Showing 486 results

People & Organizations

Adams, John C.

  • Person

John C. Adams, a Vietnam veteran, was born in New Jersey. From 1968-1969, Adams served in the Army in the 5th Special Forces. He was a professor of communications at Texas A&M who compiled a book about the Texas A&M Muster Ceremony in 1985. The Muster Ceremony is a tradition dating back to 1883, honoring Aggies who have died during the past year.

Adams, Quincy

  • Person

Quincy Adams, at the time of the letters, was twenty-eight years old and an officer in the United States Marine Corp. He had family in Baltimore, including his mother, father, a brother "Billie" and a girlfriend, or perhaps fiancee in England.

Aebersold, Paul C. (Paul Clarence), 1910-1967

  • Person
  • 1910-1967

Paul Clarence Aebersold, nuclear physicist, authority on and proponent of the peaceful use of atomic energy, and U.S. Atomic Energy Commission official widely acclaimed as "Mr. Isotope," was born in Fresno, California on July 7, 1910, the son of Paul and Dora Houck Aebersold. An early interest in science was nourished through reading science and science fiction magazines and experiments such as the building of a crystal radio at age 12. This interest continued to grow and, following graduation from Oakland High School, led to enrollment at Pasadena Junior College and subsequently at Stanford University.

Upon receiving a B.A. in Physics, cum laude, from Stanford in 1932, Mr. Aebersold enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley for graduate study. His interest and excellence in track first led him to go to Berkeley, the site of the 1932 Olympic tryouts. Mr. Aebersold was aware of Ernest O. Lawrence's work on the cyclotron and decided to visit him during the Olympic trials. He found Lawrence at work repairing a leak in the vacuum chamber and immediately became involved in the repairs. Thus, what was originally intended as a ten-minute visit turned into a stay of ten years, first as a graduate student and then as a teacher and research scientist.

Mr. Aebersold was awarded an M.A. in Physics by the University of California in 1934 and immediately began his doctoral studies at the same school. Employment applications and biographical sketches consistently report that Mr. Aebersold received his Ph. D. in nuclear and medical physics in 1938, however, this date is subject to question. The printed program for Dr. Aebersold's final examination is dated May 11, 1939. The papers also contain three photographs of Dr. Aebersold in cap and gown which are dated May 19 and 20, 1939. the title of Dr. Aebersold's dissertation is "The Collimation of Fast Neutrons."

While a graduate student at the University of California, Dr. Aebersold held a position as Teaching Assistant in Physics and was awarded fellowships by the Christine-Breon Fund and the Finney-Howell Foundation. both of the latter involved research projects in the Radiation Laboratory. Following his graduation, he remained at the Laboratory until 1942. During his ten years in Berkeley, Dr. Aebersold participated in the developments of the 27, 60, and 184-inch cyclotrons. For the last two years, he was in charge of the operation of the 60-inch cyclotron.

Early in 1942, the Radiation Laboratory changed its emphasis from peaceful to wartime activities and entered upon an official program with the OSRD to obtain enriched U 235. At that time Dr. Aebersold became a special administrative aid to Dr. Ernest O. Lawrence and assisted in the coordination of research, personnel, security, and administrative phases of the growth of the Laboratory staff from about 20 to over 1, 000 members. During 1943, Dr. Aebersold served as head of the Information Division of the Radiation Laboratory and was charged with obtaining the latest information on experiments and on operation experience with the pilot separation equipment at Berkeley and with seeing that the information was properly communicated to the Y-12 plant at Oak Ridge. He was also involved in the filing of patents on the Berkeley developments and the growing concern over the health and safety problems involved in experiments with atomic energy.

In June 1944, Dr. Aebersold was transferred to Oakridge where he served in the Research Control Division of the District Engineer's Office. Here he was involved in the liaison between and inspection of various secret phases of research, health and safety problems, and information dissemination. The following June, Dr. Aebersold was sent to Los Alamos to assist in the health problems in connection with the atomic bomb test. He participated in the protection of personnel during the assembling and testing of the bomb and made extensive radiation measurements after the test.

The end of World War II brought about a return of emphasis upon peaceful uses of atomic energy. From February 1946, when he became Chief of the Isotopes Branch at Oak Ridge, until his retirement in 1965, Dr. Aebersold was at the forefront of this activity. From 1946 until 1957, Dr. Aebersold remained at Oak Ridge serving variously as Chief of the Isotopes Branch of the Research Division, 1946-1947; Chief of the Isotopes Division, 1947-1952; Director of the Isotopes Division, 1952-1956; and Director of the Isotopes Extension, 1956-1957. In April of the latter year, he was transferred to Washington to fill the newly created position of Assistant Director for Isotopes and Radiation in the division of Civilian Application. A year and a half later, he was advanced to Director of the Office of Isotopes Development. In 1961, Dr. Aebersold became Director of the Division of Isotopes Development, the position he held at the time of his retirement in 1965.

