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Carl Edward Magnusson photograph collection, 1905-1951

Overview of the Collection

Collector
Magnusson, Carl Edward, 1872-1941
Title
Carl Edward Magnusson photograph collection
Dates
1905-1951 (inclusive)
1936-1948 (bulk)
Quantity
1.05 cubic feet (4 boxes)
176 negatives (2 boxes) ; various sizes
178 photographs (2 boxes) ; various sizes
Collection Number
PH0648
Summary
Views of the classes, laboratories and equipment of the University of Washington Engineering College
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open to the public.

Request at UW

Additional Reference Guides

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Carl Edward Magnusson was a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Washington from 1904-1941; his main interest was in hydroelectric power in Washington. Magnusson's appointment to full professor is considered to mark the start of the Department of Electrical Engineering as an independent unit on campus. He was department chair from 1906-1917 and Dean of the Engineering College from 1917-1929. Magnusson believed in having a close relationship with industry and had practicing engineers lecture in his classes. In about 1910 he took a leave of absence for two years to work for the General Electric Company. As a result of his working relationship with GE, the company donated an electric oscillograph in 1913, which lead to the development of a course in electric transients, possibly the first such course to be offered in an American college. In 1919 he proposed building a 230-kv line from the Canadian border to Los Angeles, connecting the three state region; the idea was eventually put into place many years later. A 1932 issue of the University of Washington newspaper noted that Magnusson had won international fame for his studies of Lichtenberg figures. During the 1930s, he also served as an advisor on the construction of the Grand Coulee Project on the Columbia River.

Carl Magnusson died in 1941.

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Content Description

Views of the classes, laboratories and equipment of the University of Washington Engineering College between 1921 and 1951, engineering exhibits at the Puyallup Fair, and electrical power projects for Baker River, Chelan Station, Lake Cushman, Hungry Horse Dam and other places. The collection includes materials that were created after Magnusson's death.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

View selections from the collection in digital format

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Donor: Floyd D. Robbins, 1972.

Processing Note

Processed by Paul Nasenbeny, 2004 and Marion Brown, 2009.

Unprinted negatives have been scanned and printed.

The photographs were relocated from the Carl Edward Magnusson Papers, Acc. No. 1793-001 in the repository, in 1982.

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Detailed Description of the Collection