Danney Glenn Goble

Professor Danney Goble was a rare person, a seamless blend of teacher, scholar, and friend. His brilliant intellect and biting humor were balanced by humility and generosity of heart. He often defied convention.

An exceptionally gifted teacher, he made Oklahoma history and politics come alive to his students. They respected, admired, and adored him. He taught at Tulsa Junior College (now Tulsa Community College), Rogers University (now Oklahoma State University – Tulsa), the University of Tulsa, and the University of Oklahoma. He was recognized with several teaching awards.

Danney Goble became a historian by accident. Although he was descended from pioneers who settled the Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory before 1900, he credited his early interest in history to the influence of Miss Lelia Hall, his high school history teacher in Edmond.

He earned his undergraduate degree at University of Central Oklahoma and his master’s degree at OU, but he discovered that Oklahoma history was “real history” while he was earning his doctorate at University of Missouri. As an Oklahoman he was keenly aware of the inferiority complex that many Oklahomans tend to have about their state. He worked hard throughout the remainder of his adult life to help Oklahomans become better acquainted with their state’s history, especially the colorful events of the twentieth century. He traveled all around the state to speak about Oklahoma history wherever he was invited – in classrooms, libraries, civic groups, seminars, and conferences.

Author or co-author of eight books, he was a scholar who wrote with the polish of a professional writer, unmatched in his ability to tell a good story. This is particularly evident in two collaborative works, Little Giant: The Life and Times of Speaker Carl Albert, which won the Oklahoma Book Award and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, and A Matter of Black and White: The Autobiography of Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher, which was named the outstanding book in political science by the National Conference of Black Political Scientists.  He also collaborated very successfully with David Baird in writing The Story of Oklahoma, a high school textbook that has been adopted by many public schools, and with Bob Goins on the award-winning fourth edition of Historical Atlas of Oklahoma.  At the time of his death, he was co-authoring with Mike Cassity a book on the history of Presbyterianism in Oklahoma.

Danney’s first book, Progressive Oklahoma: The Making of a New Kind of State, remains a classic for its description of the impact of Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory on the development of political traditions in the state, and his second book, Oklahoma Politics: A History (co-authored with James Ralph Scales), was praised by Speaker Carl Albert as a fascinating and extremely important book for all Oklahomans who love their state.

Friends and colleagues recall with pleasure the historical characters that Danney portrayed in the Tulsa and Great Plains Chautauquas – Confederate General James Longstreet, Louisiana Governor Huey Long, and Defense Attorney Clarence Darrow – and his work as an extra in three motion pictures produced from S.E. Hinton’s books The Outsiders, Rumblefish, and Tex.  Danney was also the historical consultant for James Vance’s play, The Halls of Ivory, which won international awards. The play was about integration at OU, and Danney portrayed President George Lynn Cross in the 1987 premiere.

Danney Goble’s sudden passing is painfully difficult to accept, but he leaves behind a rich and meaningful legacy.  His incredible wit and colorful stories will long be remembered, and his generosity of heart will forever be cherished by students, colleagues, friends, and especially his beloved family – wife Constance Murray; daughters Codie Chaudoin and Hannah Goble; sons Geoffrey and Grant Goble; his step-son Tristan  Murray Sublette; grandchildren William, Beatrice, and Dorothy Chaudoin; sister, Marzell Clubb; and nephews Kennon and Alexander Clubb.

--by Ladonna Sullivan

Friends and colleagues are establishing a student support fund in memory of Dr. Goble. Memorial contributions may be made to the OU Foundation, 100 Timberdell Rd., Norman, OK 73019. Please designate the contribution for the Danney Goble Memorial Fund. Alternatively, contributions may be made through the Foundation's secure website:

https://www.oufoundation.org/reports/onlinegiving/alumni_make_gift2.html?fund=Goble_33062&other=

Click here to enter the Classics and Letters home page