Robert O. Trout

Robert Oren Trout (August 4, 1904 – March 15, 1995) was an American sociologist whose principal academic career was based at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana, where he was the longtime chairman of the Social Sciences Department.

Trout was the son of Otis James Trout and the former Minnie Railey. He was born in Girard, Louisiana, and reared in Union Parish, located north of Ruston. He graduated from Marion High School in the town of Marion. He procured his Bachelor of Arts in history in 1938 from Louisiana Tech and his Master of Arts in education in 1942 from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He received his Ph.D from LSU on August 6, 1954. His dissertation is entitled "The People of the North Louisiana Hill Country," a reference to the 19th century settlers of his native region.

Trout began his career in Arkansas public schools, where he taught for nine years. From 1936–1939, Trout taught the seventh grade and served as a principal in Minden, the seat of Webster Parish west of Ruston. He then served from 1942–1946 in the United States Navy during World War II, stationed in the Central Pacific. Thereafter, he returned to Minden as a school principal but in 1947 joined the Louisiana Tech faculty with responsibilities in geography and sociology. He retired effective September 22, 1976. Trout held membership in Alpha Kappa Delta, the honor society for sociology, and Phi Delta Kappa, a society for educators. He was also affiliated with the Southwestern Sociological Association, the Southwest Social Sciences Association, and the Lions Club.

He is included in a past edition of Who's Who in the American Southwest. and Who's Who in America. To accommodate desegregation, Trout served on the Lincoln Parish Bi-Racial Committee. He also served on the board of the Ruston Housing Authority. In 1961, Trout was named the Louisiana delegate to the White House Conference on Aging. He frequently lectured at civic clubs and within the education system, often peppering his talks with sociological statistics that he had gathered and researched.

In 1952, Trout married the former Rita Virginia Galloway (1916–2013), a native of Arcadia in Bienville Parish who was a secretary to the president of Louisiana Tech from 1940 until her retirement in 1970. Trout had two step-daughters, Mary Virginia Cage and Barbara Sue Bowman, both of whom are deceased.