Monte Monroe
Monte Latimer Monroe (born July 28, 1954)[1] served as the official historian for the U.S. state of Texas from 2018 to 2025. An archivist with the Southwestern Collection and a faculty member at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Monroe was appointed state historian by Governor Greg Abbott for a term which expired on September 26, 2020.[2] Then in 2020, Abbott renewed the appointment for a second two-year term.[3]
| Monte Latimer Monroe
(Former Texas State Historian) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Born | July 28, 1954 Houston, Texas, USA Resident of Lubbock, Texas | ||
| Political Party | Republican[1] Alma mater: | ||
| Spouse | Laura J. Pitcher Monroe | ||
Monroe is the son of Fred Junior Monroe (1923-2015), a native of Iowa, and the former Laura Belle Merriweather (1925-2002). He is married to the former Laura J. Pitcher.[4]
As the state historian, Monroe is charged with increasing public knowledge about the diverse aspects of state history, encouraging the teaching of Texas history in public schools, consulting with state leaders to promote Texas history,and making presentations on historical topics.[2]
Monroe is a former editor of The West Texas Historical Review, published annually annually. He sits on the boards of the Texas Historical Records Advisory Committee and the West and East Texas historical associations. He is the chairman of the archives committee of the Texas State Historical Association and is a member of the executive advisory committee of the Handbook of Texas Women Online. He formerly sat on the board of the Texas Map Society. He is a founding board member of the Humanities Center at Texas Tech, a former president of the Downtown Rotary International of Lubbock, and the president of The Meriwether Society, Inc. He was formerly the secretary general of the Pan American Taekwondo Union and officiated that sport at the Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, and Barcelona, Spain.[2]
Monroe received a Bachelor of Arts in literature and history from Stephen F. Austin State University in Huntsville in East Texas and a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in history from Texas Tech.[5]
On April 27, 2019, Monroe was the featured speaker at the Great Western Trail Days Celebration & Longhorn Show at the Bill Franklin Center in Coleman in central Texas. He discussed the historical significance of the trail, which was established in 1874. After Monroe's speech, The Western Flyers, a western swing and country fiddle band, performed.[6]
After seven years as the state historian, Monroe was succeeded in December 2025 by Richard B. McCaslin, a historian at the University of North Texas in Denton, a published author, and the fifth person to hold the distinction as state historian.[7]In 2026, Governor Abbott named Monroe to the Texas State Library And Archives Commission.[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Monte Monroe. Mylife.com. Retrieved on September 30, 2018.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Appoints State Historian. NBC in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas (September 26, 2018). Retrieved on October `1, 2018.
- ↑ Governor Abbott reappoints Monte Monroe of Lubbock as the Texas state historian. KTRE-TV (October 1, 2020). Retrieved on January 14, 2024.
- ↑ Monte Monroe. Ancestry.com. Retrieved on April 29, 2019.
- ↑ Glenys Young (September 27, 2018). Archivist, New Texas State Historian Available to Speak With Media: Monte L. Monroe was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday. Texas Tech University. Retrieved on October 1, 2018.
- ↑ Great Western Trails Days Celebration & Longhorn Show. Greatwesterntraildays.com. Retrieved on March 23, 2019.
- ↑ Texas State Historian. tshaonline.org. Retrieved on April 11, 2026.
- ↑ West Texas Historical Association, e-newsletter, May 29, 2026.