Alabama Authors

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  • COMBS, ELISHA TRAMMELL “TRAM”, 1924-2018

    Biography: Poet, chemist, bookstore owner. Born– September 25, 1924, Riverview. Parents– Elisha Trammell and LaFaye (Hunt) Combs. Education– Attended the University of Washington, 1943-1944; attended the University of Chicago, 1945; University of California, A.B., 1948; further study at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Meteorologist in the U.S. Air Force, 1943-1946; chemist with Tidewater-Associated Oil…

  • HOLLARS, B. J., 1984-

    Biography; Writer; university professor of creative writing. Born–May 25, 1984, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Married; children–one.  Education– B.A., Knox College; M. F. A., University of Alabama, 2010.  Associate professor of creative writing, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. Founder and executive director, Chippewa Valley Writers Guild.  Society of Midland Authors Award for Adult Nonfiction, 2012. Blei/Derleth Nonfiction Award, 2014. Source; Contemporary Authors online.…

  • WOLFF, JONATHAN ANSELL (TOBIAS), 1945-

    Biography: Writer; university professor of English and creative writing.  Born– June 19, 1945,  Birmingham.  Parents–Arthur and Rosemary Loftus Wolff. Grew up in Washington State. Married–Catherine Dolores Spohn. Children– three. Education– Oxford University, B.A., 1972; M.A., 1975;  Stanford University, M.A., 1978. Military service:  U. S. Army Special Forces, Vietnam, 1964-68. Taught at Goddard College and Arizona State…

  • WHITE, ROY IRVEN, 1901-1992

    Biography: Writer, clergyman. Born– November 23, 1901, in Winamac, Ind. Parents– William E. and Nancy Elizabeth (Yost) White. Married– Ruth E. Wine, June 7, 1924. Children– Two. Education– Manchester College, B.A., 1927; Bethany Biblical Seminary, B.D.; Northwestern University, M.A. Worked at Chicago Transit Authority, 1927-1960. Minister, Douglas Park Church of the Brethren, Chicago, 1936-1945; pastor,…

  • BROWN, STEVEN PRESTON, 1964-

    Biography; Political scientist; university professor. Born–1964, Utah.  Parents– Thomas E. and Marilyn Jensen Brown.  Married; children–seven.  B.A., Brigham Young University, 1991; University of Virginia, M.A., 1995; Ph. D., 1998. .  Professor of political science at Auburn, 1998-. Published articles in many scholarly journals. Received the Franklyn S. Haiman Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Freedom of Expression,…

  • PERLIS, ALAN DAVID, 1943-2015

    Biography: Poet; author; university professor of English; real estate broker.  Born– September 29, 1943, Boston, Mass. Parents–Rose Winer and Harry Perlis.  Married Paula Perlis; children–two; married Beth Bradley; children–three.  Education– University of Vermont, B.A., 1965; M.A., 1966; University of Michigan, Ph.D., 1969. Taught at the University of Michigan, 1969-1970; Beloit College, 1970-1975; Head of Department…

  • LITTLETON, TAYLOR DOWE, 1930-

    Biography: Literary scholar; University professor, administrator. Born March 14, 1930, Birmingham. Parents– M. Taylor and Florence Longcrier Littleton. Married–Mary Lucy Williams, 1954. Children– Four. Education– Florida State University, B.S., 1951, M.A., 1952, Ph.D., 1960. U.S. Army, 1952-54. Florida State University, teaching assistant, 1954-1957; Auburn University, English faculty, 1957-1968,  assistant dean of graduate studies, 1964-1968; dean…

  • SHORT, JOHN W., 1952-

    Biography: Senior environmental scientist at Weston Solutions, Montgomery. Published a number of papers on Alabama ferns. Source: University of Alabama Press Catalog, 2012. Joint_Publications: Ferns of Alabama. University of Alabama Press, 2012.