Since he entered into the field of isotope production and distribution at such an early stage, Dr. Aebersold was involved in finding solutions to a great many problems in the areas of production, radiation safety, regulation and training of users. He was also called upon to make decisions on waste disposal procedures, radioisotope handling techniques, and radiation protection matters when there were few if any formalized standards or guidelines to be followed. His varied experience from his graduate school days onward made him eminently qualified to make the decisions. Through the years he served on several committees and subcommittee which prepared policies, regulations or standards for production, distribution, and use of radioisotopes. Dr. Aebersold was an active member of numerous papers at their annual meetings. He constantly urged broader uses of isotopes in medicine, research and all branches of industry.

In his campaign to promote radioisotopes, Dr. Aebersold wrote over 100 articles, gave over 700 talks, and traveled well over 500, 000 miles. Although most of the articles were geared more for a scientist than for laymen, some of them were written in a popular vein and are easily understood by the average citizen. Dr. Aebersold spoke before hundreds of groups ranging from high school science classes and teachers to international scientific conferences in Europ, Asia, South Africa, and South American as well as the United States. He traveled around the world to discuss radioisotopes with scientists who were using them in research and to find out how the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission could better serve them.

Dr. Aebersold married Florence Katherine Martinson on July 7, 1942. their three children are Paul Martin, Alice Constance, and Mickie Claire. Dr. Aebersold died on May 29, 1967.

Alexander, Lloyd

  • Person
  • 1924-2007

Lloyd Alexander was born in Philadelphia, PA on January 30, 1924, and was raised in Drexel Hill, PA. During World War II he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Wales, where he first encountered the region's myths and legends that would go on to influence his fantasy novels. At the end of the war, he worked in counterintelligence in Paris, where he met his future wife Janine Denni. The two married in 1946. Denni died in May 2007, shortly before Alexander's own death at his home in Drexel Hill on May 17, 2007.

Alexander was a renowned fantasy writer whose career spanned over 4 decades. His most renowned work was the cycle of five novels "The Chronicles of Prydain", published between 1964 and 1968, and which was set in a mythical kingdom inspired by the images and stories of Welsh mythology and Arthurian legend. The Prydain books include The Book of Three (1964), The Black Cauldron (1965), The Castle of Llyr (1966), and Taran Wanderer (1967). The last book in the series, The High King (1968), won the 1969 Newbery Award. The first two Prydain books were adapted into the Disney animated film The Black Cauldron in 1985.

Alexander, whose career has been compared by some to that of J. R. R. Tolkien, wrote over 40 books, starting with the semi-autobiographical And Let The Credit Go (1955). Other notable works of his include Time Cat: The Remarkable Journeys of Jason and Gareth (1963); The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian (1970), which won the 1971 National Book Award; the Westmark trilogy, Westmark (1981), which won a National Book Award in 1982, The Kestrel (1982), and The Beggar Queen (1984); and the Vesper Holly novels (1987-2005).

Alvord, Charles H.

  • Person
  • 1872-

Charles H. Alvord was born in Michigan on October 16, 1872. He eventually moved to Texas where he had a major influence at A&M College. His positions held at A&M include Assistant Professor of Agriculture from September 15, 1899, to July 1, 1902. He retired from A&M in 1945 and was appointed to a position in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Ambulance Driver

  • Person

From internal evidence in the text, the diary's writer was apparently an ambulance driver with the American Field Service ambulance service, Section Two, based in Pont-a-Mousson, France during the early part of World War I. Volunteers from several countries provided ambulance service for the French Army before the United States entered the war in 1917. The group with which this diarist served, the American Ambulance Field Service, was formed in April 1915 under A. Piatt Andrew as an auxiliary of the American Ambulance Hospital at Neuilly hospital, established in 1914 by wealthy Americans living in Paris. Becoming independent of the hospital about a year afterward, the service's name was shortened to the American Field Service. Section Two began service in the middle of April 1915, assigned to the Bois le Pretre region, quartered first at Dieulouard, then at Pont-a-Mousson. Section Two remained in this sector until February 1916, when it was moved to the Verdun sector.

The hospital is based in Dieulouard. It seems that, generally, the ambulance drivers would evacuate wounded combatants from the front only a short distance away, to the hospital at Dieulouard, then report to Pont-a-Mousson, where they were billeted in houses. Wounded could also be evacuated to the French railroad base at Belleville, for transport elsewhere.

Among other clues, his English grammar and spelling, as well as his use and spelling of French terms, indicates that he was probably well educated. He is also clearly interested in becoming an aviator and visits a French aviation field with a friend from the American Field Service on his time off.

Ambulance drivers who served first as volunteers in France seem to have transferred to other branches of the service, in several cases the Air Service, after serving in the American Field Service for possibly only a few months.

Bibliography:
American Field Service. History of the American Field Service in France. 2 v. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1920.
Buswell, Leslie. With the American Ambulance Field Service in France: Personal Letters of a Driver at the Front. S.l.: Printed only for private distribution, January 1916.
History of the American Field Service in France. 2 v. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1920.

American Association of University Women

  • Corporate body
  • 1882-

Over a century ago, seventeen college alumnae from eight colleges met in Boston to discuss the needs of women college graduates, and the forming of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae. The intent of this organization was to expand the range of professional opportunities available for female college graduates and to enable more women to pursue higher education in the future.

