Raoul Dufy (1877 - 1953)

Painter,  Designer.  One of the most popular French artists of the 20th Century.  Dufy used sketchy lines and brilliant color to portray a sunny,  carefree world of chic promenades, yachting parties,  festivals,  and seaside resorts.  Many of his works are set in the French Riviera.  Although his light,  decorative style and subject matter suggest the […]

Donald Lee Hollowell (1917 - 2004)

Ruth Duckworth (1919 - 2009)

Artist. Born Ruth Windmüller, her work with clay and bronze included large monumental sculptures and murals, also small-scale intimate pieces. She started her career as a stone mason in Britain in the 1930s, after leaving Nazi Germany. Turning to large-scale ceramics, she accepted a teaching appointment at the University of Chicago in 1964 and began […]

Herman E. Hollis (1903 - 1934)

US Federal Agent. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, he was sworn in as criminal special agent for the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, in August of 1927. On November 27, 1934, while pursuing members of the John Dillinger Gang, he with another FBI Agent pulled over gangster Lester Joseph Gillis, known as “Baby Face Nelson” […]

Marcel Duchamp (1887 - 1968)

Known as the artist who broke the rules of modernism by exhibiting a urinal as a work of art, he became the father of the Dada movement and of post-modernism. He was featured in ARTNews, May 1999 issue as one of the top 25 artists in the western world and the man who “showed the […]

Roy Mark Hofheinz (1912 - 1982)

Businessman. Legendary Houston politician, developer, and entrepeneur.  Brought major league baseball to Houston.  As “Father of the Astrodome”, he created the concept of domed stadiums and luxury boxes.  Briefly owned Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. He is buried at Glenwood Cemetery, the marker at Forest Park Westheimer is actually a cenotaph. (bio by: […]

Louis-Joseph Duc (1970 - 1970)

Architect of, amongst other Paris buildings, the July Column (q.v.) in the place de la Bastille. (bio by: David Conway)

Ole Hobek (1970 - 1912)

Western Outlaw. He was killed during the “Last Train Robbery.” He and Wild Bunch member Ben “Partner” Kilpatrick were killed while attempting to rob Southern Pacific train east of Sanderson, Texas at Baxter’s Curve. This traditional robbery from horseback was the last of its kind recorded in United States history. He and Kilpatrick are buried […]

Guillaume Dubuffe (1853 - 1970)

Artist. Born Guillaume Édouard Marie Dubufe, he was an illustrator and painter, well known for his lavish portraits. He painted scenes of his home and a series of paintings featuring the Virgin Mary, which were displayed at Paris galleries (1888-90). During the 1890s, he decorated the ceilings of the Lobau Gallery at the Hotel de […]

Sue K. Hicks (1895 - 1980)

Lawyer, Folk Figure. He was well-known for his role as an assistant attorney to William Jennings Bryan during the famed “Scopes” trial of 1925. Mr. Hicks was also part of the orignial group of Dayton Tennessee businessmen who decided to put their small town on the map by arresting and charging John Scopes with breaking […]

Luis Dubón (1892 - 1953)

Painter. He was born in Valencia, Spain. A prodigy child painter, he was known as the Painter Poet. In 1916, he began his career as illustrator with works such as “Moro,” “Episodios Nacionales,” “Los Tramperos de Arkansas” and the drawnings for the artist Manuel González Martí’s book  “Contes del Pla i de la Muntanya.” Also […]

William Henry Herndon (1819 - 1891)

Lawyer. He is remembered as the law partner of Abraham Lincoln when he practiced law in Springfield, Illinois, prior to Lincoln’s election as the 16th US President. The oldest son of a businessman, his family moved to Macon County, Illinois in 1820 and the following year they relocated to Sangamon County, Illinois and eventually settled […]

Paul Dubois (1829 - 1905)

Artist. Born in Nogent-sur-Seine, France, he was renowned as a portrait painter and sculptor. He premiered his work at the Paris Salon in 1857 and was awarded the “une médaille de 2° classe”. Through his career his success was unlimited as an all around artist. He was awarded a médaille d’honneur in 1874, named Chevalier […]

Frank E. Hermanson (1887 - 1933)

On June 17, 1933, Kansas City Missouri Police Detectives William J. Grooms and Frank E. Hermanson were sent to meet other officers arriving at Union Station with federal prison escapee, Frank Nash. Apparently an informant had relayed all the information regarding the arrival of Nash and his law enforcement escorts to various gangsters through out […]

Jacques du Broeucq (1970 - 1970)

Artist. Born Mons, Hainaut, Belgium, he was a noted artist of the 15th Century and a teacher of Giambologna in Antwerp. Like many artist of his time, he was an intern at the Academy of Baccio Bandinelli, Rome. His work for buildings, sculptures, paintings and in silverware was primarily functional objects. His first major architectural […]

Nathaniel Dryden (1849 - 1924)

American Architect. Dryden, who was a self-taught architect, married Helen Brand, who was the sister of the railroad tycoon/real estate developer/banker, Leslie Brand. In 1893, he designed the Orson Thomas Johnson Office and Retail Building on Spring Street in Downtown Los Angeles. In 1903, he designed ‘Ard Eevin’, a private residence in Glendale, which is […]

