John H. White Jr.
American historian and museum curator (born 1933)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Henry White Jr. (born November 10, 1933) is an American historian and museum curator. He was employed by the National Museum of American History from 1958 to 1990. In 1979 his book The American Railroad Passenger Car was nominated for the National Book Award for history.[1][2] Since 1996 he has been a professor at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he teaches history of travel and technology.[3]
Division of Transportation
National Museum of American History, Museum of History and Technology
John H. White Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 10, 1933 |
| Alma mater | Miami University |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | History |
| Institutions | Smithsonian, Department of Science and Technology, Division of Transportation National Museum of American History, Museum of History and Technology |
Biography
John Henry White Jr., was born on November 10, 1933, in Cincinnati, Ohio. In his early years, he explored tanneries and the Cincinnati Union Terminal, where he was particularly interested in the roundhouse. From this, White developed an interest in becoming a locomotive engineer. His first job during high school entailed working on a gearbox assembly line at the Triumph Manufacturing Company. He enrolled at Miami University and during his college years worked at the McGowan Pump Company, where he learned drafting. In 1958, he graduated with bachelor's degree in modern European history from Miami University.[4]
After graduation he got an internship position as a museum aide at the Smithsonian Institution. His early years at the Smithsonian Institution were spent working on ship models for Howard I. Chapelle, the curator of transportation. His internship was extended from time to time until his position was made permanent in 1960, when he became an associate curator in the Land Transportation Section. From 1961 until 1966 he was an associate curator of railroads at the Museum of History and Technology (renamed the National Museum of American History, curator from 1967 to 1985, and senior historian from 1986 until his retirement in 1989.[4]
Works
| Title | Publication date | Pages | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Locomotive Builders 1845-1868 | 1965 | 167 | Smithsonian Bulletin 245 |
| Early American Locomotives (Trains) | June 1, 1972 | 142 | Dover; 19th century engravings, with brief history |
| Horsecars, Cable Cars and Omnibuses | June 1, 1974 | 107 | Dover; images, with brief history |
| A History of the American Locomotive: Its Development, 1830–1880 | January 1, 1980 | 528 | |
| The John Bull: 150 Years a Locomotive | October 1, 1981 | 144 | |
| The American Railroad Passenger Car | March 1, 1985 | 704 | |
| The Great Yellow Fleet: A History of American Railroad Refrigerator Cars | December 1, 1986 | 186 | |
| The American Railroad Freight Car: From the Wood-Car Era to the Coming of Steel | October 1, 1993 | 656 | |
| American Locomotives: An Engineering History, 1830–1880 | December 11, 1997 | 624 | Updated/expanded edition of his 1980 book |
| The Island Queen: Cincinnati's Excursion Steamer (with Robert J. White Sr.) | March 1, 2001 | 115 | |
| Cincinnati: City of Seven Hills (Ohio) (History) | 2001 | 128 | |
| On the Right Track: Some Historic Cincinnati Railroads | 2003 | 160 | |
| Wet Britches and Muddy Boots: A History of Travel in Victorian America | November 22, 2012 | 544 | Indiana University Press, Railroads Past and Present series |
