Charles Frederick Holder | |
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Born | |
Died | October 10, 1915 | (aged 64)
Occupation(s) | Naturalist, writer |
Spouse | Sarah Elizabeth Ufford Holder (1852-1925) |
Parents |
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Signature | |
Charles Frederick Holder (1851–1915) was an American naturalist, conservationist, and writer who produced over 40 books and thousands of articles.[1][2] Known as a pioneer of big-game fishing, he founded and led the Tuna Club of Avalon, credited as the first game fishing organization.[3][4] He was socially active in Pasadena, California, where he was a trustee of Throop College and co-founder of the Tournament of Roses.
Holder came from a wealthy Massachusetts Quaker family. His father was the zoologist Joseph Bassett Holder (1824–1888) and his mother Emoia Violet Jones.[6] He attended the Friends' school in Providence, Rhode Island, and Allen's preparatory school at West Newton, Massachusetts, as well as from private tutors.[7] In 1869, he attended the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis but he did not continue in the Navy after graduation.[7]
After working as a curator at New York's American Museum of Natural History, he moved to Pasadena, California in 1885. A passionate naturalist throughout his life, he was known for his books on marine zoology and the first books on big-game fishing, a sport Holder pioneered in 1869.[8][9] His books are noted for their combination of accurate scientific detail with exciting narratives.[10]
From 1890 to 1892, Holder was a President of the Tournament of Roses Association, and for 1910 he was named the tournament grand marshal. He became known in Pasadena as a businessman, philanthropist, and conservationist/sportsman. In 1898, he founded the Tuna Club of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island, as an international organization that called for proper management of all game fish.[11][12]
In 1910, he traveled with Frederick Russell Burnham to Mexico and uncovered Mayan artifacts, including the Esperanza Stone, a supposedly paranormal relic described in The Book of the Damned.[13][14]
Holder died in Pasadena as a result of an automobile accident caused by him being under illegal substances[citation needed] and is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena, California.[15]
In 1998, he was inducted in the International Game Fish Association Hall of Fame.[12]