Photograph of James A. Parsons Jr. at age 8
- Photograph by
- Unidentified
- Subject of
- Parsons, James A. Jr., American, 1900 - 1989
- Date
- 1908-1909
- Medium
- silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (image): 5 1/8 × 2 1/2 in. (13 × 6.4 cm)
- H x W (matte): 7 5/8 × 4 1/4 in. (19.4 × 10.8 cm)
- Caption
- James A. Parsons Jr. was a scientist, inventor, and university professor, whose research with rust resistant metals and iron alloys is credited with leading to the development of stainless steel. He developed Durimet 20, a corrosion-resistant stainless steel alloy also known as Alloy 20, which is still widely used today in a diverse range of industries including petrochemical, textile, nuclear, aerospace, automotive, pharmaceutical, textile and chemical and food processing.
- Born in 1900, Parsons grew up in Dayton, OH, where his father worked as a butler for Pierce Schenk, the founder of metal manufacturer Duriron Co. Schenk covered Parsons’ tuition at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in exchange for Parsons’ work over summer breaks. Parsons graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in 1922 with a degree in Electrical Engineering and returned to working at Duriron Co., where he eventually established what was likely the first all-Black industrial research laboratory. Over the course of his career, Parsons received eight patents, won the Harmon Medal in 1928 for his scientific achievements, and had a distinguished teaching career at Tennessee Agriculture and Industrial State College (now Tennessee State University) and Ohio State University.
- Description
- A black-and-white photograph of James A. Parsons, Jr. at the age of eight. Parsons pictured is standing, wearing a dark, double-breasted garment, with a belt wrapped loosely around his waist and a bow tied at the neck. Parson has both his hands behind his back and is wearing boots. The photograph is oval shaped and is glued onto a hard frame. The frame is larger than the picture and was originally a rectangular shape, possibly a page of a scrapbook.
- Place captured
- Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Photographs and Still Images
- Type
- gelatin silver prints
- portraits
- Topic
- Children
- Engineering
- Photography
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Grant Shipp
- Object number
- 2015.246.10
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.