Dobie, J. Frank

Dobie, J. (James) Frank (1888–1964) author, folklorist; born in Live Oak County, Texas. The most important Texas writer of his generation, he collected and published 30 volumes of southwestern lore and history from A Vaquero of the Brush Country (1929) to Cow People (1964), often collaborating with his wife, Bertha McKee Dobie. His long tenure as a professor of English at the University of Texas (1922–47) was marked by legendary political battles, frequent leaves, and finally dismissal. He won the presidential Medal of Freedom (1964).