William Curry Holden was an archaeologist and historian who taught for many years at Texas Tech University. He authored a number of books and articles on the history and culture of the Southwestern United States and Mexico and was instrumental in establishing the Southwest Collection and the Museum of Texas Tech University . He also conducted archaeological excavations at the Lubbock Lake site.

Partial list of works

• Alkali Trails: Or Social and Economic Movements of the Texas Frontier 1846-1900
• A ranching saga: The lives of William Electious Halsell and Ewing Halsell
• Rollie Burns, Or, an Account of the Ranching Industry on the South Plains
• Teresita
• A Yaqui Life: The Personal Chronicle of a Yaqui Indian
• Studies of the Yaqui Indians of Sonora, Mexico