King, John O(zias) 1923–2001

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KING, John O(zias) 1923–2001

PERSONAL: Born July 18, 1923, in Madison, WI; died of congestive heart failure, May 9, 2001; son of Paul Clark and Margaret (Ozias) King; married; wife's name, Jan. Education: University of Houston, M.A.; Vanderbilt University, Ph.D., 1966.

CAREER: Historian, educator, and writer. University of Houston, Houston, member of faculty, beginning 1961, served as department chairman, professor of U.S. history, 1975–96, then professor emeritus. Military service: U.S. Army, 1942–45; Bronze Star, Combat Infantry Badge.

WRITINGS:

The Early History of the Houston Oil Company of Texas, 1901–1906, Texas Gulf Coast Historical Association (Houston, TX), 1959.

Joseph Stephen Cullinan: A Study of Leadership in the Texas Petroleum Industry, 1897–1937, Vanderbilt University Press (Nashville, TN), 1970.

(With George T. Thomas) The Woodlands: A New Community Development, 1964–1983, Texas A&M University Press (College Station, TX), 1987.

SIDELIGHTS: John O. King was an education and an historian who chronicled the Texas petroleum boom and also wrote about the development of an innovative town near Houston, Texas. King's book Joseph Stephen Cullinan: A Study of Leadership in the Texas Petroleum Industry, 1897–1937 tells the story of a Pennsylvania oilman who arrived in Texas in 1897 and eventually founded the Texas Oil Company, the forerunner of Texaco.

King also cowrote The Woodlands: A New Community Development, 1964–1983, with George T. Thomas. This book focuses on the efforts of George Mitchell, founder of the Mitchell Energy and Development Corporation, to create a "new town" financed partially through the Housing and Urban Development's New Communities program. This program was an attempt to provide government funding to carry on an idea developed in the 1960s: the creation of new towns that would solve the urban problems associated with big inner cities. These communities were to provide better access to residential, commercial, and recreational facilities, while being environmentally friendly and attractive with a low-density population. Writing in the Business History Review, Marc A. Weiss noted that the book "tells in considerable detail the story of the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of this … experiment in community building." The reviewer also wrote that "the content is important; this is one of a few books to document with facts and figures the history of a modern large-scale community development project from the viewpoint of a single real estate firm."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Historical Review, April, 1972.

Business History Review, winter, 1988, Marc A. Weiss, review of The Woodlands: A New Community Development, 1964–1983, p. 717.

Choice, April, 1971, review of Joseph Stephen Cullinan: A Study of Leadership in the Texas Petroleum Industry, 1897–1937.

Journal of American History, June, 1971, G. T. White, review of Joseph Stephen Cullinan: A Study of Leadership in the Texas Petroleum Industry, 1897–1937.

Library Journal, T. M. Bogie, February 15, 1971, review of Joseph Stephen Cullinan: A Study of Leadership in the Texas Petroleum Industry, 1897–1937.