WILLIAM JUDSON HOLLOWAY was born in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. After receiving a bachelor of arts degree from Ouachita College in 1910, he moved to Hugo, Oklahoma, where he served for three years as principal of Hugo High School. He studied at the University of Chicago and received a law degree from Cumberland University in 1915. That same year, he was elected Choctaw County Attorney, a position in which he served from 1916 until 1918. He also served in the Oklahoma state Senate for six years, two of them as President Pro Tempore and acting Lieutenant Governor, following which he was elected Lieutenant Governor in his own right. When Governor Henry Johnston was impeached, Holloway as lieutenant governor assumed the office of governor. During his term, Oklahoma’s child labor laws were expanded, a new mining code was adopted, the State Highway Commission was reorganized, and a runoff primary election system was established. Holloway was governor when the Great Depression struck the country and its severe impact on Oklahoma led to the out-migration of its citizens to escape “dust bowl” conditions. After leaving office, Holloway returned to the practice of law in Oklahoma City. He also served as Oklahoma’s representative on the Interstate Oil Compact Commission.
The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Vol. F. New York: James T. White & Company.
Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 3. Westport, CT: Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.