Category: J – L

Biography; College instructor; writer. Born February 18, 1944.  Married–Pat Conroy, 1997.  Children–three.  Education:  Alabama College, B.A., 1967; University of Montevallo, M.F.A., 1988.  Taught English Composition at the University of Montevallo. Source; Contemporary Authors online Publications; Making Waves in Zion.  Montgomery: Black Belt Press, 1995. (Published as Making Waves, New York: Hyperion, 2003.) Moonrise. New York: …

Biography: Teacher. Born– December 17, 1907, Goodwater, Ala. Parents– Rev. John S. and Leila Ophelia (Strong) Martin. Married– Albert Homer Lyle, June 14, 1930. Children– One. Education– Florence State University. Employed by the Limestone County and Morgan County boards of education; U.S. Government Redstone Arsenal Rationing Office; American Bread Company, Huntsvillle; National Woodworks, Birmingham. Published…

Biography: Educator, genealogist. Born– September 6, 1896, Sylacauga. Parents– James H. and Nancy Virginia (Roberts) Lane. Married–Mynatt Winston Peace (died 1937). Married– John D. Luttrell, November 11, 1949. Education– B.A., Woman’s College of Alabama, 1917; M.A., Smith College, 1919; further study, University of Chicago. Employed as teacher, Woman’s College of Alabama (Huntington College); genealogist, historian.…

Biography: Self-employed. Born– January 7, 1927, Pigeon Creek, Winston County, Ala. Parents– Burton and Etha Bishop Fincher. Married– Doil E. Lowry, December 1946. Children– four. Education– Greenville High School; Troy State Teachers College. Lived in Andalusia. Died November 9, 1999. Source: Files at Alabama Public Library Service. Publication(s): We Will Rise Again. New York; Vantage,…

Biography: Nurse. Born– December 21, 1921, Newell, Randolph County, Ala. Parents– Iverson and Dessie Madonna (Traylor) Lovvorn. Education– Handley High School, Roanoke; School of Nursing, Piedmont Hospital, Atlanta, Ga. Joined the U.S. Army, 1944; served in a military hospital on Saipan. Attained the rank of 1st Lieutenant. After the war worked as a civil service nurse, McDill…

Biography: Writer. Born– April 11, 1864, Cleveland, Ohio. Parents– David R. and Esther Schwartz Loveman. Education– Dalton Academy, Ga. Attended the University of Alabama. Lived in the Battle-Friedman House with the Friedman family while attending UA. Lived in Dalton most of his life. Very popular as a  poet during his lifetime but little-known today. Honors– University of Alabama,…

Biography: Historian. Born– September 1, 1944, Corrs, Pickens County. Parents– Robert and Christina (White) Loveman. Education– Gadsden Adult High School, 1966. Employed by Coosa Nursery and Garden Shop, 1970-1973; Morrison’s Cafeteria, 1974-1975; Mountain Top Club, 1975-1979; Gadsden Public Library, after 1982. Used pen name Louis Vandiver Loveman. Died August 3, 2003. Source: Louis V. Loveman, Gadsden,…

Biography: Boxer; heavyweight champion. Born– May 13, 1914, Lexington, Chambers County. Parents– Munrow and Lilly (Reese) Barrow. Married– Marva Trotter, September 24, 1935. Children–two. Married–Rose Morgan, 1955. Married– Martha Jefferson, May 11, 1951. Children– four. Competed 1934-1951. Honors– Won the light heavyweight championship of the National Amateur Athletic Union, 1934; world professional heavyweight champ, 1937-1949; retired…

Biography: Educator, adminstrator. Born– Houston County, November 12, 1930. Parents– Melvin Durward and Ramona Bernice (Robinson) Long. Married– Estrella Nina Celorio, February 11, 1953. Children– Three. Education– Troy State University, B.S., 1953; Auburn University, M.A., 1956; University of Florida, Ph.D., 1959. Employed as history professor and assistant to the dean of the graduate school, 1965-1967; assistant…

Biography: Writer, photojournalist. Born– February 27, 1946, Birmingham. Parents– Coleman Aubrey and Vera (Wingard) Lollar. Education– University of Alabama, B.S., 1968. Worked for the U.S. Peace Corps, Sierra Leone, 1970; communications writer with Metropolitan Life Corporation, New York, 1970-1972; press secretary to Senator John Sparkman, 1967, 1972; associate editor of Travel News, 1972-75, editor, 1975-1980. …

