Certificate of Engineering from State of Ohio awarded to James A. Parsons
date: label: Date
content: 1947
name: label: Issued by
content: Ohio State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors, American, founded 1933
label: Received by
content: James A. Parsons Jr., American, 1900 - 1989
label: Signed by
content: Thomas Jefferson Smull Jr., American, 1875 - 1962
label: Signed by
content: Robert N. Waid, American, 1886 - 1984
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 State of Ohio’s Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors awarded to James Albert Parsons, Jr. on July 15, 1947. The certificate is printed in black ink on beige paper, with details completed by hand. There is a printed Ohio state seal at top center, an illustrated city skyline background at center right, and an affixed gold seal in the bottom left corner. The certificate authorizes Parsons to practice in the state of Ohio as a professional metallurgical engineer. It was signed by the agency’s chairman, Thomas J. Smull, and secretary Robert N. Waid.
place: label: Place depicted
content: Ohio, 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: 2015.246.5
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: 11 × 16 in. (27.9 × 40.6 cm)