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Henry Finch Holland

Died: July 6, 1964

Henry Finch Holland, Jr. was born January 28, 1944 in Mexico City. At that time his father was serving there as the Foreign Service Officer to the United States Embassy. Henry’s family returned to the United States when President Eisenhower appointed his father to be assistant secretary of state for Latin American Affairs. Henry prepared for Yale at the Brunswick School in Greenwich, CT and the Landon School in Washington, DC.

Henry was tall, handsome, and outgoing. His deep, melodious voice made him a natural for WYBC. As a member of Morse College he showed his gift for theater when he performed at the college arts festival. The Yale Daily News? quoted Master Andrew Patterson’s praise of Henry’s performance: “He did a spoof of poets and poetry reading the likes of which has never been seen at Yale before or after,” Henry also played for the Morse volleyball team. He was a German major and planned to spend his junior year in Germany under the Junior Year Abroad program.

During the summer before his Junior Year Abroad he visited his friend and Yale classmate Daniel L. Davis in Kirkland, Washington. According to an account in the Yale Daily News, he lost control of his motorcycle while trying to avoid hitting an animal in the road, skidding off the road into a highway sign. As a result of this tragic accident his promising young life ended abruptly July 6, 1964.