Biography: Reporter, editor. Born– July 7, 1933, Bay Minette, Ala. Parents– Hanchey and Pauline (McLeod) Logue. Married–Helen Roberts. Children– Three. Education– Auburn University, B.A. Worked as police reporter, sports writer, Montgomery Advertiser; U.S. Air Force, 1955-1957; Information Officer, Randolph Air Force Base, 1957; United Press wire editor and a sportswriter for the Atlanta Journal, 1957-1967;…

Biography: College professor. Born– July 14, 1935, Bay Minette. Education– Auburn University, B.A., 1960; Florida State University, M.S., 1961; Louisiana State University, Ph.D., 1967. Served in U.S. Marine Corps, 1956-58. Employed by Birmingham Southern College, 1961-1964; Louisiana State University, 1964-1966; University of Arkansas, 1966-1967; University of Georgia, 1967-2000.  Josiah Meigs Professor of Communications Studies. Member Speech…

Biography: Florist. Born– Denmark, 1869. Children– Three. Employed as banana plantation manager, United Fruit Company, Nicaragua; florist, Mobile. Awards; Honorary Doctor of Science degree, University of Alabama, 1932. Died February 26, 1942. Source: Catalogue of the Beetles of Alabama. Publication(s): Catalogue of the Beetles of Alabama. University, Ala.; Alabama Geological Survey, 1945. The More Common…

                                                                                                                                    Biography: Chemical engineer; professor; academic administrator. Born– September 12, 1881, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Parents– Joseph and Sage (Peregrine) Lloyd. Married– Edith Marian Dawson, December 26, 1911. Children– Three. Education– University of Toronto, B.A., 1904; McGill University, M.Sc., 1906; University of Chicago, Ph.D., 1910. Employed by the University of Alabama, 1909-1952; professor of chemistry and…

Biography: Writer. Born– Abbeville, S.C. Parents–James A. and Eliza Creight. Married– William E. Lloyd, 1866. Education– Aberdeen, Miss. Resided in Mobile, 1859-1869. Honors– Mobile Sunday Times, for the best romance. Source: Biographical Directory of Southern Authors; Living Female Writers of the South. Publication(s): Garnet, or, Through the Shadows into Light. S.l.; s.n., s.d. Hagar, or,…

Biography: Writer. Born– Hoopeston, Ill.  Married– William Clyde Littrell, April 25, 1931. Children– One. Education–enrolled in writing courses, University of Washington Extension Service. Lived in Tennessee and Alabama, then moved to Richland, Wash. Died November 27, 1981. Source: Library Journal, June 1, 1952; files at Alabama Public Library Service and at Alabama Department of Archives…

Biography: Educator. Born– October 27, 1856, in Portsmouth, Va. Parents– Oscar and Martha Elizabeth (Bernard) Littleton. Married– Lulie Rosser, December 26, 1882. Children– Eight. Education– Randolph-Macon College, A.M., 1880; attended Sauveur Colleges des Langues, Amherst, Mass., 1881-1882. Employed at Kanawa Military Academy, 1880-1881; Wesleyan Female College, Murfreesboro, NC, 1881-83; Wofford College, 1883-86; Belle Haven Academy,…

Biography: Professor of languages. Born August 20, 1881, Tuscaloosa. Parents– John and Amanda M. (Harris) Little. Education– University of Alabama, B.A., 1901; Harvard University, M.A., 1912; studied at Gottingen University and at the Sorbonne; Harvard University, Ph.D., 1918. Employed at Tuscaloosa High School, University of North Carolina, Harvard University, and University of Alabama where he…

Biography: Teacher and academic administrator; editor.  Born–October 10, 1861, Ridgeville, Ala. Parents– John G. and Sophronia E. (Howell) Little. Married– Lula Duncan, 1890. Children– Five. Education– University of Alabama, A.B., 1883, A.M., 1886. Assistant professor of chemistry, University of Alabama, 1883-1887; Editor, Tuscaloosa Times, 1886; True Democrat, 1888, and State Review, 1895-96;  president of the South…

Biography: Geologist. Born– February 11, 1838, Tuscaloosa. Parents– John and Barbara (Kerr) Little. Married– Caroline Patillo Doak, May 13, 1869. Education– University of Alabama, A.B., 1855, A.M., 1856; University of Gottingen, Ph.D., 1859. Employed by Oakland College, Mississippi, 1860-1861; Served in the Confederate Army as private, captain, lieutenant colonel, 1861-1865. Professor of geology,University of Mississippi,…