In 1882, one year after this original meeting, the Association of Collegiate Alumnae (ACA) was formed. It consisted of sixty-five graduates from eight different colleges and universities. By 1884, local branches were being added to the parent organization, and in 1889 a membership policy was codified which specified certain standards to be met by its members.

Since those early years, the organization, now called the American Association of University Women (AAUW), has become nationwide. In 1992, five years after extending their membership to male college graduates, the AAUW celebrated its 100th anniversary with over 140,000 members.

The AAUW has, however, achieved much more than just membership growth. Its services to higher education and the community, in general, have been great. Hospitality programs for foreign students, graduate fellowships for women scholars, educational legislation committees, adult education programs, and current issue workshops are a few of these outstanding accomplishments.

The Bryan-College Station Branch of the American Association of University Women originated in 1948 with seventy-one charter members under the leadership of Mrs. Omar Sperry. Since its inception, the branch has been actively involved in many civic improvement projects for the cities of Bryan and College Station, Tex. Among the activities which have highlighted their history are creating a Friends of the Public Library organization in 1955; beginning the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural Science in 1961; developing local daycare centers in the 1960s, and creating a coalition of organizations through a "women's conference" in 1978.

Anderson, Alvord van Patten, 1872-1951

  • Person
  • 1872-1951

Alvord Van Patten Anderson was born April 10, 1872, in New York City, to John R. Anderson and Clara Van Patten Anderson. Clara Van Patten Anderson soon died, and John left their son with maternal relatives for some time. John Anderson married Isabel Sime or Gime when Alvord Anderson was five years of age, at which time the boy was reunited with his father and his new wife. Alvord attended grammar school in Upper Montclair, NJ, from 1879 to 1885, and Wesleyan Academy in Willingham, MA, from 1885-1886. He was enrolled at Pennington Seminary, in Pennington, NJ, from 1886-1888, but was suspended for mild but frequent misconduct. His post-secondary education consists of eight months of study at the University of the City of New York in 1889, and a full year at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, from 1890-1891. Several letters from 1893 refer to his experience as a schoolteacher.

On May 28, 1891, Anderson enlisted in the Cavalry. He was stationed at Fort Niobrara, NE, where he attempted to gain a commission as an officer in 1893. He was not recommended for final examination for promotion, but he stayed on, working to gain the experience that, it was generally felt, he was lacking. During this time he was a non-commissioned corporal with the 6th Cavalry's Troop G. He went up for promotion again, again unsuccessfully, in 1894. On May 10, 1894, Anderson left Troop G on the advice of some officers from his post. Not long after, he took up his post at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, with Troop B of the 6th Cavalry.

At Fort Leavenworth, Anderson met Cora Collins. They were married on March 2, 1897. A daughter, Dorothy Van Patten Anderson, was born on February 6, 1898, in Ft Leavenworth. Anderson was called to Cuba, via Tampa, FL, in the spring of 1898, leaving his family in Leavenworth for the duration of the Spanish-American War. He received a Silver Star for his role in the battle of Santiago.

Anderson was next called to China as part of the Relief Expedition in 1899, where he remained until the end of 1900. His family stayed at Nagasaki, Japan, during this time. Near the beginning of 1901, Anderson was sent to the Philippine Islands. His family joined him for a time, in 1902, at Lucena, Tayabas Province, PI According to a letter from Cora to John R. Anderson, Alvord Anderson was hospitalized with malaria in the spring of 1903.

By early 1904, Alvord Anderson and family were residing at Fort Keogh, MT, where they remained for three years. During this time they had a son, A.V.P. Anderson Jr., born November 8, 1905.

Anderson was detailed to a prisoner of war camp, Camp Avery, in Corregidor in 1910, an assignment that caused him to dispatch his family to the states for the duration of his tour of duty in the Philippine Islands. General John J. Pershing then recruited Anderson as a district governor. From 1911 to 1912 Anderson traveled extensively in the Philippine Islands settling land disputes, enforcing a quarantine against a disease affecting cattle, and moving troops and supplies about the islands. Cora and Alvord Jr. rejoined Anderson in November 1912. The three may have briefly toured the Far East, while Dorothy remained in boarding school in the states. Anderson spent some weeks with his son in El Paso, TX, around January 1913, but was back in the Philippines by January 19th with his wife and son.

Anderson returned to El Paso toward the end of 1913, serving as a commanding officer of Troop B, the 12th Cavalry, and later Troop "M" of the 6th Cavalry, during the Mexican Revolution. While A.V.P. Anderson patrolled the Mexican border, Cora Anderson at first stayed at Fort Robinson, NE, with her son, where she received almost daily communications from Anderson, apparently in answer to her own daily letters, (which are not included in this collection).

