Dr. Ralph T. Holman
Born March 4, 1918 – Died August 15, 2012
Ralph Theodore Holman, the son of Alfred T. and May (Nilson) Holman, was born March 4, 1918 in Minneapolis, MN. He was a graduate of Roosevelt High School, Bethel College, The University of Minnesota, and Rutgers University. He married Karla Calais on March 26, 1943 at the University of Minnesota Chapel. They lived in Minneapolis prior to moving to Sweden. Upon returning to the United States, they lived in Texas until moving to Austin, MN in 1951.
In 1946, Dr. Holman worked at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden with several Nobel Prize winners, including Sune Berstrom. He was the first person in the world to crystalize lipoxygenase, a significant enzyme in the inflammatory process. Following his time in Sweden, Dr. Holman was a professor at Texas A and M University. In 1951, while a professor at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Dr. Holman was invited to join the Hormel Institute in Austin MN which at the time was pioneering food stabilization technology. Dr. Holman spent the entirety of his career at The Hormel Institute in Austin, retiring in 2001.
Professor Holman was a pioneer in the area of essential fatty acid research and nutrition. He made several fundamental discoveries about the metabolism of fatty acids. He is perhaps best known for coining the term “Omega 3” in 1963. Holman credited his knowledge of the Bible and the passage “I am the Alpha and the Omega” for choosing the name. Dr. Holman was a devout Christian and led his life in pursuit of goodness and helping others. As a mentor to many at the Hormel Institute, his scientific discoveries improved the lives of millions around the globe through nutritional research.
Dr. Holman was the Director of the Hormel Institute from 1975 to 1985 and on the Board of Directors for The Hormel Foundation. He was a past president of the American Oil Chemists Society and received numerous awards and honors including the Borden Award and the prestigious Baldwin Award. He was a member of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, an invitation-only membership, the Royal Orchid Society, and many other scientific organizations.
His hobbies included photography and growing numerous orchids in a greenhouse he had constructed on the back of his home. Dr. Holman also enjoyed spending time at his Swedish style cabin in Upsala, Minnesota that he built with Karla and young son Ted.
Dr. Holman passed away on August 15, 2012 and he is buried at the Community Covenant Church Cemetery in Upsala, Minnesota.
