I will be the first to admit that Honnold is a pretty unique last name. Classy, yet unique. ;)
according to 1 website i found, "Honnold" is the 52,935th most popular last name in the U.S. i find this absolutely fascinating. wonder who ranks right before us? and who ranks right after us? maybe the Pickowitz's? maybe the Hernachlefterfekter's? hmmmmm.... i wonder if either if those are as fun a family as us Honnolds. ;)
at any rate, throughout the course of history, a few Honnold's have made a bigger, regional or national mark than others. here are a few:
JOHN O HONNOLD
passed away in 2011 at the age of 95; born in Kansas, IL (yeah Kansas!); graduate of University of Illinois and Harvard; author, lawyer and professor at the University of Pennsylvania; considered by many to be the father of the Vienna Convention
DOUG HONNOLD
current managing attorney for Earthjustice (part of the Sierra Club)
DOUGLAS HONNOLD
born in 1901, died in 1974; Quebec-born architect who settled in Los Angeles and designed several L.A. buildings including the John F. Kennedy Library on the campus of California State University and Stage 8 at 20th Century Fox Studios, where shows such as Charlie's Angels and L.A. Law were filmed
ALEX HONNOLD
widely regarded as one of America's best rock climbers; he's been featured on 60 Minutes and on the cover of National Geographic magazine; he will be part of a National Geographic Channel TV special this fall
CHESTER P HONNOLD
(my grandfather)
born 1914, died 1999; a graduate of Northwestern University, he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy, serving as Chief Navigator of the USS Saginaw Bay aircraft carrier until the end of World War II; the ship took part in five major operations in the Pacific including the capture and/or landings at the Palau Islands, Leyte and Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa; he retired from
the USN reserves in Nov 1955 and farmed in Edgar County Illinois for the remainder of his life
SCOTT HONNOLD
current VP and Treasurer of the Goodyear company
(man, i bet he's "tired" each night when he goes home)
WILLIAM L HONNOLD
born in 1866, died in 1950; a pioneering mining engineer in Africa; libraries at The Claremont Colleges in California are named after him
STEPHEN J HONNOLD
a true American hero, Stephen was a U.S. Marine from Kansas City; he was killed in Vietnam (1967) and is memorialized on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington
(side note: there is a Honnold Street in Las Vegas; have not yet figured out why or who it's named for.)
There you have it.... the Honnold Hall of Fame. I'm sure there were good women behind all these guys.... in the case of my grandpa, I know there was.
Out for now.....
Matt