Over the next several years, Anderson moved from station to station along the border, first from El Paso to Harlingen. A captain in command of Troop "B" of the 12th Cavalry of the United States Army at this time, Anderson was wounded in a skirmish with Mexican forces near Progresso, TX. After a brief stay in the field hospital, Anderson was assigned duty in nearby Donna, Tex. with Troop "M" of the 6th Cavalry, where he was joined by his family at nearby Santa Maria, TX. The family had barely settled into camp when Anderson was ordered to a new station at Shafter, near the Big Bend area. Cora Anderson apparently removed to Fort Des Moines, Iowa, where she again received frequent letters from her husband.

Captain Anderson's letters indicate that he stayed in Marfa for a short while, taking examinations for promotion. He went directly from there to Presidio, TX, although he returned to Marfa on business from time to time. In a letter dated July 2, 1916, he informed his father that he was now in command of "four companies of the 4th Texas, four troops of the 6th Cavalry, one machine gun troop, one machine gun company, one pack train, fourteen wagons, and one gun," making him feel "quite the brigadier general," even though he had not yet had confirmation of his promotion to the rank of major. At Presidio he and his command were separated from hostile forces at Ojinaga, Mexico, only by the Rio Grande River, and rumors of Villas approach made their way into an official report by Anderson.

Some time between January 8, 1917, and August 31, 1917, Anderson, now a colonel, was sent to Fort Dix, NJ as commanding officer of the 312th Regiment of the Infantry. Almost a year later, in May 1818, Colonel Anderson sailed to Europe, leaving his wife to board with brother Hale Anderson in New York City. Anderson arrived in London by June 7, 1918. He took his regiment to Calais for training until early July before proceeding to the front lines and the Argonne Forest. By December of that year, Anderson and the 312th Infantry were comfortably billeted at Bussy-le-Grand-Cote d'Or, France, where they remained until May 6, 1919.

After returning to the states, Anderson apparently was assigned to recruiting service in Chicago, and possibly Cleveland and Greensboro, NC According to information provided by Anderson's family, Cora Anderson died in Greensboro in 1920. Anderson was stationed at Camp Harry J. Jones, Douglas, AR in 1921. By 1923 he was in Marfa, TX. Again according to information supplied by his family, Anderson was in Presidio, CA, in 1927, and married Jean Raison in 1928. He was stationed at Fort Lewis, WA, in 1934. According to family information, Anderson was in Portland, OR in 1935, and retired in 1936, becoming a Brigadier General upon his retirement. He apparently spent the time between his retirement and his death, probably sometime in 1951, in San Francisco.

Over the course of his military career, General Anderson received many awards and service medals, including the Silver Star for the Battle of Santiago. Other awards not included in this collection, but listed by Anderson's family include a Purple Heart for the Spanish-American War, a Distinguished Service Medal for command of the 312th Infantry, World War I, as well as a French Croix de Guerre with Palm and a Verdum Campaign medal for World War I. He received service medals for the Spanish-American War, the Cuban Occupation, the China Relief Expedition, the Philippine Insurrection, Mexican Service, and three World War I campaigns, including St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne.

Anderson, John Q.

  • Person
  • 1916-1975

Dr. John Q. Anderson was an educator, folklorist and songwriter who earned many honors. Born on May 30, 1916, in Wheeler County, TX, Dr. Anderson attended Oklahoma State University where he received his A.B. degree in 1939. Though his college career was interrupted by a tour of duty during World War II. Anderson completed his M.A. at Louisiana State University in 1948 and subsequently earned his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1952. In 1946, Anderson married Marie Loraine Epps.

During this time, Anderson held several teaching positions, at the University of Texas, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and McNeese State College in Louisiana. In 1953, Dr. Anderson became an instructor at Texas A&M University where he remained until 1966. By the time of his departure from Texas A & M, Dr. Anderson had risen from serving as an instructor to holding the office of Head of the English Department. Dr. Anderson's final position was Professor of American Literature at the University of Houston, which he had to leave in 1974 due to illness.

Not only was Dr. Anderson a renowned and respected teacher, but he was also an author and a songwriter. Among his over 70 articles and books are Brokenburn: The Journal of Kate Stone, edited by Anderson, A Texas Surgeon in the C. S. A., and Louisiana Swamp Doctor: The Life and Writings of Henry Clay Lewis. Dr. Anderson recorded as well as wrote many folk songs, among which was a medley of American folksongs for the ballet "Fiddle Tunes."

Among Dr. Anderson's many interests, folklore was predominant. Dr. Anderson was a member of several folklore societies all over the state of Texas. He sponsored The John A. Lomax Folklore Society and served as president of The Texas Folklore Society. His other professional activity included work with English societies and editorial boards.

Due to Dr. Anderson's many talents and accomplishments as a teacher and scholar, he was awarded several honors, including the Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching, Outstanding Professor, and Professor Emeritus of English, all at Texas A&M University.

Anderson, John W.

  • Person
  • 1834-

According to his own short biographical account in the diary (22 Feb. 1861), John W. Anderson was born April 1, 1834, one of the eight children born to F.D. Anderson and Mary Silver Anderson of Hanford County, MD. John W. Anderson received his M.D. from the University of Maryland and subsequently accepted the offer of help to establish a medical practice from his uncle Joseph Silver, arriving in Alabama, September 1854.