Biography: Poet. Born– October 8, 1930, Collinsville (moved often due to father’s work in construction). Parents–Harry D. and Hazel Watson Lees. Married–William L. Linn. Children–three. Attended thirteen grade schools in three states by the age of eleven and quit school in the ninth grade. Honors– Won the Birmingham Festival of Arts Hackney Award three times;…

Biography: Geographer, teacher, college professor of geography. Born– June 21, 1940, Winston-Salem, N.C. Parents–Elias Hiatt Lineback and Mary Gambill Lineback.  Married–Katie Ann Stanley, August 16, 1964.  Children–two.  Education– East Carolina University, B.A., 1963; University of Tennessee, M.S., 1967, Ph.D., 1970. Taught in Henry County, Va., schools, 1963-1965; University of Alabama, 1969-1986 (Chair of Department of…

Biography: College professor and administrator, dramatist. Born– January 3, 1918, Coushatta, La. Parents– Benjamin Dennis and Vallie (Snead) Lindsey. Married– Evelyn Natille Pierce, December 27, 1948. Children– Three. Education– Ouachita College, B.A., 1948; Louisiana State University, M.A., 1951; University of Denver, Ph.D., 1962. Served in U.S. Army, 1942-45; attained rank of lieutenant colonel in U.S.…

Biography: Historian. Born– November 19, 1929, Roanoke. Parents– Alonzo and Sadie (East) Lindsey. Married– Phyllis Paulson, December 6, 1946. Married– Henrietta Roux, December 4, 1979. Children– Four. Education– University of Colorado, LL.B., 1957. Served in and retired from the U.S. Air Force; organized the Chambers County records; director, archives and history, state of Oklahoma. Made…

Biography: Publisher; advocate for atheism. Born– June 11, 1899, Montgomery. Parents– Samuel and Ray (Levy) Lewis. Married– Fay Jacobs, 1914.  Children–two. Ruth Stoller Grubman, July 15, 1952. Education– Public schools. Founded the publishing firm Freethought Press Association. An atheist and promoter of atheism; founder and secretary, Thomas Paine Foundation, Robert G. Ingersoll Memorial Association, and…

Biography: Teacher, writer. Born– November 7, 1889, Centre. Parents– Samuel Robert and Ann Virginia (Watson) Lester. Married–Memory Lee Aldridge, January 30, 1915. Education– Birmingham Southern College, B.A., 1908; Vanderbilt University, B.A., 1911; University of Michigan, 1911-1912; Columbia University, M.A., 1917. Teacher, assistant principal, athletic director, high school, Covington, Tenn.; taught Greek and Latin, Birmingham Southern…

Biography: Playwright, screenwriter, illustrator. Born– Shelbyville, Ky.; moved to Birmingham as a child.  Parents– Lew and Hannah Schwab Lazarus. Married– Maude Lazarus. Educated in Birmingham. Secretary and treasurer, Birmingham Mattress Company; moved to New York in 1919, and wrote stage plays; later moved to California, where he wrote screen plays, including Gabette, Come Along Mandy,…

Biography: Industrialist. Born– June 11, 1853, Cherokee County. Parents– Cummins M. and Elizabeth (McGhee) Lay. Married– Laura J. Hollingsworth, April 26, 1876. Children– Five. Education– Public schools. Worked as a riverboat pilot and then in the engine department of a railroad shop for about six years; then as a locomotive engineer; bookkeeper, William P. Hollingsworth,…

Biography: Educator, coach. Born– May 31, 1908, Greensburg, Ind. Parents– Robert and Maude (Parker) Lawson. Married– Gretchen Geneva Brown, March 16, 1940. Children– Two. Education– Howard College, B.A., 1937. Employed, Jefferson County Board of Education, 1938-1942; Bechtel-McCone defense plant, 1942-1944; basketball and football coach, Ramsey High School, Birmingham, 1942-1972. Member– Heart of Dixie Railroad Club.…

Biography: Musician, writer. Born– December 23, 1921, Elrod. Parents– Claude B. and Maggie Mae (Neel) Lavender. Married– Mary Bridget Kanitz, 1949. Children– Three. Education– Birmingham Southern College, B.Mus., 1946; University of Southern California, M.Mus., 1949. Served in U.S. Army Air Force, 1943-1946; composer, supervisor of sound track recording, documentary film production center, Aerospace Audio-visual Service,…

