- Lon Tinkle
Julien Lon Tinkle (
March 20 ,1906 –January 11 ,1980 ) was ahistorian , author, book critic, and professor who specialized in thehistory of Texas . Tinkle spent most of his life inDallas, Texas (USA ), where he graduated from and later taught atSouthern Methodist University . In 1942 he became a book editor and critic for the "Dallas Morning News ". His first book, "Thirteen Days to Glory: The Siege of the Alamo", was published in 1958. The book was well-received and was later adapted into a made-for-television movie. Tinkle won awards for this book, and a for biography that he wrote of historianJ. Frank Dobie . He is the namesake of the Texas Institute of Letters' lifetime achievement award.Personal life and education
Tinkle was born in
Dallas, Texas onMarch 20 ,1906 to James Ward Tinkle and Mary (née Gardenhire) Tinkle. He attendedSouthern Methodist University in Dallas, where he earned aBachelor of Arts degree in 1927 and a Master of Arts degree in 1932. Tinkle then moved to Paris, where he studied at theSorbonne . After earning a degree from the Sorbonne in 1933, Tinkle spent some time doing post-graduate work atColumbia University . OnDecember 27 ,1939 he married Maria Ofelia Garza; they had three sons.citation|last=Comer|first=Stephen Earl|title=Julien Lon Tinkle|publisher=Handbook of Texas |url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/TT/fti9.html|accessdate=2008-05-22]Career
After completing his post-graduate work, Tinkle accepted a position as an instructor at his
alma mater , Southern Methodist University. He eventually became the school's E. A. Lilly Professor of Literature. In 1942 he began working as a book editor and critic for the "Dallas Morning News ". According to Evelyn Oppenheimer in her book "A Book Lover in Texas", after Tinkle became the book editor, "book reviewing in The Dallas Morning News rose to a level of notable quality and was nationally recognized". [citation|last=Oppenheimer|first=Evelyn|title=A Book Lover in Texas|publisher=University of North Texas Press|date=1995|page=23|isbn=0-929398-89-0]Tinkle's first book, "Thirteen Days to Glory: The Siege of the Alamo", was published in 1958. It was only the second full-length, non-fiction book to be published about the
Battle of the Alamo , following John Myers Myers's 1948 book, "The Alamo".citation|last=Cox|first=Mike|title=Last of the Alamo big books rests with 'A Time to Stand'|newspaper=The Austin-American Statesman|date=March 6 ,1998 ] A.C. Greene, a book critic at a competing Dallas newspaper, listed "Thirteen Days to Glory" in his book "The 50+ Best Books on Texas" in 1998. According to Greene, Tinkle's book "gives the essence of the Alamo story without attempting to exhaust history's explanation", and "is more revealing of the minds and wills that were behind the fateful decision to stay on to death" than other, later treatments of the battle.citation|last=Greene|first=A.C.|title=The 50+ Best Books on Texas|date=1998|publisher=University of North Texas Press|isbn=1-57441-043-1|pages=96–7] The book won two awards in 1959, from the Texas Institute of Letters and the Sons of the Republic of Texas. In the 1980s, it was adapted into a made-for-television movie, "", which historianAlbert Nofi regards as the most historically accurate of all Alamo films.citation|last=Nofi|first=Albert A.|title=The Alamo and the Texas War of Independence, September 30, 1835 to April 21, 1836: Heroes, Myths, and History|publisher=Combined Books, Inc.|date=1992|place=Conshohocken, PA |isbn=0-938289-10-1|page=213] In 1985, the book was reprinted byTexas A&M University Press .After "Thirteen Days to Glory" was published, Tinkle was hired as a historical advisor for
John Wayne 's film about the battle, "The Alamo", which was released in 1960. Although screenwriterJames Edward Grant claimed to have done extensive historical research, according to historian Timothy Todish "there is not a single scene in "The Alamo" which corresponds to an historically verifiable incident", and Tinkle and fellow historical advisor J. Frank Dobie demanded that their names be removed from the credits.citation|last=Todish|first=Timothy J.|last2=Todish|first2=Terry|last3=Spring|first3=Ted|title=Alamo Sourcebook, 1836: A Comprehensive Guide to the Battle of the Alamo and the Texas Revolution|publisher=Eakin Press|date=1998|location=Austin, TX|isbn=1-57168-152-3|page=188] Tinkle was also paid $800 for allowing the title of his book to be used in the theme song for this movie.He wrote several other books about the Battle of the Alamo, and about Dallas and Texas history, as well as two biographies of historian J. Frank Dobie. His last biography of Dobie, "An American Original: The Life of J. Frank Dobie", won a 1979 prize from the Texas Institute of Letters. Tinkle was named to the
Ordre des Palmes Académiques in France, and received an honorary doctorate from St. Mary's University inSan Antonio, Texas in 1963. From 1949 until 1952, Tinkle served as president of the Texas Institute of Letters. The institute has since named its lifetime achievement award for Tinkle.citation|last=Miller|first=Robert|title=Institute to honor man of letters|newspaper=Dallas Morning News |date=April 12 ,2007 |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/columnists/rmiller/stories/DN-miller_12bus.ART.State.Edition1.3796d85.html|accessdate=2008-05-22] He was also a member of the Philosophical Society of Texas.Bibliography
As author
*"Thirteen Days to Glory: The Siege of the Alamo" (1958)
*"The Story of Oklahoma" (1962)
*"The Valiant Few; Crisis at the Alamo " (1964)
*"Miracle in Mexico: The Story of Juan Diego" (1965)
*"J. Frank Dobie: The Makings of an Ample Mind" (1968)
*"Mr. De: A Biography of Everette Lee DeGolyer" (1970)
*"An American Original: The Life of J. Frank Dobie" (1978)As editor
*"The Cowboy Reader" (1969), with Allen Maxwell
*"Treson Nobel: An Anthology of French Nobel Prize-Winners" (1963), with Wynn RickeyReferences
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