  • LINDSEY, JONATHAN ASMEL, 1937-2012

    Biography: Librarian; academic administrator; clergyman, teacher. Born– June 9, 1937, Bullock County, Ga. Parents– Joel Wesley and Ethel Iora (Strickland) Lindsey. Married– Edythe Annette Loewer, April 3, 1965. Children– Two. Education– George Washington University, A.B., 1961; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, B.D., 1964, Ph.D., 1968; University of Alabama, M.S.L.S., 1975. Clerk, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1956-1961;…

  • BRAUND, KATHRYN HOLLAND, 1955-

    Biography: Historian; university professor of history.  Education; Auburn University, M.A., 1980; Florida State University, Ph. D., 1986.  Hollifield Professor of history, Auburn University.  Author of many articles in professional journals.  Member Friends of Horseshoe Bend; Alabama Historical Association; Bartram Trail Conference. Source: Auburn University website. Publications: Deerskins and Duffels: The Creek Indian Trade with Anglo-America,…

  • McDONALD, FORREST, 1927-2016

    Biography: Historian; University professor. Born– January 7, 1927, Orange, Tex. Parents– Forrest and Myra (McGill) McDonald. Married– Ellen Shapiro, August 1, 1963. Children–six. Education– B.A.,  M.A., Ph.D.,  (1955), University of Texas at Austin.   Employed as a research training fellow, Social Science Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1951-1953; utility research director, Wisconsin Historical Society, 1953-1956; executive secretary, American…

  • BAGLEY, EDYTHE SCOTT, 1924-2011

    Biography; Educator; civil rights activist.  Born December 13, 1924, Marion.  Parents–Obadiah and Bernice McMurray Scott.  Married Arthur Bagley, June 5, 1954.  Children– one.  Education: Lincoln Normal School, Marion; Antioch College; Ohio State University, B.A.; Columbia University, M.A.; Boston University, M.F.A. in Theatre Arts, 1965.  Taught high school English in Talladega; taught at Albany State College,…

  • STERKX, HENRY EUGENE, 1920-1989.

    Biography: Historian, university professor. Born– June 25, 1920,  Alexandria, La. Parents– Eugene and Hattie Sterkx.  Education– Louisiana State University, B.A., 1944; M.A., 1946; University of Alabama, Ph.D., 1954.  Taught at Troy State College, 1947-1956 and 1959-1972; University of Tampa, 1957-1958; Auburn University in Montgomery, 1972-82; Head of Department of History, AUM, 1975-82. Member– Organization of…

  • CORLEY, ROBERT GAINES, 1948-

    Biography: Professor, university administrator; civic leader. Born– February 5, 1948, Birmingham. Parents– Robert A. and Edith Marie (Gaines) Corley. Married– Catherine Fievet, November 25, 1972. Children– Two. Education– Birmingham Southern College, B.A., 1970; University of Virginia, M.A, 1971, Ph.D., 1979. Worked for the Birmingham Post-Herald, 1971-1973; assistant archivist at Birmingham Public Library, 1977-1980 and 1981-1983;…

  • CARTER, FRANCES TUNNELL, 1922-

    Biography: Teacher, university professor; civic leader. Born– May 21, 1922, Springville, Miss. Parents– David and Mary Annie (McCutcheon) Tunnell. Married– John Thomas Carter, March 16, 1946. Children– Two. Education– Attended Blue Mountain College; Wood Junior College, A.A., 1942; University of Southern Mississippi, B.S., 1946; University of Tennessee, M.S., 1948; University of Illinois, Ed.D., 1954; postgraduate study…

  • BADGER, RODNEY REID, 1942-

    Biography: University professor of American Studies. Born– July 31, 1942, Salt Lake City, Utah. Parents– Rodney Jenkins and Phyllis (Snow) Badger. Married– Lee Wilson, June 10, 1965. Children– Two. Education– U.S. Naval Academy, B.S, 1964; U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, 1968-1970; Syracuse University, M.S., 1974, Ph.D., 1975. Served in the U.S. Navy, 1964-1970; instructor in naval…

  • MULLER, ALBERT A., 1785-1858.

