Francis Ross Holland Jr. (August 24, 1927 – September 16, 2005) was an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

. He is best known for his books about American

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

s. Holland was born in

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

, Georgia. He graduated from Georgia State University in 1949; in 1958 he received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was recalled to duty in 1950 for the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Holland also served for many years with the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, rising to the rank of park historian at several sites and serving in various administrative positions. He received both the Meritorious Service Award and the Distinguished Service Award from the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

. Holland was one of the most important historians of American lighthouses, and spent much of his career championing their preservation. Holland died of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

on September 16, 2005, at his home in

Mason, New Hampshire Mason is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,448 at the 2020 census. Mason, together with Wilton, is home to Russell-Abbott State Forest. History Mason was first known as "Number One", the easternmos ...

Works

*'' America's Lighthouses: Their Illustrated History Since 1716'' (1981) *''Idealists, Scoundrels, and the Lady'' (1993) *''Great American Lighthouses'' (1995) *''Maryland Lighthouses of the Chesapeake'' (1997)

References

External links

1927 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Writers from Savannah, Georgia National Park Service personnel United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy personnel of the Korean War Georgia State University alumni University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts alumni Neurological disease deaths in New Hampshire Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in the United States People from Mason, New Hampshire 20th-century American male writers Historians from Georgia (U.S. state) {{pharology-stub