Holley, I. B., Jr. (Irving Brinton), 1919-2013

Luther Holley (1751-1826) is the progenitor of the family. He was a merchant in Salisbury, Connecticut, and across the border in New York State and he sold bar iron. He married Sarah Dakin and together they had children John Milton (1777-1836); Myron (1779-1841) who was member of the New York State Assembly and served on the Canal Commission overseeing the construction of the Erie Canal; Horace (1781-1827), who was a minister and later president of Transylvania University; Edward Oramel (1783-1848) who was in the New York State militia; Newman (1785-1857), who was a merchant and also owned a blast furnace; and Orville Luther (1791-1861), publisher and politician. Newman Holley married Sally Stiles and they had children Francis Newman, Ransom (who was mining in Wisconsin and California), Mary, and Frederick. Francis Newman married Eliza Ann Hotchkiss and their children were Edward Hotchkiss Holley of Torrington, Connecticut, and Horace (1824-1874). Edward H. Holley married Nellie Wheeler and they had children Francis Newman, Horace, Irving B. (1883-1971), Lawrence H. and Lillie Wheeler Holley. The brothers enjoyed a lively correspondence and frequently went on fishing trips together. Francis (Frank) was a member of the League of American Wheelmen. Irving B. Holley married Mary Sharp and they had children Irving B. and Mary (known as Polly). Irving married Janet Carlson and they had son Irving and daughters Susan and Janet. Irving was a professor of history at Duke University, and was a graduate of Wilbraham Academy, Amherst College and Yale Univertsity.

Professor I.B. Holley, Jr. is an emeritus member of the Department of History, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, where he has taught since 1947. He received his B.A. from Amherst College in 1940, his M.A. in 1942 and Ph.D. in 1947 from Yale University. During World War II he served in the Army Air Force as an aerial gunner. After the war, he continued in the United States Air Force as a reservist and retired in 1981 as a Major General. Recognized as one of the foremost scholars of American military doctrine and planning, Professor Holley has been a visiting Professor at West Point and the National Defense University. His research and writing on the relationship of airpower technology and doctrine earned him the position of Professor Emeritus at the Air War College. Professor Holley served as Chairman of the U. S. Air Force Historical Advisory Committee and as a trustee of the Air Force Historical foundation. The author of scores of articles and presentations on the history of airpower, and some of his publications include: "Ideas and Weapons," "Buying aircraft: matériel procurement for the Army Air Forces," "General John M. Palmer, Citizen Soldiers and the Army of a Democracy," and "Enduring Challenge: The Problem of Air Force Doctrine." Although retired, Professor Holley still teaches both graduate and undergraduate students.