Caudill, Harry M., 1922-1990

Author, Educator, Lawyer, Politician.

Harry Caudill was born on May 3, 1922. During his life of seventy-eight years, he played active roles in local, state, and national arenas. A lawyer by profession, Caudill practiced in his native Letcher County for twenty-eight years after receiving his law degree from the University of Kentucky in 1948 and also served as President of the Letcher County Bar Association. As a politician, he completed three two-year terms (elected in 1953, 1955, and 1959) in the Kentucky House of Representatives, during which he helped produce a stinging report on the status of Kentucky education and helped advocate better strip-mining control laws. In addition, as an educator, he taught Appalachian history for eight years in the University of Kentucky's history department. Out of everything he did, Caudill was best known for his role as a writer - of about 80 newspaper essays, 50 odd magazine articles, more than 120 lectures and speeches, and 10 books - who drew attention to the social, economic, and evironmental problems the coal industry had caused in his region, earning him the moniker,"Upton Sinclair of the coal fields." He died on November 29, 1991.

Caudill was ably supported by his wife, Anne Frye Caudill of Cynthiana, Kentucky, with whom he fathered three children: James, Diana, and Harry Frye. Anne not only closely assisted him in his research and writing but also coordinated his public appearances and numerous tours of the region given to journalists and conservationists. Their partnership resulted in the writing of several additional books and numerous articles and lectures which communicated Caudill's visionary ideas.