The location was chosen by his benefactor at Mt. Pleasant, AL. near the uncle's plantation, proved to be distressingly without the need of a full-time physician. In addition, Anderson's romantic attachment to Rosalie Josephine Witter, then just fourteen years old, only intensified Anderson's desire to break with his uncle, who disapproved of the Witter family entirely.

By Spring 1856, Anderson moved with his books and pride to Sparta, AL to establish himself in a successful medical practice, becoming particularly respected for his surgical operations. Thus prepared to support a family of his own, the young physician promptly returned to Mt. Pleasant in a buggy, married his sweetheart, by then fifteen years old, and felt settled.

By the time of the diary four children had been born to the Anderson's, with only two surviving infancy, Francis Eugene Anderson (Frank) and Gertrude Corinne Anderson (Gertie), who figures prominently in Anderson's narrative.

On December 4, 1856, Rosalie's brother, Robert B. Witter, Jr. founded a small weekly newspaper in Sparta, AL, called The Spartan. Anderson soon accepted Witter's offer of a partnership in the paper. As a result of Robert Witter's "ardor," and as it was the only newspaper in the county at the time, The Spartan had attained a wide circulation, as well as, eventually, the status of a semi-weekly. This progress slowly lured Anderson into becoming a fully involved working partner, completely abandoning his increasingly neglected medical practice in 1857.

For a time Anderson took over The Spartan press office entirely in 1861 when Witter was hospitalized in Richmond, VA after being wounded in an affray in New York. Anderson's wife Rosalie also joined him in the presswork, acting as a typesetter. Anderson's job, therefore, involved reporting and editing, as well as typesetting. Adventurous, industrious, keenly observant, articulate and doubtlessly charming, Anderson seems to have found his true calling in journalism.

Having a growing family, a thriving business and a pleasant new home on seven acres of land, Anderson was not eager to see the idyllic life broken by war. Foreseeing the need for other financial support, and no doubt itching to be where events were exciting, Anderson, at the suggestion of support from James A. Stallworth, a former member of Congress for the district, traveled to Montgomery, AL in February 1861, to seek an office with the newly established (February 4, 1861) Confederate States of American Provisional Government.

Due so some assiduous lobbying, Anderson was soon appointed (February 26, 1861) Corresponding Clerk in the office of C.G. Memminger, Secretary of the Treasury for the Confederacy. Contemplating suspended publication of The Spartan for at least a month, Anderson mused that inevitably the exigencies of war would require the complete suspension of such a small business enterprise anyway, so it was just as well he had acquired other employment.

Despite taking a civil service job in the new Confederate government, however, Anderson did not completely leave behind his calling as a journalist. As he states in his diary, Anderson determined to put his reporting to the test during the war, to record not only the major events but "those unconsidered 'trifles lighter than air' that help to complete the general outline of a more ambitious narrative."

Anderson had previously entered the war in 1861 by enlisting in a company of infantry from his home in Sparta, AL answering the call to defend Fort Pickens. Travelling by train to Pensacola, the company was ordered to join the 1st Alabama Regiment under Col. Lomax at Fort Pickens. Eventually, on the decision of General Chase, no Confederate attack was mounted, and the company was sent back in consternation to Alabama.

Anderson later served (August 16, 1862) as Recording Clerk for the Confederate Senate. Robert Witter also obtained a position in January 1862 with the Confederate government. Both Anderson and Witter held the military rank of private in Company F of the Virginia 3rd Regiment, a sort of Headquarters Company or Home Guard, and lived with their families in Richmond, VA during the war.

Anderson's diary is ample evidence of his journalistic tenacity, and his avowed devotion to recording the personal, and often very domestic details of professional, family, and military life during the war, particularly while under siege in the Confederate capital city, and, after defeat, facing the Union Government's recuperation plan called Reconstruction.

Anderson, Poul, 1926-2001

  • Person
  • 1926-2001

Poul Anderson was born November 25, 1926, in Bristol, PA. He lived in Port Arthur, Texas for a decade, then in Denmark, Maryland, and finally Minnesota. He attended the University of Minnesota, earning a bachelor’s degree in Physics, and selling his first science fiction story in 1947 while still an undergraduate. By 1948, he was a full-time freelance writer, his profession for the rest of his life. Anderson was highly regarded in science fiction and fantasy. He was honored with seven Hugo Awards, three Nebula Awards, a variety of other awards, and was named “Grand Master” of the Science Fiction Writers of America in 1997/1998. A 1981 entry in the Dictionary of Literary Biography called him “one of the five or six most important writers to appear during the science-fiction publishing boom of the decade following the end of World War II.” Anderson used his scientific training to write technically accurate science fiction, to project plausible future technologies, and to be regarded as an outstanding “hard science fiction” writer. He also wrote highly regarded fantasies, and viewed much of his own work more in the realm of magical realism than anything else. Anderson died in 2001 at age 74.