    Episcopal priest; poet.  Served Episcopal parishes in South Carolina and Mississippi; rector of Christ Church, Tuscaloosa, 1830-   .  First person to receive an honorary degree from the University of Alabama. Publications; Gospel Melodies, and other Occasional Poems. 1825.

  • LOWI, THEODORE JAY, 1931-2017

    Biography: Political scientist; university professor. Born– July 9, 1931, Gadsden. Parents– Alvin R. and Janice (Haas) Lowi. Married– Angele M. Daniel, May 11, 1963. Children– Two. Education– B.A., Michigan State University, 1954; M.A., Yale University, 1955; Ph.D., Yale, 1961. Taught at Cornell University, 1959-1965; University of Chicago, 1965-1972, Cornell, 1972-2015. Member American Political Science Association; elected president, 1990.…

  • ROCHE, EMMA LANGDON, 1878-1945

    Biography: Artist, writer, farmer. Born– March 26, 1878, Mobile. Parents– Thomas T. and Annie Laura (Jane) Roche. Education– Graduated from the Convent of Visitation, 1895; Art Students League in New York City. Wrote Habits of Native Birds and Diseases of Trees. Historic Oakleigh Plantation Museum held an exhibit on the life and work of Emma…

  • RODGERS, CATHERINE, 1916-2004

    Biography: Teacher. Born– March 27, 1916, Camp Hill. Parents– George Robert and Bessie (Garlington) Rodgers. Married– Thomas Jackson McLain, 1960. Education– Alabama Polytechnic Institute, M.S., 1941; University of Alabama. Taught school in Talladega and Camp Hill. Published short story in the Birmingham News-Age Herald, 1937.               Died July 13, 2004. Source: Files at Alabama Public Library…

  • ROYALL, ANNE NEWPORT, 1769-1854

    Writer; editor; one of the first woman journalists. Born June 11, 1769, Baltimore.  Grew up in western Pennsylvania.  Married William Royall, 1797. Educated at home, under the supervision of Royall.  After her husband’s death in 1812 she moved to Alabama and began writing about her travels. After a few  years she moved again, writing about her travels…

  • SCREWS, WILLIAM WALLACE, 1839-1913

    Biography: Attorney, journalist. Born– Feb. 25, 1839 in Barbour (now Russell) Co. Parents– Benjamin and Morning (Drake) Screws. Married– Emily F. Holton Apr. 25, 1867. Children– Three. Education– studied law in Montgomery law offices; admitted to bar in 1859. Practiced law until 1861; served in Confederate Army, 1861-65; purchased Montgomery Advertiser in  1865, becoming president…

  • FULMER, ROBERT MARION, 1939-

    Professor of business, executive, consultant. Born– October 6, 1939, Florence. Parents– Robert and Reba (Smith) Fulmer. Married– Arlene Hogan, March 12, 1960. Children– Two. Married– Patsy Cohen Wallace, July 9, 1977. Education– David Lipscomb College, B.A., 1961; University of Florida, M.B.A., 1962; University of California Los Angeles, Ph.D., 1965. Staff member, Proctor & Gamble, 1962-63; …

  • FULLER, HELEN, 1913-1972

    Editor, journalist, attorney. Born– December 17, 1913, Birmingham. Parents– Arthur Wright and Leila E. (Thompson) Fuller. Education– University of Alabama, A.B., 1933, M.A., 1934, law student, 1935. Special attorney for U.S. Justice Department, 1935-1939; assistant to the administrator, National Youth Administration, 1939-1941; worked for New Republic as assistant editor, 1944-1946; Washington editor, 1946-1948; political editor,…

  • MAYFIELD, JAMES JEFFERSON, 1861-1927

    Biography: Attorney, judge; author of legal codes. Born– March 22, 1861, Moore’s Bridge, Ala. Parents– James Jefferson and Amanda (South) Mayfield. Married– Susie Martin, June 30, 1897. Children– Two. Education– A.B., 1885; LL.B., 1888, University of Alabama. Worked as a teacher, 1885-87; tutor of physics and astronomy, University of Alabama, 1887-88. Began legal practice,  Tuscaloosa,…

  • PYRNELLE, LOUISE CLARKE, 1850-1907.

