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George R. Russell papers

 Collection — Box: 1
Identifier: MG 522

Scope and Contents

George R. Russell was a long time professor at the University of Idaho's College of Engineering. This collection contains property and city surveys, maps and blueprints, and some correspondence.

Dates

  • Creation: 1916-1967

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Biographical / Historical

George Robie Russell was born January 20, 1921, near White Bird, Idaho to Ralph James and Sarah Alice (Robie) Russell. He was a descendant of the Robie family, Idaho pioneers who came to the gold rush at the Boise Basin and Florence in the mid-1800s and then moved north to the Salmon River country of north central Idaho. He attended school at White Bird and graduated from White Bird High School in 1937.

Encouraged by his family to pursue an engineering education, George attended the University of Idaho in Moscow, later graduating with a bachelor's in Civil Engineering in 1943. Upon graduation, George went to work for the Civil Aeronautics Administration in Alaska and later joined the U.S. Navy. He served in the Aleutian Islands as an ensign in the Civil Engineer Corps. It was his job to survey and lay out military airstrips for use by U.S. forces.

In 1947, he returned to Moscow and the university to teach surveying and field engineering to students who had just returned from the war. In the same year, he married Jean Ray Atkinson, though their marriage ended a few years later. In 1951, he returned to Alaska to work as an engineer with the Alaska Road Commission. Here he met Lois Christine Smith, of Hot Springs, Arkansas and they were married on October 27, 1952.

In the spring of 1958, George and Lois moved back to Moscow so George could begin a professorship at the University of Idaho's College of Engineering. He taught surveying, transportation engineering, strength of materials, engineering economy, engineering law and contracts, as well as statics. He also served as Assistant Dean of the college and was eventually made Associate Dean in 1980. He retired from the university in 1985. George R. Russell died on January 27, 2010 in Billings, Montana at 89 years old.

Extent

0.2 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Property surveys, maps, and correspondence from George R. Russell, a professor at the University of Idaho College of Engineering.

Arrangement

There was no organization in original accession. Series and files have been arranged in alphabetical order.

Bibliography

Information in the Biographical/Historical section came from the online obituary of George R. Russell, published by the Lewiston Tribune.

Staff of the Lewiston Tribune. (2010). "George R. Russell, 89, Moscow, longtime engineering professor at UI." The Lewiston Tribune.
Title
Guide to George R. Russell papers
Status
Completed
Author
Finding air prepared by Sara Szobody.
Date
2022
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives Repository