Thomas Nelson Papers 1877-1954

Thomas Nelson (1872-1953) worked as educator, administrator, and textile technologist. He served the Textiles Department at North Carolina State College from 1901 to 1949, originally as an instructor, then Head of the Textiles Department, and later as the first Dean of the School of Textiles.

Nelson was born in Preston, England on April 24, 1872. In Preston, he studied at the Harris Institute Technical School. He earned a certificate for weaving and designing in 1891 by the City and Guilds of London Institute. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from North Carolina State College in 1926. When he joined the faculty at North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (later North Carolina State University) in 1901, the department had only one instructor and a couple of weaving machines. At his retirement as Dean of the School of Textiles in 1943, Nelson headed one of the largest and most successful textile schools in the country. In 1908, Nelson helped organize and was a charter member of the Southern Textile Association, and in 1943, he was chosen as the first president of the newly formed National Council of Textile School Deans. Between 1911 and 1922 he also served as a Commercial Agent for the Bureau of Manufacturers of the United States Department of Commerce and Labor, Special Agent for the United States Tariff Board, and consultant with the Tariff Commission. In the summers of 1934 and 1937, Nelson traveled to Europe to visit the leading textile schools in England, Ireland, and Scotland. He authored two books: Weaving: Plain and Fancy (1907) and Practical Loom Fixing (1917), which by 1949 had been published internationally and in five editions. He was active in scholastic, civic and religious affairs on campus and in the community throughout his life. Nelson died in Raleigh, North Carolina on April 11, 1953.

This collection contains material from the personal and professional life of Thomas Nelson, an internationally renowned textiles expert and educator. Thomas Nelson, the first Dean of the Textiles School of North Carolina State College (later North Carolina State University), began his career as an instructor and later became the head of the Textiles Department. Included in this collection are correspondence, photographs, textile samples, clippings from print media, class and lab notes, and Nelson's various published works. Of special interest in this collection is correspondence with then-Democratic presidential nominee Franklin Delano Roosevelt, correspondence with an N.C. State alumnus serving in World War II, and a signed 4th edition of his book Practical Loom Fixing.

The collection is arranged into two series:

• Series 1. Personal Papers
• Series 2. Professional Papers

North Carolina State University does not own copyright to this collection. Individuals obtaining materials from the NC State University Libraries' Special Collections Research Center are responsible for using the works in conformance with United States copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying the materials.

This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which North Carolina State University assumes no responsibility.

[Identification of item], Thomas Nelson Papers, MC 00002, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC

Gift of Thomas Nelson Jr., 1970 January 7, with additions from other sources, 1970-1984.

Jason Smith, 2005 April