The following biographical sketch was compiled at the time of induction into the Academy in 1975.

Rucker Agee, an investment securities executive, student of Southern history, and a lifetime resident of Birmingham, was born on October 22, 1897.

​

After serving as a second lieutenant in the United States Army and receiving his B.S. degree from the University of Alabama, Mr. Agee entered the investment securities firm of Sterne, Agee & Leach, Inc., and is at present its executive director. He was also a member of a number of professional organizations; among these are the Investment Bankers Code Committee created by the National Recovery Administration, the National Association of Securities Dealers, and the Investment Bankers of America, on whose board of governors he served from 1964 to 1967.

​

Even so, he found time to work for a variety of civic and charitable organizations. A former director of the Birmingham Area Chamber of Commerce and the Birmingham Industrial Development Board, he served as the vice president of the Birmingham Community Chest and was the treasurer of the Children's Hospital of Birmingham. In addition, he was once president of the local council of the Boy Scouts of America, the Mountain Brook Club, and the Brooke Hill School, and the Redstone Club. At the time of his induction into the Academy, he was a trustee of the Rushton Lectures and a member of the Humanities Advisory Council of Auburn University, the Industrial Security Advisory Council of Alabama, and the Nominating Committee for the Alabama Business Hall of Fame.

​

Mr. Agee's interest in regional history and culture was evident in his work as a former president and current member of the executive committee of the Alabama Historical Association. He was the historiographer of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama from 1953 to 1966 and was a former trustee of the Alabama Museum of Natural History. At the time of his induction into the Academy, he served as the vice president of the Horseshoe Bend Battle Park Association and as a trustee of the Alabama Department of Archives and History. He was also active in the Alabama Archaeological Society and the historical societies of Huntsville, Arlington, St. Clair, St. Augustine, and the state of Tennessee.

​

For his work on the highway historical marker program of the Alabama Historical Association, Mr. Agee was given an Award of Merit by the American Association of State and Local History. He also received a Distinguished Service Award from the Alabama Historical Commission, and for his donation of his collection of historical maps to the Birmingham Public Library, received the Silver Bowl Award. He was given the Silver Beaver Award by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America and a Certificate of Merit by the United States Secretary of War for his service to the Birmingham Ordnance District during World War II.

​

As a keen student of Southern history, Mr. Agee amassed an extensive library and wrote several monographs, including one entitled "Let's Keep the Record Straight," which consists of five short critical essays, and another entitled "The Forrest-Streight Campaign of 1863."

​

In 1927 he married the former Margaret Dixon Minge of Talladega. They had two daughters and five grandchildren, all of whom live in Birmingham.

 

Rucker Agee died on November 1, 1985.