Henry Miller Madden (1912-1982)

Henry Miller Madden was the University Librarian at California State University, Fresno for thirty years (1949-1979). His life was one of notable accomplishment as both a librarian and a scholar. He was born in Oakland on June 17, 1912 and graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in History in 1933. He did graduate work at Stanford, Columbia and the Royal Hungarian University in Budapest. From 1942 to 1946, Madden served in the U.S. Naval Reserve, stationed in Europe. In 1946, having completed his service as Secretary to the Tripartite Naval Commission in Berlin, Madden returned to the United States and finished his doctoral dissertation at Columbia. He then obtained a Master's of Library Science from University of California at Berkeley and was appointed University Librarian at Fresno State in 1949.

Books and book collecting were Dr. Madden's lifelong passions and the collection he built here at Fresno State is considered one of the best for its size. During his tenure as University Librarian, the collection grew from 70,000 volumes (mostly on elementary and secondary education) to 576,000 volumes (on a wide range of subjects befitting a university). His energy and talent also extended to numerous other activities. He was president of the California Library Association and editor of the California Librarian, which won the H.W. Wilson Award for the best library journal in North America during his term as editor. Dr. Madden's historical scholarship was meticulous and extensive. He wrote four books and innumerable articles, commentaries and editorials.

After his retirement in 1979, due to the efforts of his colleagues and friends, the newly expanded and remodeled library was officially named the Henry Madden Library. Henry Miller Madden died in Fresno on August 27, 1982.