Biography:. College professor; writer. Born– March 27, 1943, Anniston. Parents– Lucien Boyd and Carleton (Sterne) Lentz. Married– Jane Anderson, July 10, 1965. Children– Two. Education– Kenyon College, A.B., 1964; Vanderbilt University, M.A., 1966, Ph.D., 1970. Taught, Vanderbilt University, 1964-1969; Kenyon College, 1969-. Awarded emeritus status on his retirement at Kenyon.  Lentz House, home of the…

Biography: Political scientist, college professor and administrator, municipal administration staff. Born– March 2, 1943, Columbus, Ohio. Parents– Charles and Pauline Shannon LaMonte. Married– Ruth, 1975. Children– Four. Education– Harvard University, B.A., 1965; University of Chicago, M.A., 1968, Ph.D., 1976. His doctoral study dealt with politics and welfare in Birmingham, Ala. from 1900 to 1975. Worked at…

Biography: Equestrienne, teacher. Born– November 24, 1934, Troy, Ala. Parents–J.W.Renfroe and Mary Turk Walters Renfroe. Married– Lee Young Lamar, April 1955.   Children–three. Education– University of Alabama, 1957.  Lived in Auburn, where she taught horseback riding for several years. Grants from the Alabama Council for the Arts and Auburn University; represented University Children’s Theater throughout Alabama.…

Biography: Artist. Born– Aug. 29, 1929, Troy, Ala. Parents– Edgar Chadwick and Georgia (Mayers) Thompson. Married– James Thomas “Trigger” Lake, Sept. 17, 1950. Children– Three. Education– Troy State University. Worked for Rich’s in Atlanta, Ga.; First Farmers and Merchants National Bank, Troy, Ala. Her avocation was art, with work being shown in Alabama, Georgia, Florida,…

Biography: Engineer. Born– Nov. 24, 1906, Boston, Mass. Parents– Frederick Elisha and Atlanta Gertrude (Johnson) Ladd. Married–Willie Lee Gilbreath, September 5, 1931.  Children–two.  Education– Georgia Institute of Technology, B.S., 1930. Engineer, Southern Refractories Co., Fort Payne, Ala., 1930-1936; consulting engineer, Fort Payne, 1936-1941; president, Ladd Engineering Associates, 1941. Member– Fort Payne Industrial Board, 1970-1974; Association…

Biography: College professor; science teacher; civil rights activist.  Born– Jan. 21, 1923, Boothton, Ala. Parents– Joseph Clifton and Mary Belle (Tarrant) Lacey. Married– Theodora Smiley, Apr. 29, 1956. Children– Four. Education– Alabama State College, B.S., 1947; graduate study, Howard University, 1948-1949; Northwestern University, M.A., 1953, Ph.D., 1955. Taught science on high school and junior college…

Biography: College president; professor; theologian. Born– May 8, 1938, Charlotte, NC. Parents–James Bell and Emily Jones Frazier Kuykendall. Married–Nancy Adams Moore, July 15, 1961.  Children–two.  Education– Davidson College, B.A.,1959; Union Theological Seminary, B.D., 1964; Yale Divinity School, S.T.M., 1965; Princeton University, M.A., 1972; Ph.D., 1975. Ordained to the Presbyterian ministry, 1965.   Presbyterian campus pastor at…

Biography: Anthropologist, university professor. Born– June 26, 1938, Grand Island, Neb. Parents–Richard A. Krause and Jennie Johnston Krause.  Education– University of Nebraska, B.A., 1961, M.A., 1962; Yale University, Ph.D., 1967. Taught at the University of Nebraska, 1966-1967; at Ohio State University, 1967-1968; at the University of Missouri, 1968-1974; University of Alabama, 1974-, chair, Department of Anthropology.…

Biography: Geographer, university professor.  Born– Oct. 8, 1922, Hamburg, Germany. Parents–John and Senta Hammer Koch. Came to the US with his family as a child.  Married– 1945. Children– Four. Education– University of Alabama, B.A., 1956, M.A., 1957, Ph.D. in International Studies, 1961. US military, WWII. Administrative Assistant, Bureau of Public Administration, University of Alabama, 1955-1957; taught geography,…

