Meet Author Robert Headley

A number of our authors have had distinguished careers in business, government, academia, and non-profit organizations; and their avocations, besides genealogy, have been wide-ranging. One such individual is Robert K. Headley, the leading authority  on the genealogy of the Northern Neck of Virginia. As we have noted previously, he is the author of the new, six-volume Northern Neck of Virginia Pioneers, 1642-1675, as well as three earlier titles on this region.

As you will see from this very abridged bio, Mr. Headley is not someone who does things halfheartedly!

“Robert Headley was born in a small town on the Northern Neck of Virginia in 1938. He received his B. A. degree in anthropology from the University of Florida and his M.A. in Anthropology and Ph. D. in Celtic languages from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Dr. Headley worked as a research linguist for the United States Government from 1959 to 1995 and has published numerous books and articles on Southeast Asian languages as well as the major Cambodian – English dictionary. He became interested in documenting the history of the rapidly disappearing American movie theaters in 1968, and after six years of research published a book, EXIT, on the history of movie theaters in Baltimore.  In September 1999, EXIT was selected by the Enoch Pratt Free Library Staff as one of the Best Books on Maryland of the 20th Century. He was a member of the Theatre Historical Society of America and served as editor for the society’s journal, Marquee, from 1981 to 1987. Dr. Headley has lectured on local theater history at the National Archives and Johns Hopkins University, He has also served as a consultant for several exhibitions and documentary films on movie theaters including “The Movie Palaces” made by the Smithsonian Institution.  This research has culminated in a book, Motion Picture Exhibition in Washington, D.C., which traces the history of motion picture exhibition in Washington and adjacent Maryland and Virginia from the 1890s to the 1990s. Dr. Headley has added numerous anecdotes gleaned from  oral history interviews with over 40 individuals who were associated with the local movie industry between 1906 and 1990. 

His hobbies include going to movies, collecting minerals, and writing on the genealogy and local history of the Northern Neck of Virginia. He has authored three earlier books on Virginia genealogy. He was on the staff of the University of Maryland Archives, College Park, Maryland from 2003 to 2013. He is currently compiling a dictionary of the Rhade language of Vietnam.”