Guide to the Samuel Thorburn Black Memorial Collection
Finding Aid Authors: Ellen E. Jarosz.
© Copyright 2008 Special Collections & University Archives. All rights reserved.
2008-01-16
5500 Campanile Dr. MC 8050
San Diego, CA, 92182-8050
URL: http://library.sdsu.edu/scua
Email: scref@rohan.sdsu.edu
Phone: 619-594-6791
Guide to the Samuel Thorburn Black Memorial Collection
1877/1922
Special Collections & University Archives
Overview of the Collection
Collection Title: Samuel Thorburn Black Memorial Collection
Dates: 1877-1922
Identification: MS-0324
Creator:
Black, Samuel Thorburn, 1846-1917
Physical Description: 0.60 linear ft
Language of Materials:
English
Repository:
Special Collections & University Archives
5500 Campanile Dr. MC 8050
San Diego, CA, 92182-8050
URL: http://library.sdsu.edu/scua
Email: scref@rohan.sdsu.edu
Phone: 619-594-6791
Biographical Information:
The first president of San Diego Normal School, Samuel T. Black was selected for the post by the Normal School's Board of
Trustees in October 1898. He served as president until 1910. Having previously been State Superintendent of Public Instruction,
and having had numerous other administrative and teaching appointments throughout California, he entered the position with
extensive experience. He brought professional activism and many solid connections in the educational world.
Black was born in 1846, in northern England, to Scottish parents. He came to the United States in search of an uncle the
family had lost touch with, and upon finding him in Wisconsin, decided to stay in the US. Though he spent his first year
teaching in the Midwest, he eventually traveled to California, arriving in San Francisco in 1868. Mr. Black had two children,
the second of whom, Pauline Black, followed him into the teaching profession, and taught at the Normal School for several
years. In 1910 she and her father took a trip around the world.
On September 1, 1910, Mr. Black officially stepped down as San Diego Normal School's president. Enrollment had increased
from 83 students the first year to nearly 400. The original seven members of the teaching faculty that Black had assembled
remained largely intact, and the addition of several new faculty members brought the total number of instructors to 19. From
1913-1916 Black served as a member of the Board of Education of the City of San Diego. He died in San Diego, March 23, 1917.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Corporate Name:
San Diego Normal School -- Administration -- History -- Sources
Genre/Form of Material:
Personal Papers
Photographs
Personal Name:
Black, Pauline T. -- Diaries
Black, Pauline T. -- Travel
Black, Samuel Thorburn, 1846-1917 -- Archives
Black, Samuel Thorburn, 1846-1917 -- Travel
Topical Term:
School administrators -- California -- San Diego -- Biography -- Sources
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Use:
Some of these materials are in the public domain. However, the nature of historical archival and manuscript collections means
that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. Copyright resides with the creators of materials contained
in the collection or their heirs. Requests for permission to publish must be submitted to the Head of Special Collections,
San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. When granted, permission is given on behalf of Special Collections
as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder(s), which must
also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and
private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement
of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.
Conditions Governing Access:
This collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation:
Identification of item, folder title, box number, Samuel Thorburn Black Memorial Collection, Special Collections and University
Archives, Library and Information Access, San Diego State University.
Related Materials:
San Diego State University Historical Collection
Walter R. Hepner Memorial Collection
Edward Lawyer Hardy Memorial Collection
Thomas B. Day Papers
Malcolm. A Love Papers
Brage Golding Collection
Scope and Contents
The
Samuel Thorburn Black Memorial Collection documents both Black and his presidency, and includes correspondence, financial records, annual reports, Pauline Black's
diary, and a scrapbook of the trip Mr. Black and his daughter took around the world.
Detailed List of Contents
Box 1, Folder 1
Certificate of Admission to the Bar
1877
Box 1, Folder 2
Correspondence
1899 - 1910
Box 1, Folder 3
Diaries of Pauline T. Black (Daughter)
Box 1, Folder 4
Faculty Resolution After Resignation
June 1910
Box 1, Folder 7
Obituary, Normal News
1917
Box 1, Folder 9
Report of the President
1906, 1907, 1910
Box 1, Folder 12
Scrapbook, Trip to United Kingdom
1902
Box 1, Folder 13
Scrapbook, Life of Samuel T. Black
1917
Box 2, Folder 1
Scrapbook, World Tour
1910-1911
Box 2, Folder 2
University Club of San Diego - Complimentary Dinner Program
September 5, 1910
Box 2, Folder 3
Visit to Europe
1910-1911
Box 2, Folder 4
Zlac Rowing Club Book
1922
