Home > Rauner Library > Black Greens >

Talley Robert Holmes

holmes Talley Robert Holmes, Class of 1910, was born on December 9, 1888 in Washington, D.C. Mr. Holmes graduated from Dartmouth College in 1910 with a mathematics degree. He served as an interpreter and intelligence officer in World War I. Upon returning to Washington, D.C., he taught German, French, Latin, and mathematics in the District school system. While teaching, he studied law at Howard Universiy and recieved a degree in 1924. Mr. Holmes also owned Whitelaw Hotel, which was the largest hotel available to Negroes in Washington at the time. Talley Holmes also founded the American Tennis Association (ATA) because the National Tennis Association excluded Negroes and other people of color. He was national champion of the ATA in 1917, 1918, 1921, and 1924. He won the doubles championship eight times. Talley R. Holmes died on March 10, 1969 in Washington, D.C. at age eighty.