Chad Oliver
Chad Oliver was an influential American writer and anthropologist born on March 30, 1928, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He experienced a significant health challenge in his youth, suffering from rheumatic fever, which introduced him to the world of science fiction during his recovery. Oliver pursued higher education at the University of Texas at Austin, obtaining a B.A. in 1951 and later an M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology from UCLA. His academic contributions included a dissertation on Plains Indian social organization and teaching roles that emphasized physical and cultural anthropology.
In addition to his distinguished academic career, Oliver was an accomplished author, with his first novel, "The Mists of Dawn," published in 1952. He received several accolades throughout his career, including the Harry Ransom Award for Teaching Excellence and the Western Heritage Award for his novel "Broken Eagle." Oliver was also a traditional jazz pianist and enjoyed fly fishing. He passed away from cancer on August 9, 1993, in Austin, Texas, and in his honor, the Chad Oliver Honors Program Scholarship was established at the College of Liberal Arts. His work continues to be recognized for its impact on both literature and anthropology.
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Chad Oliver
- Born: March 30, 1928
- Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio
- Died: August 15, 1993
- Place of death: Austin, Texas
Biography
Symmes Chadwick Oliver was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 30, 1928. His parents were Dr. Symmes Francis Oliver and Winona Neuman. He had a sister, Bette W. Oliver. In 1943, the Oliver family moved to Crystal City, Texas where his father, a surgeon, served as medical officer at a detention camp. Oliver lived in Texas almost all of his adult life. Although generally athletic as a boy and man, he had a severe attack of rheumatic fever at the age of twelve, leaving him bedridden for seven months. He discovered science fiction during this time.
In 1946, Oliver graduated from Crystal City High School where he had edited the school paper. Later that year, he entered the University of Texas at Austin, where he gained a B.A. with honors in 1951 and an M.A. in English and anthropology in 1952. His thesis, They Builded a Tower, is one of the earlier studies of science fiction at the master’s level, and may have been the first to focus on magazine science fiction.
He obtained his doctorate in anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1961 while working as a teaching assistant for the department of anthropology. His Ph.D. dissertation led to a classic study in American Indian anthropology—Ecology and Cultural Continuity as Contributing Factors in the Social Organization of the Plains Indians (1962). This knowledge served him well when he wrote in the Western field. Oliver returned to the University of Texas at Austin in 1955, where he was employed as an instructor teaching courses on introductory physical anthropology, introductory cultural anthropology, peoples of the new world, and American Indians north of Mexico.
He was promoted to assistant professor of anthropology in 1959. In 1961, he worked as a research anthropologist for the National Science Foundation in Kenya before returning to the University of Texas as an associate professor in 1963. He became department chairman in 1967. In 1980, while he was professor of anthropology, Oliver was awarded the Harry Ransom Award for Teaching Excellence and later became the Chancellor of the University of Texas He was named chairman of the department of anthropology for the second time. He also received the Pro Bene Meritis Award from the Liberal Arts Foundation in 1992.
His interests were wide-ranging and he was a traditional jazz pianist. He also enjoyed fly fishing for trout. He spent his later summers fishing and writing at Lake City, Colorado. Oliver married Betty Jane Jenkins on November 1, 1952, in Los Angeles and had two children, Kimberly Francis, born November 4, 1956, and Glen Chadwick, born on February 3, 1968.
He started writing fiction in 1948 and made his first professional sale in 1950. Oliver’s first novel, The Mists of Dawn, was published in 1952 for young adults. In 1989, Oliver received the Western Heritage Award of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum for the novel Broken Eagle. Oliver died from cancer on August 9, 1993, in Austin, Texas, at age sixty-five. After his death, the College of Liberal Arts established the Chad Oliver Honors Program Scholarship in his memory.