Anderson, Tom, 1910-2002

  • Person
  • 1910-2002

Tom Anderson, editor, publisher, and conservative political activist was born in Nashville, TN in 1910. Graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1934, with a major in economics, Anderson was equally interested in political science and English. During the Great Depression, he worked briefly for the Nashville Banner newspaper. Subsequently, he was employed by the J. C. Bradford Co. brokerage firm selling securities, hoping to earn money with which he could buy and publish a weekly newspaper. He also worked as an ad salesman for the Southern Agriculturist, a monthly periodical published in Nashville, TN, in hopes of advancing to a journalist position. At the Southern Agriculturist, Anderson's forceful style of writing gained him recognition for his fearless attacks against leftists and Communism.

Later, as publisher and editor of Farm and Ranch magazine, a monthly, then weekly publication, based in Dallas, TX which had absorbed the Southern Agriculturist in 1950, Anderson was the supervising editor and author of the column "Straight Talk," which appeared on the magazine's editorial page. Anderson's column became possibly the most-quoted and most-reprinted in the area of agriculture publishing. Each month more than 375 newspapers requested permission to reprint "Straight Talk". A book, also titled Straight Talk, was eventually published, reprinting editorials by Tom Anderson, with reader comments reprinted from Farm and Ranch, the third edition appearing in 1958.

Anderson has appeared on television and radio programs. He is a past president of the American Agricultural Editors Association, a member of the Council of the John Birch Society, and is a member of the Methodist Church. He ran as a candidate for Vice-President of the United States in 1972, and for President in 1976, both times on the American Party ticket. He retired to Gatlinburg, TN.

Andreadis, Harriette

  • Person

Harriette Andreadis received her Ph.D. in English Renaissance Literature from the University of Wisconsin in 1970 and joined Texas A&M University in 1975, becoming an Associate Professor in 1985. Harriet's research focus moved from English Renaissance Literature to Women's Studies and Film Studies, eventually developing and spearheading the Women's Studies program at Texas A&M University.

In addition to establishing several new courses in Film Studies and Gender Studies, Harriette also served on the University Press advisory committee and worked with Phi Delta Gamma in various officer positions from 1975 to 1980. She published Sappho in Early Modern England, a book on homosexuality, and has been published in several journals.

After 40 years as a part of the faculty of Texas A&M University, Harriette retired in the Spring of 2014.

Anthony, John R., 1889-1977

  • Person
  • 1889-1977

John Robert Anthony was born in Longview, TX on June 12, 1889. Anthony earned a B.A. from the University of Texas in 1916, an L.L.B. in 1921 and an M.A. in 1928.

Anthony was head of the English Department at West Texas Military Academy in San Antonio 1913-1915, then Assistant Professor of English at Texas Christian University 1916-1918. Anthony later joined the legal staff of Humble Oil and Refining Company in Houston, TX January 1929. Following his retirement from Humble Oil in 1954, Anthony served as Professor of Law at South Texas College of Law 1955-1957. Anthony played an active part in the nine-year campaign to revise the antiquated Texas probate statutes. In recognition of his invaluable work contributions toward revising the Texas Probate Code, the Council of the Section on Real Estate, Probate, and Trust Law honored him at the annual Texas Bar Association Convention in Houston on July 4, 1972.

Anthony died of cancer on July 26, 1977, at the age of 88.

Anthony, Piers

  • Person
  • 1934-

Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob is best known as Piers Anthony. Born in Oxford, England in 1934, Anthony worked as a technical writer before embarking on a full-time career as a freelance writer in 1966. Anthony's prolific output includes both fantasy and science fiction and commands a loyal readership.

Armstrong, George, 1884-1964

  • Person
  • 1884-1964

George Armstrong was born on February 22, 1884, in St. Louis, MI. In 1908 he enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving in the regular army for eighteen years and in the Reserves for two, rising to the rank of major in the Military Police. For most of his army service during the period of this correspondence with Nell Floss Steel, later his wife, Nell Steel Armstrong, he served with a Recruit Depot in the U.S. Army General Services Infantry, training recruits.

Initially based in Columbus, OH where he probably met his future wife, Nell Floss Steel, Armstrong was transferred (1913) to the military training camp at Texas City, TX but also fulfilled assignments in Saginaw, MI (1913), St. Louis, MO (1913), and Vera Cruz, Mexico (April 1914). He also received training in El Paso, TX (1914), before returning to Columbus, OH (1915).

During World War I, Armstrong was periodically stationed at Ft. Benjamin Harrison, IN and Camp Sherman, OH between 1915 - August 1918. He subsequently served in the U.S. Army Infantry, 83rd Division, in France from September ?? to November 1918, inspecting prisoner of war camps.

After World War I, Armstrong was transferred to Cleveland, OH and eventually retired from the army to avoid being reverted to his previous rank of 1st Sergeant. The Armstrongs lived briefly in Grandfield, OK before moving successively to Burkburnett, Graham, Ranger, Breckenridge, Holliday, and Wichita Falls, TX. They finally settled in Baytown to be close to family. In Baytown, Armstrong began a career in the Texas oilfields, working for Texaco for many years before retiring from the company in January 1949. He died in Baytown on April 27, 1964.

