Alexander Q. Holladay facts for kids
Alexander Quarles Holladay (born May 8, 1839 – died March 13, 1909) was an important American leader. He was a lawyer, a state senator, and a college president.
During the Civil War, Holladay was an officer in the Confederate States Army. He rose to the rank of Colonel. For the rest of his life, many people called him "Colonel Holladay."
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Life of Alexander Quarles Holladay
Alexander Quarles Holladay was born in Cherry Grove, Virginia. His father, Alexander Richmond Holladay, was a lawyer and a former U.S. Representative.
Early Life and Education
Like his father, Alexander Q. Holladay went to the University of Virginia from 1857 to 1859. After that, he studied at the University of Berlin in Germany from 1859 to 1861. He focused on subjects like Latin, Greek, philosophy, and law. While at the University of Virginia, he was part of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.
Family and Civil War Service
On April 17, 1861, just a few days after the Civil War started, Holladay married Virginia Randolph Bolling. She was from a family in Goochland County, Virginia. On May 25, 1861, he joined the Confederate States Army. During the four years of the Civil War, he moved up in rank from a Second Lieutenant to a Colonel.
Alexander and Virginia had five children. Their daughter Mary Stuart was born in 1862. Their son William Waller was born in 1864. Their daughter Julia Cabell was born in 1868. They also had two more sons, Alexander Randolph (born 1870) and Charles Bolling (born 1873).
Career After the War
After the Civil War ended in 1865, Holladay studied law. He then worked as a lawyer with his father from 1870 to 1877. During this time, he also served as a state senator for Richmond from 1871 to 1875.
Later, he taught in Richmond for a while. He then became the president of the Stonewall Jackson Institute in Abingdon, Virginia. From 1885 to 1888, he was the president of the Florida State Agricultural College in Lake City, Florida.
In 1889, the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts chose Holladay to be its first leader. This college later became North Carolina State University. Holladay had first applied to be a professor of English at the new college. He led about fifty students during the first school year, 1889–1890.
Later Years
Holladay retired in 1899. He spent time in Delaware, New York, and Virginia. When his health began to fail, he moved back to his daughter's home in Raleigh, North Carolina. He lived there until he passed away in 1909. He was buried in Raleigh. The NCSU Libraries Special Collections Research Center keeps his old papers and writings.
Connections of Alexander Quarles Holladay
Alexander Holladay's mother was a niece of George Poindexter. George Poindexter served as the second Governor of Mississippi from 1820 to 1822.
Holladay was also related to Lewis Littlepage. Littlepage was the half-brother of Holladay's grandfather, Waller Holladay. Lewis Littlepage had an interesting career as a diplomat. He worked for the last Polish king, Stanisław August Poniatowski, and for the Russian Empire.
Memorials to Alexander Quarles Holladay
The Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal is a special award given by North Carolina State University. It is the highest honor the university can give to its teachers and professors.
The first building ever built at North Carolina State University was renamed Holladay Hall in his honor in 1915.
