Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- William Ross Aiken Papers
- Dates:
- 1944-2007, bulk (bulk 1955-1996)
- Creators:
- Aiken, William Ross, 1919-2007
- Abstract:
- Professional papers regarding inventions and patents, with some personal papers. Of particular interest are Aiken's original research journals. The collection contains photographs, photographic negatives, and a biography of Kurt von Tauchendorf, Aiken's patent attorney, written jointly by Aiken and von Tauchendorf.
- Extent:
- 1.5 linear feet
- Language:
- English French Italian Chinese German
- Preferred citation:
-
William Ross Aiken Papers 2009-42, History San Jose Research Library, San Jose, California 95112-2599.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection is arranged into three series:
- Series 1. Biographical information, professional associations, career history, 1944-2007. 7 folders.
- Series 2. Thin Cathode-Ray Tube: Invention, Development, Promotion, 1955-1996. 9 folders.
- Series 3. Patents and Research Notes, 1949-1978. 10 folders (includes 1 book and 7 journals).
- Biographical / historical:
-
William Ross Aiken was born February 19, 1919, in Maui, Hawaii. He attended Los Angeles City College for two years, but his education was interrupted by war work. From 1941-1947, he worked in the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond, California, as an electrical and mechanical draughtsman and supervisor of communications. In 1946, he founded Ross Radio Corporation, wich produced high quality radio-phonographs. Aiken graduated in 1947 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and subsequently joined the University of California Radiation Laboratory (now Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory), where he developed instrumentation and controls for nuclear accelerators.
In 1940 Aiken took a leave of absence at the request of the Laboratory's director, Dr. Ernest O. Lawrence, to help develop the Lawrence color tube. Upon returning to the Lab in 1951, Aiken led a group working on instrumentation for nuclear devices for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission as part of Project Greenhouse. He applied this experience to his work in Livermore, California, and Mercury, Nevada, where he developed devices and techniques for nuclear research while working on a prototype of the thin cathode ray tube.
In the early 1950s, Aiken became Director of Research at Kaiser Aircraft and Electronics (now a part of Rockwell-Collins). There he further developed the Kaiser-Aiken Thin Cathode Ray Tube, used in aircraft instrumentation and other flat screen displays. Mr. Aiken formed Electronics Ten, Inc., in the early 1960s to improve on the Kaiser-Aiken thin tube, and produce an automatic audio control he designed. In the 1970s, he became Vice President of Research and Development for Display Technology Corporation (DTC) of Cupertino, California, which produced an indoor/outdoor electrostatic sign developed by Aiken.
In 1959, Aiken successfully ran for city councilman in his home town of Los Altos Hills, California. He served as a councilman from 1960-1970, during which time he served one term as mayor. He was a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and a fellow of the Society for Information Display. Aiken held over 100 patents. Of particular interest are those for the thin cathode-ray tube, quadular modulation audio control, an electrostatic display system, and solid state displays. In the early 1980s, after his retirement, he wrote and published two computer manuals, Hard Disk, Made Easy, and Cheatbook for Wordstar.
Aiken died in Los Altos Hills in February 2007.
- Acquisition information:
- The collection was donated in 2009 by Aiken's wife, Harriette H. Aiken.
- Processing information:
-
Received and accessioned by History San Jose in August, 2009. Processed and cataloged by History San Jose volunteers, October 2009-March 2010. The documents in the collection were cataloged at folder and item level; some photographs were cataloged individually. All catalog records are held in the Research Library's database.
- Physical location:
- History San Jose Collection Center
- Rules or conventions:
- Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- © 2009
- Date Encoded:
- Machine-readable finding aid derived from MS Word. Date of source: March 2010. Machine-readable finding aid created by History San Jose Research Library.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
The Records are available to the public for research by appointment.
- Terms of access:
-
Property rights reside with History San Jose. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact History San Jose Research Library.
- Preferred citation:
-
William Ross Aiken Papers 2009-42, History San Jose Research Library, San Jose, California 95112-2599.
- Location of this collection:
-
1661 Senter RoadSan Jose, CA 95112, US
- Contact:
- (408) 287-2290