author
William Jackson Hammond
b. 1896
A Texas historian with a public-life streak, he wrote about the state’s past with the eye of a scholar and the energy of someone deeply involved in civic affairs. He is best known for co-authoring La Réunion, a French Settlement in Texas.
1 Audiobook
La Réunion, a French Settlement in Texas
by William Jackson Hammond, Margaret F. Hammond
About the author
Born on October 21, 1896, in Red Oak, Texas, William Jackson "Jack" Hammond studied at Texas Christian University before his education was interrupted by military service in World War I. After serving from 1917 to 1919, he remained with the Army of Occupation in France and studied at the Sorbonne for a year.
He later earned a PhD at the University of California in 1929 and returned to Fort Worth to teach history at TCU, where he rose from instructor to full professor. His surviving papers suggest a wide range of interests in university life, local affairs, and Texas history.
As a writer, Hammond is chiefly associated with La Réunion, a French Settlement in Texas, written with Margaret F. Hammond, a historical study of the short-lived French utopian colony near Dallas. He was also active in public life in Fort Worth, including service as a city councilman and mayor during the 1930s.