Asbury, Samuel E. (Samuel Erson), 1872-1962

  • Person
  • 1872-1962

Samuel Erson Asbury was born in Charlotte, NC on September 26, 1872, the son of Felicia Swan (Woodward) and Sidney Monroe Asbury. Asbury spent his childhood traveling with his family from Charlotte to Lincolnton, to Morganton, NC while his father attempted to establish a successful business.

In the fall of 1889, Asbury enrolled in North Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical College in Raleigh after first promising his father that he would put his seven brothers and sisters through college also. As a member of the first graduating class at North Carolina A&M College, Samuel Asbury received his B.S. in chemistry in 1893. He was then employed as an instructor at the college while he worked on his M.S., which he received in 1896.

Between 1895 and 1904, Asbury worked alternately with the North Carolina Experiment Station, the State Chemist's office in Richmond, VA, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the State Chemist of Tennessee. On November 1, 1904, he accepted a position as Assistant State Chemist with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station on the campus of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. From 1905 to 1915 his work required him to travel throughout East Texas as a fertilizer inspector for Dr. G.S. Frap, the State Chemist. Asbury made the most of the situation by spending his spare time getting acquainted with the local old-timers, many of whom were participants in the Texas Revolution, Civil War and/or the Reconstruction. He spent the remainder of his career with the experiment station employed in the analysis of fertilizer and feed until his retirement in 1945.

Outside of his work as a chemist, Samuel is known primarily as an authority on Texas history. Asbury considered himself "a hunter and not a writer," and as such became renowned for looking up little known documents, such as those concerning Jonas Harrison, John A. Williams, and the journal of Juan Nepomuceno Almonte. Asbury's chief historical interest lay in the Texas Revolution, and he spent much of his time writing an opera, or musical-drama review to illustrate it.

Samuel Asbury was also interested in all facets of the Arts. He had extensive scientific, literary, and music libraries, and, although deaf, he also had four Steinway pianos in his living room. All available wall space in his house was covered with framed reproductions of the Masters. He shared his interest with students and townspeople by encouraging them to attend poetry readings, music recitals, and similar functions held at his house.

Another of Asbury's passions was his roses. By experimenting with various strains of roses and kinds of fertilizers, he soon had roses growing on trellises 40 feet high, hiding his house from view. Asbury also did extensive research on the history of Texas roses.

Samuel Asbury died on January 10, 1960, at the age of 89 in Bryan, TX.

Asimov, Isaac, 1920-1992

  • Person
  • 1920-1992

Isaac Asimov was born in Petrovichi, Russia in 1920, emigrated to the United States with his family in 1923, and resided in New York for the remainder of his life. He attended Columbia University, attaining a B.S. in Chemistry in 1939, followed by an M.A. and a Ph.D. While in college, he published his first profession story, "Marooned off Vesta," in Amazing Stories in 1939. Asimov served in World War II and returned to teach in the Boston University School of Medicine.

Asimov attained his greatest success with his Foundation series, published in book form as Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation. This future history of a galactic empire was avidly followed by science fiction fans as it was published and continues to be popular within the science fiction community today. His robot stories were equally popular and introduced his "Three Laws of Robotics," an ethical and moral code to be followed by robots. His fiction was well-crafted and featured both technological reality and believable technological advancement. In addition to presenting near-sentient robots, Asimov dealt with the social issues of robotics, and the implications of intelligent machines.

Perhaps as important as his fiction, Asimov was a prolific popularizer of science, writing many nonfiction pieces for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and other sources. He had the gift of both simplifying complex scientific concepts and presenting them in an interesting and accessible way, so the general reader could comprehend and enjoy contemporary science topics. In his day, he was one of the more successful popularizers of science.

Asimov authored over 500 fiction and nonfiction books, many short stories, and extensive science articles.

Asselineau, Roger

  • Person
  • 1915-2002

Himself a poet and translator of World War I British poets' works, Roger Asselineau led the scholarly world for decades as a champion of scholarly work about the 19th-century American poet, Walt Whitman. Asselineau's interest in American poetry is reputed to have been inspired by his experiences with the French Resistance during World War I, aiding American airmen to escape from occupied France. Asselineau himself only escaped being executed by the Nazis for his work in the French Resistance forces by the American invasion of Paris. Asselineau's life-long appreciation and admiration of American poets' advocation of beliefs in liberty and individuality may have developed during this time.

Asselineau published his first book of poems, Traduit de Moi-Même under the name Robert Maurice in 1949, but other volumes of his mostly free-verse poetry were subsequently published under his own name. As a poet, he had a particularly sensitive ear for the difficulties and complexities, often not at first apparent, in translating Walt Whitman's poetry.

Asselineau was active in Whitman scholarship up until his death on July 8, 2002, in Paris, France. Asselineau's own major work about Whitman was a critical biography, begun as his dissertation at the Sorbonne, L'évolution de Walt Whitman aprés la premiére édition des Feuilles d'herbe, first published in Paris by Didier in 1954, then in a two-volume English translation, The Evolution of Walt Whitman (Cambridge: Belknap Press, 1960-62), and finally in a slightly expanded edition, again titled The Evolution of Walt Whitman, with a foreword by Ed Folsom, by the University of Iowa Press in 1999.

