University of Wyoming
James L. Murray (1919- ) was an American air force officer, aerospace engineer, and aerospace industry executive during the twentieth century. Educated at North Carolina State University, Murray was commissioned as a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps (later renamed U.S. Army Air Forces) in 1941. During World War II, he served as a flight instructor and as Chief of Maintenance at Maxwell Field, Alabama. Murray continued his military career after the war, serving as an engineer and test pilot at Moffett Field, California (1945-1947), as a liaison officer at the U.S. Air Material Command (1945-1948), as Chief of Special Projects Branch at Wright Aeronautical Center, and Chief of Engineering Division at U.S. Air Force Europe Headquarters at Wiesbaden, West Germany (1952-1954). After resigning from the U.S. Air Force in 1954, Murray became an executive in the aerospace industry and held positions at a number of aerospace firms between the 1950s and 1980s, including Republic Aviation Corporation (1957-1962), Douglas Aircraft Company (1962-1965), Continental Aviation & Engineering Corporation (1966-1970), and Teledyne CAE (1970-1985). After leaving the aerospace industry in 1985, he served as Chairman of the Board at ADDSCO Industries (1985-1988). Murray was also a member of the U.S. Air Force Reserve and served as its chairman of its Force Policy Committee (1971-1975).
Collection contains James L. Murray's correspondence files (business and personal), subject files (containing correspondence, clippings, notes, financial documents, legal documents, minutes, and printed materials), loose correspondence (business and personal), and photographs (of Murray and the aircraft he worked on). Collection also contains Murray's award certificates, clippings, newspapers, periodicals, and miscellaneous printed materials (including annual reports for the companies Murray worked for). Collection also holds a small amount of audio-visual materials concerning Douglas Aircraft Company's version of the C5-A aircraft, consisting of a set of presentation slides, three reel to reel audio tapes, and two 16 mm motion picture films. Numerous artifacts, including Murray's trophies and award plaques, and models of aircraft Murray worked on are in this collection as well.
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
There are no known other archival collections created by James L. Murray at the date of processing.
Partial finding aid available in repository.
Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection Name, Collection Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
The American Heritage Center is in the process of converting its older container lists to a more accessible format. This link is to an older version of a container list.