Frantz, Joe Bertram, 1917-

Historian Joe Bertram Frantz spent his childhood in Weatherford, Texas before attending Weatherford College and the University of Texas at Austin (B.A., 1938; M.A., 1940). He began his professional career at the San Jacinto Museum before World War II intervened. Frantz served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and fought in the Pacific Theater. After the war he returned to Texas and studied under legendary University of Texas historian Walter Prescott Webb. Frantz's doctoral dissertation, Gail Borden, Dairyman to a Nation, gained acclaim and in 1949 he was hired to teach in the University of Texas history department.

Frantz soon developed a reputation as a skilled speaker and knowledgeable expert on the American West. He went on to become chair of the history department, as well as president of the Texas State Historical Association and editor of the Association's Southwestern Historical Quarterly . After retiring from the University of Texas, Frantz remained active in many professional organizations and continued to teach at Corpus Christi State University. He died November 13, 1993.

From the guide to the Joe B. Frantz Papers, 1801-1943, 1951, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)