    Biography; Teacher; writer.  Born: Ittabena Plantation, Perry County, July 10, 1850.  Parents; Richard and Elizabeth Bates  Carson Clarke.  Married– John Parnell, 1880 (used a variant spelling of the name as a pseudonym).  Education; Hamner Hall (girls’ school in Montgomery); Ann Randall Diehl’s College of Education and Delsarte Academy, both in New York. Worked as a governess and tutor throughout…

  • DOWNS, MATTHEW L., 1980-

    Biography; Historian; college professor.  Education– University of Alabama, M.A., 2004; Ph. D., 2010.  Professor of history, University of Mobile. Awarded the 2015 James F. Sulzby Book Award for the outstanding book in Alabama history from the Alabama Historical Association. Publications; Transforming the South; Federal Development in the Tennessee Valley, 1915-1960.  Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 2014.

  • BURNETT, LONNIE ALEXANDER, 1958-

    Biography; Historian; professor of history; college administrator.  Professor of History at the University of Mobile; Chair, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences; Dean, Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Associate Vice-President for Academic Affairs.  Member Alabama Historical Association. Publications; Henry Hotze, Confederate Propagandist:  Selected Writings on Revolution, Recognition, and Race.  University of Alabama Press, 2008. The Pen…

  • SIMMONS, MERINDA, 1981-

    Biography; University professor.  Teaches religious studies at the University of Alabama. Publications; Changing the Subject; Writing Women across the African Diaspora.  Columbus:  Ohio State University Press, 2014. Joint_Editor; Race and Displacement:  Nation, Migration, and Identity in the Twenty-first Century.  University of Alabama Press, 2013. The Trouble with Post-Blackness.  New York:  Columbia University Press, 2015.  

  • MAROUAN, MAHA, 1975-

    Biography: Race and gender scholar; university professor. Born and grew up in Morocco.  Education; University of Kent, UK, M.A.; University of Nottingham, Ph.D. Taught at University of Alabama, 2005-2014 ; University of Pennsylvania, Director of the African American Studies Program and Associate Professor of African-American Studies and Women’s Studies, 2014-. Member American Academy of Religion; National Women’s…

  • FARRAR, LARSTON DAWN, 1915-1970

    Business writer; journalist.  Born– February 25, 1915, Birmingham. Parents– Sam Cross and Mabel Elon (Canterbury) Farrar. Married–Marigrace Salyer.  Children– three. Education– Attended Birmingham-Southern College, and Emory University; Millsaps College, A.B., 1940. Secretary for the Corinth, Miss. Chamber of Commerce, 1940-1941; Johnson City, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, 1941-1942; editor of Nation’s Business, 1942-1943; assistant to the…

  • JONES, BILL (WILLIAM GROVER, JR.), 1922-2015

    Biography: Journalist; political staff member. Born– Apr. 24, 1922, Woodville, Ala. Parents– William Grover Sr. and Amanda Graham (Flanagan) Jones. Married– Vera Jean Baird, May 28, 1950. Children– Three. Education– University of Alabama, A.B., 1943. U.S. Army, 1942-1945; newspaper reporter and editor; wrote for several Alabama papers; owner of the Walker County Times, 1945-1960; printing and…

  • JOHNSTON, MARGUERITE SPRADLING, 1917-2005

    Biography: Journalist. Born– August 7, 1917, Birmingham, Ala. Parents– Robert C. and Marguerite (Spradling) Johnston. Married– Charles Wynn Barnes, August 31, 1946. Children– Four. Education– Birmingham Southern College, A.B., 1938. Reporter, Birmingham News, 1939-1945; Washington correspondent, Birmingham News, Birmingham Age-Herald, London Daily Mirror, 1945-1946; editor and columnist, Houston Post, 1947-85. Received Theta Sigma Phi Woman…

