Thad Holt

Thad Holt (born c. 1898; died September 24, 1984 in Washington D.C.) was a New Deal administrator and radio and television executive.

From 1932 to 1936, at the depth of the Great Depression, Holt served as Alabama state director of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Works Progress Administration, the Civil Works Administration and the National Youth Administration. He was promoted to assistant national administrator of the WPA in 1936 and served for a little over a year.

Between 1937 and 1953 Holt was president of The Television Corporation, which operated three television stations. He was one of the founders of Alabama Educational Television, a predecessor of Alabama Public Television. In 1956 he was hired as a special consultant on overseas television projects for the United States Information Agency.

Holt was a member of the board of the Birmingham Museum of Art and the Birmingham Civic Ballet. He also helped create Operation New Birmingham.

Holt was married to the former Sarah Oliver and had two sons, Thaddeus and Samuel. He died in 1984.

References

• "Thad Holt of Birmingham, 86; Former Broadcast Executive." obituary (October 4, 1984) The New York Times