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FREDERIC A. L. HOLLOWAY
1 914-1 990
BY J. F. MATHIS
FREDERIC ANCRUM LORD HOLLOWAY former vice-president of
science and technology for Exxon Corporation, died on Novem-
ber 30, 1990, at the age of seventy-six.
Fred was born in 1914, in Lumberton, North Carolina, to
Elisha Andrew Holloway and Cammie Anderson (Lord). He
graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1935 with
a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering. In 1939
he completed the doctor of science program in chemical engi-
neering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1941 he
married May Bolling Cross. They had four children.
He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering
(NAE) in 1965 in the Academy's second election, the first after
its formation. He believed in being active. In a letter to President
Eric A. Walker in 1966 he said, "It has been my feeling for some
time that if the NAE is to fulfill its objectives, there must be a
serious intent poor a member] to devote some time to service. As
a matter of fact, I feel this should be one of the requirements for
membership.... As far as my personal position is concerned, I
would be happy to devote a reasonable number of days . . . each
year . . ."
The NAE took him at his word. From 1966 to 1972 he served
on the NAE Committee on Public Engineering Policy. Then
until 1975 he served on the Committee on Environmental
Engineering, which was organized under the NAE and later
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MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
became part of the Assembly of Engineering, National Research
Council (NRC). In 1971 he was elected to the NAE Council, and
from 1971 to 1975 and from 1977 to 1986 he served on its
Executive Committee. He was elected treasurer in 1977 and
served two successive terms. It is clear that Fred made a major,
positive impact on the affairs of the Academy. He also served
from 1971 to 1985 on the Governing Board of the NRC.
In addition, Fred was vice-chairman and chairman of the
American Section of the Society of Chemical Industry (London)
in 1970-1971. He belonged to numerous professional societies
and was honored by Georgia Tech and Stevens Institute of
Technology.
Fred's entire business career was with Exxon, spanning the
period from pre-World War II until after the Arab oil crisis in the
1970s. He was an expert in refining petroleum and saw Exxon's
refinery operations grow from a small base in the United States
to a worldwide operation. This was a very exciting period in the
history of the oil business and Exxon, and Fred played a key role
throughout it.
Fre~joined the Exxon refinery at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as
a process engineer in 1939, just as World War II was breaking out.
The United States could see that before long it would be
involved, and petroleum production for military purposes would
be strained to the utmost. It was also a period in which revolu-
tionary new refining technologies were being introduced. Frecl
was in the thick of all this. Three key process patents bear his
name. Exxon's new fluidizec! catalytic cracking process was first
started up at Baton Rouge in 1941; it eventually became the
industry's standard process to convert heavy liquids to gasoline.
Frecl worked on that. Aviation gasoline components were at a
premium; a cold acid climerization process was quickly thrown
into operation in Baton Rouge. Fret! worked on that too. It is fair
to say that Fred, along with his colleagues in Exxon and other
U.S. refineries, had a direct hand in helping the allies win the
war.
By 1953 Frecl had become general superintendent of the
Baton Rouge refinery, a lofty position for a young man of thirty-
nine. Two years later he was posted to New Jersey to the head-
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FREDERIC A. L. HOLLOWAY
69
quarters of Esso Standard Oil Company, which owned and
operated the Baton Rouge and several other East Coast refiner-
ies. When Exxon U.S.A. was formed in 1961 from Esso Standard,
Humble Oil, and other companies, Fred moved to Houston to
become its first vice-president for manufacturing planning. lust
a year later he was sent to the parent Exxon Corporation in New
York to serve as deputy refining coordinator for Exxon's refining
operations all over the world. In all these assignments Fred
honed his considerable management and analytical skills, invest-
ing in operations that made sense and cutting out those that did
not meet his rigorous standards.
Until 1964Fred had onlyperipheral involvementwith Exxon's
refining research activity, the Exxon Research and Engineering
Company (ER&E). Eger V. Merphree was ER&E's charismatic
and innovative president through the 1950s. After he died
Exxon decided to insert someone with operating experience
into the job to build a better bridge between the research and
business communities; it was almost inevitable that they eventu-
ally chose Fred. The veteran ER&E researchers were consider-
ably concerned over Exxon's bringing in a tough, demanding
businessman to run the company. However, before Fred's tenure
was over in 1 96S, he had gained their undying respect. ER&E was
prospering as never before. For example, major programs in
environmental engineering and computer science were created.
But the thing that pleased the researchers most was that Fred
started the Corporate Research Laboratories (CRL) to conduct
basic science in technical fields of intrinsic interest to Exxon and
to market the inventions. He in effect was gambling that the
inventions would be used and would pay off. Not all, but many
did, and CRL still exists today.
Fred spent the last decade of his career in Exxon's headquar-
ters, dividing his time about evenly between heading the corpo-
rate planning department and the science and technology
department. This was the period in which the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel caused the price
of of! to quintuple and long lines to form at America's service
stations. It was during the "Energy Crisis" that Fred caused
Exxon to invest in massive programs on synthetic fuels and other
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MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
alternate energy sources. Major research and development ef-
forts were unleashed on coal liquefaction, coal gasification,
shale oil production and refining, advancecl batteries, solar cells,
and so on. While none of these technologies was put to use in his
lifetime, it is entirely possible that they or their second-genera-
tion variants will return in the years to come.
After his retirement from Exxon, and to no one's surprise,
Fred remained active in the NAE and the business community.
He was a director of the Gulf States Utilities Company and
advisory director of the Construction Specialties Company. He
was an enthusiastic golfer and belonged to a number of major
country clubs.
More so than most people, Fred had two sides. One was his
public side- a tough, demancling, logical, and somewhat aloof
side that instilled respect in all and fear in some. The other was
a soft, warm, and personal side he rarely exposed to the public
because basically he was a shy person. I'll never forget his saying
to me in private, "I'd give anything to be able to tell ajoke. " Well,
jokes or not, nearly everyone who knew Fred both respected him
and liked him very much. He was a f~rst-rate engineer and
businessman, and a fine father and man.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
energy sources