Biography: Sociologist, university professor, marriage counselor. Born– Dec. 1, 1943, Birmingham, Ala. Education– Auburn University, B.A., 1966; Florida State University, M.A., 1967, Ph.D., 1969. Taught, East Carolina University, 1969-; marriage counselor, Nelson Clinic, 1969-. Author of many articles in professional journals. Fellowship in behavior modification, State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1970-1971. Member;…

Biography: University professor and administrator, baseball coach. Born– June 25, 1943, Monroeville, Ala. Parents–Duncan J. and Mary L. McCaskill Knight. Married–Sylvia Bledsoe-Knight. Education– Alabama State University, B.A., 1963; Kansas State College, M.A., 1969; Oklahoma State University, Ph.D., 1974; additional study at Marquette University and the University of Iowa. Taught and coached at Blount High School, Mobile…

Biography: Physician; medical educator and administrator. Born– Dec. 5, 1897, Hartselle, Ala. Parents– Henry August and Carrie Camilla (Puryear) Kracke. Married– Virginia Carolyn Minter, Oct. 17, 1925. Children– Six. Education– Alabama Polytechnic Institute, 1913-1914; University of Alabama, B.S., 1924; Rush Medical College, University of Chicago, M.D., 1927. Worked as a pharmacist, 1914-1917; U.S. Navy, 1917-1921;…

Biography: Denominational writer and editor; clergyman. Born– Aug. 5, 1940, Lineville, Ala. Parents– Ermon G. and Ruby K. (Perry) Knight. Married– Dorothy J. Boster, Nov. 29, 1963. Children– Two. Education– Jacksonville State University, 1958-1960; University of Alabama, B.A., 1962; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, B.D., 1965, Th.M., 1966. Employed, Baptist Sunday School Board, Nashville, Tenn., 1967-1980;…

Biography: Musician, building manager. Born–October 18, 1901, LaSalle, Ill. Parents–Edmund Lee and Lilah Trestrail Knapp. Graduate of Lewis Hotel Training School in Washington, D.C. Worked in carnivals during the depression as a palmist and astrologer; concert pianist and organist.  Lived in Montgomery, 1942-, where he managed several apartment buildings. Died February 13, 1992. Source: Files…

Biography: Physician; medical educator; pioneer in cardiac surgery.  Born– Aug. 5, 1917, Muncie, Ind.  Parents–Byrl R. and Gladys Webster Kirklin. Married–Margaret Katherine Hair.  Children–three. Education– University of Minnesota, B.A., 1938; Harvard University, M.D., 1942; diplomas from the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, 1950. Captain, US Army, 1944-46. Surgeon and…

Biography: Artist, poet, educator. Born– July 26, 1889, Tuscumbia, Ala. Parents– James T. and Ella Pearsall (Rather) Kirk. Education– Agnes Scott College, A.B., 1911, Phi Beta Kappa. Served on the Board of Trustees of Agnes Scott College for 61 years, the first woman in the South to be elected to the board of a ranking…

Biography: Teacher. Born– Oct. 28, 1862, Tuscaloosa, Ala. Parents– George Hamilton and Julia Anne (Owen) Kirk. Education–Girls’ Central High School, New Orleans; Sophie Newcomb College; Chautauqua, New York; University of Michigan; Columbia University. Taught in the grammar schools of Montgomery beginning in 1894, later became a member of the Sidney Lanier High School faculty; became head…

Biography: Educator. Born– Dec. 31, 1922, Cambridge, Mass. Parents– John Fitch and Hilda (Clark) King. Married– Mary Louise Mears, June 21, 1944. Children– Two. Education– Williams College, A.B., 1943; Harvard University, M.A., 1950, Ed.D., 1958. U.S. Navy Submarine Service, 1943-1946; high school teacher, South Byfield, Mass., 1946-1948; director, Office of Tests, Harvard, 1952-1954; assistant director,…

Biography: University professor, writer. Born– Aug. 15, 1918, Meridian, Miss. Parents–William Edward Kimbrough Sr. and Daisy Ridgell Kimbrough. Education– University of Alabama, A.B., M.A. Taught, University of Alabama, 1941-1965. Julius Rosenwald fellowship, 1943; Houghton Mifflin literary fellowship, 1944. Member; Phi Beta Kappa. Died April 6, 1965. Source: Harry A. Warfel, American Novelists of Today, 1951;…