W. A. (Walter Augustus) Hawley

Born in Santa Barbara in 1863, Walter Augustus Hawley was a Californian businessman and writer who also served as a representative in California's 74th State Assembly district for the 1890–1891 term. He moved easily between public life, commerce, and authorship, bringing a practical, observant voice to the subjects that interested him.

Hawley wrote on an unusually broad range of topics. His books include The Early Days of Santa Barbara, California, a history of the region; Asia Minor; and Oriental Rugs, Antique and Modern. Taken together, they suggest a writer drawn both to local history and to the wider world, with a strong interest in objects, trade, and the stories places carry with them.

He died in 1920. Today, he is remembered less as a single-genre author than as a versatile early-20th-century writer whose work linked California history with travel and cultural scholarship.