Dates

• Existence: 1870 - 1945

Biographical Note

Roy Jay Holden was born to Harvey Jay and Sarah Diana (Danforth) Holden on October 21, 1870 in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. He married Elizabeth Evans (1888-1967), and they had several children: Virginia S., Elizabeth F., and Roy Jay, Jr..

Holden earned B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin in 1900 and 1915, respectively. He joined Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute as an associate professor of Geology and Mineralogy (sometimes called Mining Geology) in 1905, becoming a professor in 1908. He served as the head of the department from 1908 until his death. Holden died on December 16, 1945, and is buried alongside his wife in the Westview Cemetery in Blacksburg, Virginia.

The Mineral Industries Building at Virginia Tech was renamed Holden Hall in honor of Holden in 1949.

External source:

U.S. Federal Census, 1880, 1920-1940

"Roy Jay Holden", Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69582162/roy-jay-holden, accessed April 22, 2024.

"Holden Hall", Virginia Tech, https://www.vt.edu/about/locations/buildings/holden-hall.html, accessed April 22, 2024.

Roy Jay Holden death certificate, in the Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/2373370:9278, accessed April 22, 2024.

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