Rupert Richardson
| Rupert Norval Richardson, Sr.
(West Texas historian and president of Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Born | April 28, 1891 Caddo, Stephens County, Texas, USA | ||
| Died | April 14, 1988 (aged 96) Abilene, Taylor County, Texas | ||
| Spouse | Pauline Mayes Richardson (married, 1915-1965, her death) Son: Rupert Richardson, Jr. | ||
| Religion | Southern Baptist | ||
Rupert Norval Richardson, Sr. (April 28, 1891 – April 14, 1988), was an American historian and a former president of Southern Baptist-affiliated Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. Active in professional development, he was one of the founders of the West Texas Historical Association, formerly based in Abilene but in recent years, Lubbock.[1]
Background
Richardson was born to Willis Baker Richardson and the former Nannie Coon on Sandy Creek near the community of Caddo in Stephens County in north central Texas. At the time of Richardson's birth, Caddo had a population in the 1890 census of only seventy-five persons.[2] He attended Simmons College (later Hardin-Simmons University), from which he procured his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1912. He then moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he received a Bachelor of Science in 1914 from the University of Chicago. In 1915, Richardson wed the former Pauline Mayes (1892-1965). The couple had one son, Rupert Richardson, Jr.[3]
From 1915-1916, Richardson was the principal of Cisco High School in Cisco in Eastland County, Texas, east of Abilene. The next academic year, he was principal at Sweetwater High School in Sweetwater in Nolan County west of Abilene. In 1917, he returned to his alma mater, Simmons College, asa professor of history. He served briefly as a second lieutenant in the United States Army during World War I. He subsequently procured his Master of Arts in 1922 and his Ph.D. in 1928, both from the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied under Eugene C. Barker. He was dean of students at Hardin-Simmons from 1926 to 1928, vice president from 1928 to 1943, acting president from 1943 to 1945, and president from 1945 to 1953. Under his presidency the institution expanded in enrollment and size of the physical campus. In 1953, he retired as the Hardin-Simmons emeritus president and returned to the history department, where he continued to teach courses and supervise student theses.[3]
Scholarly activities
Richardson’s scholarly works include The Comanche Barrier to South Plains Settlement (1933), a study of the Comanche Indians; The Greater Southwest (1934), coauthored with Carl Coke Rister, Adventuring with a Purpose (1952); The Frontier of Northwest Texas (1963); Colonel Edward M. House: The Texas Years (1964), a study of Woodrow Wilson’s political aide from Houston, and Caddo, Texas: The Biography of a Community (1966). His personal reflection is unveiled in Famous Are Thy Halls: Hardin-Simmons University As I Have Known It (1964).[3]
His history textbook, Texas: The Lone Star State (1943) went through five editions until it ceased to be the leading textbook in its field during the 1980s.[3] Texas: The Lone Star State, now in its tenth edition and co-authored by Ernest Wallace, then a historian at Texas Tech, Adrian Anderson, and Cary D. Wintz,[4] emphasizes the 19th century and treats Reconstruction as a political tragedy or melodrama, the earlier view usually held by southern historians but subsequently abandoned after the rise of the civil rights movement. Richardson served as an editor of the West Texas Historical Association Year Book (since named West Texas Historical Review) from its first issue in 1925 until his death.[3] At the time the association was based at Hardin-Simmons, but it relocated in 1998 to Texas Tech].[5]
A fellow of the Texas State Historical Association, Richardson also served from 1969-1970 as president of the organization. He was a former president of the Southwestern Social Science Association, the Texas Philosophical Society, and the Texas Council of Church-Related Colleges and Universities. He was also active in the Masonic lodge, the Lions Club, and in Baptist affairs.[3]
Legacy
Richardson was a member from 1953 to 1967 of the Texas State Historical Survey Committee, now the Texas Historical Commission. In that capacity, he promoted the expansion of historical markers along Texas highways. In 1972, he received the Ruth Lester Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in historical preservation.[3][6]
In 1965, shortly after the death of his wife, Richardson traveled to Washington, D.C., to testify on behalf of the establishment of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in West Texas near the New Mexico state line. The park opened in 1967.[7]
Richardson died in Abilene two weeks prior to what would have been his 97th birthday. He is permanently honored by the naming of both the Richardson Library and the Richardson Research Center of the Southwest on his campus. In addition, the West Texas Historical Association names its annual book award in Richardson's honor.[7]B W Aston, Hardin-Simmons history faculty member, headed the research center from 1981 to 2001.[8]
References
- ↑ Ernest Wallace. West Texas Historical Association. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved on February 13, 2020.
- ↑ William R. Hunt. Caddo, Texas. The Handbook of Texas. Retrieved on February 13, 2020.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Mark Odintz. Rupert N. Richardson. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved on February 13, 2020.
- ↑ (July 30, 2009) Texas: The Lone Star State. Routledge through Amazon.com. Retrieved on February 13, 2020.
- ↑ From the Executive Director: Tai D. Kriedler. Southwest Collection at Texas Tech University (Spring 2009). Retrieved on February 13, 2020.
- ↑ Ruth Lester Lifetime Achievement Award. thc.state.tx.us. Retrieved on October 10, 2009; no longer on-line.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Rupert Norval Richardson. sutphen.org. Retrieved on February 13, 2020.
- ↑ Dr. B W Aston. Abilene Reporter News (March 27, 2010). Retrieved on April 3, 2010; no longer on-line.
