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Thomas M. Gardner papers

 Collection — Box: Communal Collections 6, Placement: 23
Identifier: MSA 117

Scope and Contents

Articles and a patent authored by Thomas M. Gardner, along with two land deeds.

Dates

  • 1838 - 1912

Creator

Language of Materials

Collection materials are in English.

Access Information

Collection is open for research.

Copyright and Use Information

Some material in this collection are in the public domain, while other material copyrights are held by Purdue University. Consult with Purdue University Archives and Special Collections prior to reproduction of materials.

Biographical Information

Thomas Mooney Gardner was born in Bedford, IN on August 22, 1872. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue in 1892, and completed a Master's at Cornell University in 1896.

After earning his Bachelor's, Thomas remained at Purdue for the 1892-1893 school year, working as an Assistant in the Electrical Laboratory. From 1893-1894 Thomas ran his own engineering practice, before returning to academia as a Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Throop Polytechnic Institute (today the California Institute of Technology) in Pasadena, California (1894-1895).

From 1896-1899 Thomas worked in construction, before teaching as an Instructor in Experimental Engineering at Cornell University (1899-1901); a Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Pratt Institute (1901-1902); an Instructor and Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Cornell (1902-1905); and Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Illinois (1905-1906). While at the University of Illinois, Thomas was in charge of the railway street car installed at the university for testing purposes - it was the first street car of its kind.

Thomas was Professor of Electrical Engineering for the Oregon Agricultural College (today Oregon State University) from 1906 until at least 1909. While at Oregon, Thomas also acted as an advisor for the student branch of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, following its 1908 addition to the college.

By 1915 Thomas was working for the Hendryx Hotel in Kansas City Missouri, before switching to a consulting engineer in Indianapolis sometime prior to 1929. He would continue this work until at least 1934.

Extent

0.025 Cubic Feet (One folder)

Arrangement Note

Chronological
Title
Thomas M. Gardner papers
Status
In Progress
Author
Mary A. Sego
Date
2022-10-04
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English
Edition statement
Third edition. Collection description first completed 2012-02-07.

Revision Statements

  • 2020-03-27: Collection description updated by Adelle Rogers.
  • 2022-10-04: Biography section updated by William Niner.

Repository Details

Part of the Purdue University Archives and Special Collections Repository

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