Certificate of Engineering from State of Tennessee awarded to James A. Parsons
date: label: Date
content: 1954
name: label: Issued by
content: Tennessee Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners, American, founded 1921
label: Received by
content: James A. Parsons Jr., American, 1900 - 1989
label: Signed by
content: Nathan W. Dougherty, American, 1886 - 1977
label: Signed by
content: Granbery Jackson Jr., American, 1906 - 1977
notes: label: Caption
content: 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.
label: Caption
content: 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.
label: Description
content: A certificate from the Tennessee Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners awarded to James Albert Parsons, Jr. on October 4th, 1954. The certificate is printed in black ink on off-white paper, with the certificate number [2824] and date completed by hand. There is a printed Tennessee state seal at top center, and an affixed gold seal in the front, lower left corner. The certificate states that Parsons is qualified and licensed to practice engineering. It is signed by the agency’s chairman, Nathan W. Dougherty, and the secretary [James] Granbery Jackson Jr.
place: label: Place depicted
content: Tennessee, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Associations and institutions
label: Topic
content: Engineering
label: Topic
content: Science
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Awards, Medals, and Insignia
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Grant Shipp
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2015.246.4
objectType: label: Type
content: certificates
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No Known Copyright Restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink on paper on cardboard
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 15 × 11 in. (38.1 × 27.9 cm)