Rick Perry, byname of James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950, Haskell, Texas, U.S.), American politician who was the longest-serving governor of Texas (2000– ). He sought the Republican nomination for president in 2012.
Perry was the second of two children born to a west Texas cotton farmer and his wife, a bookkeeper at a local cotton gin. Perry attended Texas A&M University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in animal science in 1972. He subsequently enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and flew transport planes both domestically and abroad; by the time of his discharge in 1977, he had attained ... (100 of 585 words)