Early Life and Education
Richard Halliburton was born in Brownsville, Tennessee to Wesley, a civil engineer and real estate speculator, and Nelle Nance Halliburton. A brother, Wesley Jr., was born in 1903. The family moved to Memphis, where the brothers, who were not close, spent their childhood. He attended Memphis University School. Richard's favorite subjects were geography and history; he also showed promise as a violinist, and was a fair golfer and tennis player. In 1915 Richard developed a rapid heart condition and spent some four months in bed before its symptoms were relieved. This included some time at the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan, run by the innovative John Harvey Kellogg, whose philosophy of care featured regular exercise, sound nutrition, and frequent enemas. In 1917, family tragedy further shaped Richard's already present sense of life's utter transience when, following an apparent bout of rheumatic fever, his brother, thought strong and in fine health, suddenly died.
At 5' 7" (170 cm) and about 140 pounds (64 kg), Halliburton was throughout his life never robust, but would seldom complain of sickness or poor stamina. He graduated from The Lawrenceville School where he was chief editor of The Lawrence. In 1921 he graduated from Princeton University, where he was on the editorial board of The Daily Princetonian, and chief editor of The Princetonian Pictorial Magazine. He also attended courses for public speaking and considered a career as a lecturer.
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