Ruliff Stephen Holway (or Ruliff S. Holway; 4 May 1857 – 2 December 1927) was a professor of geography at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
, between 1904 and 1923.
Life
Ruliff Stephen Holway was born on 8 May 1857 in
Hesper Township, Winneshiek County, Iowa.
His parents were George Newell Holway and Amy Maria Ellison.
He studied at a normal school.
In 1877 he married Florence L. Conger in Winneshiek County, Iowa.
Holway spent several years teaching in high schools and the
California State Normal School San Jose State University, San José State University traces back to 1857 when the institution operated as a normal school for the San Francisco Unified School District, San Francisco public school system. It grew in size and scope until May 2, 1862 ...
(now
San Jose State University
San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...
) in San Jose.
He married Mary Gordon in 1883 in San Francisco, California.
He became interested in geography during a summer course taught by
William Morris Davis
William Morris Davis (February 12, 1850 – February 5, 1934) was an American geographer, geologist, geomorphologist, and meteorologist, often called the "father of American geography".
He was born into a prominent Quaker family in Philadelphi ...
at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, and may well have been influenced by Davis's interest in environmentalism.
He went back to study at
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
and then to the University of California, where he earned a master's degree in 1904.
He was immediately appointed assistant professor of physiography at the University of California at Berkeley.
Holway succeeded
George Davidson as professor of geography at Berkeley in 1905, and headed the department until he in turn retired in 1923.
The curriculum under Holway included physiography, meteorology, oceanography, mapping and commercial geography.
Holway taught various courses that dealt with relations between humans and geography that reflected conventional views of his day.
"''General Physical Geography''" covered "Land forms, climatology, oceanography, and planetary relations, and their effect upon human affairs".
"''Geographical Influences in the Western United States''" covered "The geographic conditions which have influenced the exploration and early settlement of the west and the present effect of physical factors on the life of the people".
"''Geographic Influences in the Development of the United States''" (1918) covered "the influence of topography and climate of the United States upon location
of cities and trade routes and upon man and his activities".
Holway's second wife died in 1922. They had no children.
He retired in 1923 and was succeeded by
Carl O. Sauer.
He married Laura Etta Ogden in 1923 in Oakland California.
He died on 2 December 1927 in Oakland, California.
Publications
Holway's publications included:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holway, Ruliff Stephen
1857 births
1927 deaths
American geographers
San Jose State University faculty