John Hemphill (1803 - 1862)

Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, and a United States Senator.  Born in Blackstock, Chester District, South Carolina, the son of John and Jane (Lind) Hemphill. His father was a Presbyterian minister. John attended Jefferson College (now Washington and Jefferson) in Pennsylvania from 1823 to 1825 and graduated second in his class. He taught […]

Ernst Dryden (1887 - 1938)

Acclaimed Artist. Dryden, one of the finest commercial artists of his generation, was also known as one of the foremost poster artists in Germany. Dryden served as an officer in the Imperial Flying Corps during WWI and began his career as a menswear designer, moving to New York in 1933 and on to Hollywood in […]

John Coffee “Jack” Hays (1817 - 1883)

Western Lawman. Born John Coffee Hays at Cedar Lick, Tennessee, he moved to Texas in 1836, joined a Ranger company and was appointed a Captain of Texas Rangers in 1840. His Ranger companies were well known for skirmishes with outlaws, hostile Indian tribes and Mexican troops. During Mexican War, as Colonel he commanded the 1st […]

Andrew Jackson Downing (1815 - 1852)

Architect. One of America’s premier landscape architect, he wrote many books on the subject and thus, by reputation was dubbed “The Apostle of Taste.” His work included locales in New York State’s Hudson River Valley, at Newport, Rhode Island’s “cottages” and in The Capitol Mall at Washington, D.C. where a huge urn stands as a […]

John Hathorne (1641 - 1717)

He was a magistrate who, along with Jonathan Corwin, presided over the pre-trial examinations in Salem Village (now Danvers, Massachusetts) prior to the actual Salem witch trials. (The judge during the trials was William Stoughton, Lieutenant-Governor of the colony.) Great-great-grandfather of writer Nathaniel Hawthorne.  Family links:  Parents:  William Hathorne (1606 – 1681)  Ann Hathorne  Children: […]

Willard A. Downes (1908 - 2000)

Artist. Born and raised in Fredericksburg, Virginia, he went to New York City, New York at age 17 to pursue a career as an artist. Having become noticed as a painter and commercial illustrator, he was commissioned by the major motion picture studios in the 1930s to do publicity sketches of the “big name” stars […]

Sid Hatfield (1893 - 1921)

Police Chief. Born in Blackberry, Pike Co., Kentucky, the tenth of twelve children of Jacob Hatfield, a tenant farmer, and his wife Rebecca Crabtree.  A miner in his teens, he then became a blacksmith. He was nicknamed ‘Smilin’ Sid’ because of his distinctive grin, showing gold-capped teeth. He seems to have had a reputation for […]

Alden B. Dow (1904 - 1983)

Son of Dow Chemical founder, Herbert Dow. He was an architect, famous for his Studio and Home located in Midland, Michigan. Studied under Frank Lloyd Wright. (bio by: anonymus)  Family links:  Parents:  Herbert Dow (1866 – 1930)  Grace Anna Ball Dow (1869 – 1953)  Spouse:  Vada Bennett Dow (1906 – 1991)*  Siblings:  Helen Dow Hale […]

Andrew Trent Hamilton (1970 - 1741)

Philadelphia Lawyer. The Hamilton Watch Company was named after this Andrew Hamilton who was owner of a large tract of land which was granted to him from William Penn and included what is now the city of Lancaster. Lancaster became the fourth county in the province of Pennsylvania in 1729 with Andrew as the principal […]

Richard Lee Dorman (1922 - 2010)

American Architect, Author. Dorman, after a stint as a bomber for the Army in World War II, attended the University of Southern California where he graduated with a degree in Architecture in 1951. Upon graduation, he was invited to join Welton D. Becket’s firm where he went on to become the assistant director of design. […]

Alexander Hamilton (1812 - 1882)

Lawyer and jurist. Born in Philadelphia, he came to St. Louis in 1835 and began a career in law that lasted for nearly fifty years. Among his contemporaries in the legal field were Edward Bates, Hamilton Gamble and Henry Geyer. The latter two were participants in the Dred Scott trials.Hamilton was first appointed a judge […]

Gustave Doré (1832 - 1883)

Artist. Born in Strausbourg, he is considered by many to be one of the greatest illustrators of all time. His first major success in Paris came in 1861, when his edition of Dante’s “Inferno” (prohibitively priced at 100 francs) became an unexpected bestseller, eventually going through over 200 editions.  Doré’s best-known work is his edition […]

Frank Hamer (1884 - 1955)

Western Lawman. Born in Fairview, Texas, he was working as a wrangler on ranch when he helped the local sheriff capture a horse thief in 1905. He joined the Texas Rangers in 1906, patrolled the border in south Texas, resigned become the City Marshal of Navasota, Texas in 1908 and became a special officer in […]

Donfeld (1934 - 2007)

Costume Designer. He attended the Chouinard Art Institute before being hired as an art director (at age 19) by Capitol Records,  where he designed album covers. After several years he left Capitol to become a costume designer in the film industry. Donfeld’s first screen assignment was 1961’s “Sanctuary”,  for which he designed Lee Remick’s costumes. […]