Asselineau was an original member of the Advisory Editorial Board for The Collected Writings of Walt Whitman, which was organized in 1955 to oversee the publication of an authoritative edition of all of Whitman's writings. Long a professor at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, Asselineau attended many conferences and was active in bringing Leaves of Grass to world attention, particularly encouraging translators to send him new editions of the poem. Asselineau was also active on the editorial board of the Walt Whitman Quarterly Review and wrote many reviews of scholarly works for several journals.

Asselineau was a close friend as well as fellow Whitman scholar to Gay Wilson Allen and became a friend and mentor to all of the major Whitman scholars, biographers, and translators of the twentieth century.

Asselineau was also a noted scholar of the American 19th-century poet Edgar Allan Poe and published many articles and books on other American literary figures including Washington Irving, Crèvecoeur, Ernest Hemingway, Robert Frost, Sherwood Anderson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Theodore Dreiser, Jack London, and Tennessee Williams. Many of Asselineau's reviews appeared in the journal Etudes Anglaises.

In 1987 Asselineau was made an Honorary Member of the Modern Language Association of America, an honor proposed by Whitman scholar, Jerome Loving, in association with Daniel Hoffman.

Asselineau's wife was named Paule, and he had a daughter named Claire.

Atkins, Irvin M.

  • Person

Irvan M. Atkins was an agronomist who worked for the USDA and small grains research leader for the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station at Texas A&M University in the 1980s.

Bailey, Kevin

  • Person

Kevin Bailey started out as a Chemistry major at Texas A&M University (TAMU) in the mid-1980s.  He was elected secretary of Gay Student Services (GSS) in 1984 and later became the organization’s historian and archivist.  In the late 1980s, Kevin took some time off from school to work and travel, returning to complete his MIS degree in 1993.  After the 1976 GSS lawsuit for campus recognition bounced through the courts and the District Court’s pro-TAMU decision was overturned, the case in August 1984 was bound for the Supreme Court.  In the wake of the Appeals Court’s decision to overturn the District Court’s ruling, Bailey, and newly elected GSS president, Marco Roberts, mobilized a publicity campaign for the organization.  GSS had grown and matured by the mid-eighties with most of its founding members graduated.  Internal tensions and personality conflicts were rife in the GSS during this time.

Baker, B. B.

  • Person

In 1942, Baker graduated from the Air force Technical School at Ft. Logan, CO. As First Lieutenant in the Air Force fought in Japan before being shipped over to India-Burma, and China in 1943. Later in 1948, Baker participated in Atomic Weapons testing (Operation Sandstone).

Baraka, Amiri, 1934-2014

  • Person
  • 1934-2014

Everett Leroy Jones was born in Newark, NJ on October 7, 1934. His father, Coyette, was a postal supervisor and his mother, the former Anna Russ, was a social worker. Growing up took piano, drum, and trumpet lessons (a background that would inform his later work as a jazz writer) and also studied drawing and painting.

Baraka changed his name when he became aware of the African revolution and his African roots. He was named by the man who buried Malcolm X, Hesham Jabbar. Baraka was a leading force in the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. In 1963 he published "Blues People: Negro Music in White America," known as the first major history of black music to be written by an African American. A year later he published a collection of poetry titled "The Dead Lecturer" and won an Obie Award for his play, "Dutchman." After the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965, he moved to Harlem and founded the Black Arts Repertory Theatre. In the late 1960s, Baraka moved back to his hometown of Newark and began focusing more on political organizing, prompting the FBI to identify him as "the person who will probably emerge as the leader of the Pan-African movement in the United States." Baraka continued writing and performing poetry up until his hospitalization late last year, leaving behind a body of work that greatly influenced a younger generation of hip-hop artists and slam poets. From DemocracyNow! program (January 10, 2014)

Barclay, Rigsby L.

  • Person
  • 1878-1946

Rigsby L. Barclay was born August 2, 1878, on the Barclay ranch in Falls County, Texas. Rigsby, the son of W. A. and Martha Ledbetter Barclay, a pioneer family of central Texas. Barclay was a graduate of Texas A&M College, earning a degree in Engineering in 1889, and married Louzelle Rose on April 19, 1904. Barclay had experience in the gold mining industry in Mexico and owned several businesses in Temple, Texas including an automobile sales firm and a laundry and dry cleaning business. Barclay dies on October 26, 1946 at the age of 68 due to a stroke.

Barrett, Neal, Jr., 1929-2014

  • Person
  • 1929-2014

Neal Barrett, Jr., born on November 3, 1929, in San Antonio, TX was a Texas writer of over fifty novels and numerous short stories of mystery/suspense, fantasy, science fiction, and historical novels, and a bit of mainstream fiction. Barrett has a B.A. from the University of Oklahoma and worked in public relations before turning to write full-time. He won a Nebula Award in 1990 and a Texas Institute of Letters Award in 2000. In l997, Barrett was Guest of Honor and Toastmaster at the 55th World Science Fiction Convention. He passed at the age of 84 on January 12, 2014, in Austin, TX.

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