R. A. (Robert Asbury) Booth

Born in Yamhill County, Oregon, in 1858, Robert Asbury Booth built a career that ranged across education, business, and public service. Sources about him consistently describe him as an Oregon businessman and civic figure, and records from Project Gutenberg show that works were published under R. A. (Robert Asbury) Booth, including the Third biennial report of the Oregon State Highway Commission, credited with Simon Benson, W. L. Thompson, R. A. Booth, and Herbert Nunn.

Booth is especially associated with Oregon’s lumber and banking world. Available sources describe him as a successful businessman, a state senator, and a trustee whose long support helped shape Willamette University. He is also remembered for his role in highway development in Oregon and for philanthropy tied to education and public memory.

Because the surviving online sources found here focus much more on his business and civic life than on a literary career, it is most accurate to see him as a public figure whose written work grew out of that service. That makes him an unusual name in an audiobook library: not primarily a literary author, but a man whose publications reflect a formative period in Oregon history.