  • HENLEY, JOHN CHARLES, JR., 1880-1949

    Biography: Journalist; Publisher. Born–October 9, 1880.  Parents– John Charles and Antoinette Aurelia (Linn) Matthews Henley. Married–Lamira Minter Parker, April 26, 1906.  Children–four.  Education– Pantops Academy, Charlottesville, Va.; Princeton University, B.A., 1902.  Reporter, Birmingham News; founded Birmingham Publishing Company, 1910, served as president until his death in 1949. Founder and president, Birmingham Historical Society. Active in…

  • HEATH, WILLIAM LEDBETTER, 1924-2007

    Biography: Reporter; fiction writer. Born– September 29, 1924, in Lake Village, Ark. Parents– Charles Merrill and Ann Maples Heath. Reared by his grandmother after his mother’s death when he was an infant. Grew up in Scottsboro, Ala. Married– Mary Anne Stahler, 1950.  Children–three.  Education– Baylor School in Chattanooga; University of Virginia, B.A., 1949. U.S. Army…

  • DUPREE, MARY HELEN, 1974-

    Professor of German.  Born–July 10, 1974, Rome, Georgia; moved to Tuscaloosa at an early age.  Parents–Robert H. and Nancy (Barker) Dupree.  Education– Swarthmore College, B.A., 1996; Columbia University, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., 2006.  Additional study at the University of Regensburg, the Free University of Berlin, and Humboldt University.  Post-doctoral fellow, Rice University, 2006-2008; professor of German, Georgetown…

  • TOMLINSON, STEPHEN, 1954-

    Biography; Professor of education.  Education–  University of London, B.A., 1977, M.A., 1979; University of Florida, M.A., 1986, Ph. D., 1991.Employed at the College of Education at the University of Alabama beginning in 1991; currently Professor of Social Foundations of Education and Director of the interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in nursing. Source; College of Education website  …

  • HADDIN, THEODORE, 1933-

    Biography: Professor. Born– April 7, 1933 in Grand Rapids, Mich. Married– Mary Jean Woodruff.  Children– two. Education– University of Michigan, A.B., 1955; A.M., 1956; Ph.D., 1968. Taught at Jackson (Mich.) High School, 1958-1961; Ann Arbor High School, 1961-1963; University of Michigan, 1965-1968; St. Louis University, 1963-1973; University of Alabama in Birmingham 1973-. Published articles in…

  • GUNDLACH, JAMES H., 1942-

    Biography: Sociologist; Professor. Born– December 15, 1942, in Watonga, Okla. Parents– Leo Carl and Clara (Van Dorn) Gundlach. Education– Oklahoma State University, B.A., 1969; University of Texas, M.A., 1975; Ph.D., 1978. Married– Carol, April 31, 1969. Children– One. Professor of sociology at Auburn University, retired 2007.   Whistle-blower for an academic scandal at Auburn in…

  • GUERARD, IONE CROWE, 1889-1985

    Biography: Elocutionist; poet. Born– June 26, 1889, River Bend. Parents– Frank F. and Linnie P. Crowe. Married– William Porcher Guerard. Children– one. Education– Graduate of Alabama College, student of expression and poetry at Columbia College of Expression, Chicago. Presented readings throughout the South; won awards for poems, including the ballad prize of the Poetry Society of Alabama…

  • FELDMAN, GLENN, 1962-2015

    Biography; Historian; university professor.  Born– May 30, 1962,Birmingham.  Parents– Brian and Julia Burgos Feldman. Married– Jeannie Reed.  Children–two.  Education–Birmingham-Southern, B.A. in political science and economics, 1983; Vanderbilt, M.A. in political science, 1986; Birmingham-Southern, B.S. in secondary education, 1989; Auburn, M.A.in history, 1992, Ph. D. in history, 1996.  Professor of history at UAB, 1996-2015; taught Economics and…

  • WELLS, KELLIE, 1962-

    Biography; Writer; teacher of writing. Born–Kansas City, Kansas, 1962.   Education– University of Kansas, B.A., B.S.; University of Montana, M.F.A.; University of Pittsburgh, M.F.A.; Western Michigan University, Ph. D. , 1999.  Director of the Writing Program at Washington University in St. Louis; professor in the MFA in Writing program at the University of Alabama. Publishes short…

  • SPAULDING, DANIEL D.

