Certificate of Engineering from State of Tennessee awarded to James A. Parsons

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

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. 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.

Catalog date

1954

Recorded places

Tennessee, United States, North and Central America

Recorded subjects

African American; Associations and institutions; Engineering; Science

Explore Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture ↗