sahbai and Ghalib. Other tutors instructed him in mathematics and Islamic jurisprudence. Sir Syed was adept at swimming and other sports, he took an active part in the Mughal court's cultural activities. Syed Ahmad's elder brother founded the city's first printing press in the Urdu language along with the journal Sayyad-ul-Akbar. Sir Syed did not complete the course; until the death of his father in 1838, Sir Syed had lived a life customary for an affluent young Muslim noble. Upon his father's death, he inherited the titles of his grandfather and father and was awarded the title of Arif Jung by the emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. Financial difficulties put an end to Sir Syed's formal education, although he continued to study in private, using books on a variety of subjects.

Sir Syed assumed editorship of his brother's journal and rejected offers of employment from the Mughal court. Having recognized the steady decline in Mughal political power, Sir Syed decided to enter the service of the East India Company, he could not enter the English civil service because it was only in the 1860s that natives were admitted. His first appointment was as a Serestadar at the courts of law in Agra, responsible for record-keeping and managing court affairs. In 1840, he was promoted to the title of munshi. In 1858, he was appointed to a high-ranking post at the court in Muradabad, where he began working on his most famous literary work. Acquainted with high-ranking British officials, Sir Syed obtained close knowledge about British colonial politics during his service at the courts. At the outbreak of the Indian rebellion, on 10 May 1857, Sir Syed was serving as the chief assessment officer at the court in Bijnor. Northern India became the scene of the most intense fighting; the conflict had left large numbers of civilians dead.

Erstwhile centres of Muslim power such as Delhi, Agra and Kanpur were affected. Sir Syed was affected by the violence and the ending of the Mughal dynasty amongst many other long-standing kingdoms. Sir

Carr P. Collins Sr. was an American insurance magnate and philanthropist. Carr P. Collins Sr. was born on May 1892, in Chester, Texas. His father was his mother, Elizabeth Hopkins, his paternal grandparents were Warren Collins. The Collins family moved to Texas from Mississippi in 1854, prior to the American Civil War, his higher education was limited to one year at Southwest Texas State Teachers College. In 1913, he was appointed first secretary of the Texas Industrial Accident Board, founded as a result of legislation sponsored by his father in the Texas Senate, he had a long career in insurance. He founded the Fidelity Union Life Insurance Company in 1928 in partnership with William Morriss. In 1958, the newly constructed Fidelity Union high rise was the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi River; the company's rapid growth resulted from a novel employee stock option plan devised by Collins. The company was sold to Alliance of Germany for $360,000,000 in 1980. In the 1930s, he launched a coast-to-coast radio selling campaign for a product called Crazy Crystals, dehydrated minerals from the springs at Mineral Wells, Texas.

They were advertised both as being a laxative and as having other healing powers when dissolved in water. His radio station XEAW was the most powerful station in the country at that time, which he used to market Crazy Crystals, he owned the Crazy Water Hotel in Mineral Wells, Texas to accommodate movie stars and celebrities seeking therapeutic treatment. Sales reputedly reached $3 million a year, although the Food and Drug Administration declared the product fraudulent. Other early accomplishments include the startup of Ventahood, still owned and operated by the Woodall side of the family. In the decades of his life, he was involved in a number of manufacturing and homebuilding ventures which included Mayflower Estates in Dallas north of Preston Hollow, he was involved in Texas politics as a Democrat. In 1938, he became an advisor to gubernatorial candidate W. Lee O'Daniel; as governor, O'Daniel tried to appoint Collins to the state highway commission, thus breaking the tradition of giving each major section of the state a member.

After a bitterly disputed race for the United States Senate in 1941, in which O'Daniel narrowly defeated Lyndon B. Johnson, a Texas Senate investigating committee questioned Collins about a large undeclared gift of radio time to O'Daniel on Collins's Mexican station, XEAW. Collins claimed that the time was paid for by O'Daniel's friends but that he could not remember the donors and had kept no records of the contributions, he was instrumental in the selection of pre-millennialist W. A. Criswell as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas in 1944, he endowed the Texas Institute of Letters with a $1,000 annual award for the author of the best book about Texas, beginning in 1946. He helped bring Bishop College to Dallas in 1961 and worked for better housing for African-Americans, his donation of Dallas property to Baylor University in 1961 was the largest gift made to the university at that time. In 1979, he contributed $1 million to establish the Carr P. Collins Chair of Finance at Baylor.

He married Ruth Woodall, a schoolteacher from Hallsville, Texas, in 1914. They had three children together: James M Collins and member of the U. S. House of Representatives, he died on January 17, 1980

Bay Forest is a community located in the southeast corner of Houston, Texas in Houston's Bay Area. It is part of a family of neighborhoods collectively called Clear Lake City, it is a bedroom community made up entirely of single-family homes and other open areas. The community comprises 832 residences and is located on either side of El Dorado Boulevard between Space Center Boulevard and Horsepen Bayou; the Bay Forest Community Association was established with the filing of deed restrictions with Harris County on November 18, 1985. Bay Forest residents enjoy the amenities provided by the following community parks: Bay Forest Park - a 5.7 acres park offering: Shaded picnic areas Open recreation areas An enclosed 165,000-US-gallon, 25 yard pool with six lanes 3–5 feet deep and a 12 ft diving well, a 1.5 ft wading pool, pool deck furniture, two grills, a main building with bathrooms and showers, a 1,240 square feet pavilion shelter, two gazebos Four controlled access tennis courts with night lighting available Two "Big Toy" playground areas with a full assortment of children’s activity platforms Six picnic tables and benches 16 paved parking spaces Willow Shores Park - a 3 acres park offering: Open sports fields for soccer, football, or any imaginable activity with adjacent shaded areas and benches A concrete, full-court basketball court with one backboard Six picnic tables and benches A modern metal structure playground on 3,500 square feet of beach sand 29 paved parking spaces Bay Forest Wildlife Preserve - a 10.3 acres habitat of indigenous flora and fauna unique to Gulf Coast riparian reserves that includes a 0.5 mile crushed granite trail for exploring or exercising.

Located in the southeast corner of the neighborhood adjacent to Horsepen Bayou, it provides residents with a quiet retreat from city life. The park is leased to the community. Pocket Park - a 1 acre shaded, grassy park consisting of two parcels separated by a street, it includes four benches. Erin Creek Island Park - a shaded, 1,200 square feet mini park with five benches for resting or meeting neighbors. Houston Police Department's Clear Lake Patrol Division provides police services to the Bay Forest community. Fire protection and emergency medical services are provided through Fire Station 71 of the Houston Fire Department. Bay Forest is served by the Clear Creek Independent School District, local public school students attend Falcon Pass Elementary School, Space Center Intermediate School, Clear Lake High School