Fonds F2570 - Eric Holmgren fonds

Eric Joseph Holmgren, 1923-1988, was born in Kaslo, British Columbia and attended the University of British Columbia, the University of Toronto, and the University of Alberta where he prepared a Master's thesis on the history of the Barr Colony. Trained as a librarian, he worked at Cambridge University in England before taking up the position of Provincial Librarian of Alberta in 1959. Holmgren served in that position until 1974 when he moved to the Provincial Archives of Alberta to work as an historian. He retired in 1979. He and his wife, Patricia, wrote the book 2,000 Place-Names of Alberta (1972) that went into several editions between 1973 and 1981. He was also the author of Alberta at the Turn of the Century (1975), Steam Power in Alberta (1985), and Writing Local History (1975). Holmgren served on the board of the Geographic Board of Alberta, Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographical Names and was a Canadian delegate to the first United Nations Conference on the standardization of geographical names. He was also a member of the Historical Society of Alberta, Men's Canadian Club, Edmonton Historical Board and the Fort Edmonton Historical Foundation. He and his wife had one son, Dr. David Holmgren.