Richardson, city, Dallas and Collin counties, northeastern Texas; incorporated as a city 1956. It is primarily a residential suburb of Dallas and has some industry, including the manufacture of telecommunications and electronic equipment and metal products. The University of Texas at Dallas (1969) and several research centers are here. The settlement, established before the American Civil War as Breckenridge, was renamed for E. H. Richardson, a railroad official, after the railroad reached here in 1872. It remained a mainly agricultural community until the 1950s, when rapid growth as a suburban community began. Population 72,496 (1980); 74,840 (1990); 91,802 (2000).