    Biologist; museum curator.  Curator of collections at the Anniston Museum of Natural History. Source; University of Alabama Press catalog. Publications; Vascular Flora of Lake Guntersville State Park, Marshall County, Alabama.  Jacksonville State University, 1995. Joint_Publications; Annotated Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Alabama.  Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 2011. Ferns of Alabama.  University of Alabama…

  • MATHEWS, BURGIN

    Teacher; writer.  Born–Montgomery.  Education– Vassar College, B.A., 2000;  Duke University, MAT; graduate work in folklore and creative writing at the University of North Carolina.  English teacher at Spain Park High School, Birmingham, 2007-  .  Owner and operator of Lady Muleskinner Press, 2009-  .  Host of “The Lost Child” radio program on Birmingham roots music.  Author…

  • DAY, JAMES SANDERS, 1956-

    Biography; Historian; university professor; administrator. United States Military Academy, B.S., 1979.  Active duty in U.S.Army, 1979-95. Taught history at the U.S. Military Academy,  (1989-92); Marion Military Institute (1995-96);  Judson College (1996-99); and Auburn University at Montgomery (1999-2000);  at the University of Montevallo, 1997-  ; served in various administrative posts,  including assistant vice president for academic…

  • CRAWFORD, ANN CADDELL, 1936-.

    Biography: Writer; publisher. Born– Birmingham. Parents– Carl Lamar “Sale” Caddell, Sr. Married– William R. Crawford. Children– Three. Education– Samford University, University of Alabama Extension Center in Birmingham, and Auburn University. Lived in Vietnam for four years; worked as free-lance journalist for Stars and Stripes, Copley News Service, and other publications.  Founded the publication Military Living in 1968;…

  • GIBBONS, J. WHITFIELD “WHIT,” 1939-

    Biography; Herpetologist; university professor. Born– Montgomery, October 5, 1939. Parents– Robert F. and Janie Moore Gibbons. Married–Carolyn Conley, January 26, 1963.  Children–four.  Education– University of Alabama, B.S., 1961; M.A., 1963; Michigan State University, Ph. D., 1967. Worked at University of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Lab, 1967-83; professor of zoology at University of Georgia, 1983-2008. Continues…

  • GROSS, JIMMIE FRANK, 1936-

    Biography: Historian; College professor. Born– April 22, 1936, Wedowee. Parents– Carey Arlin and Minnie Lee (Parker) Gross. Education– Baylor University, B.A., 1957; Auburn University, M.A., 1962; University of Georgia, Ph.D., 1969. Teacher, Augusta College; graduate fellow, Institute of Higher Education, University of Georgia; professor of history at Armstrong State College in Savannah, Georgia,  1967-97. Contributor to the…

  • GROSS, BEN SAMUEL, 1890-1979

    Biography: Attorney, journalist. Born– November 23, 1890, Birmingham. Parents– Adolph and Sarah (Kaufman) Gross. Married– Kathleen Cotter, December 21, 1931. Education– Study at Tulane University; University of Alabama, LL.B., 1914. Served with U.S.Army in France, WWI. Admitted to State Bar of Alabama in 1915, practiced law in Birmingham, 1915-17; reporter for the Bronx Home News,…

  • ADAMS, FRANK “DOC,” 1928-2014

    Biography; Musician; band director. Born February 2, 1928, Smithfield.  Parents–Oscar Adams Sr. and Ella Eaton Adams.  Married Dot Adams; children–one. Education–Howard University, B.S., University of Chicago, B.Music,; Samford University, Master of Education and Ed. Specialist; UAB, Ph.D.  Played clarinet and saxophone  with several well-known national  jazz bands.  Music director at Lincoln Elementary School, 1950-1977;  music director…

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