MUNSON

MUNSON 15.06. 1889 Columbus TX/USA 06.10. 1958 Freeport TX/USA Thurmond Armour Munson received in 1910 the BSc degree from the Agricultural and Mechanical College, College Station TX, the civil engineering degree in 1924 from Iowa State College, Ames IA, and there the MSc degree in civil engineering in 1925. He was employed as assistant engineer from 1910 to 1911, and as sanitary engineer until 1912. He established a general consulting practice from 1913 to 1921 dealing with drainage projects, flood control, and surveys. Munson became in 1920 an associate professor and in 1926 then professor of hydraulic engineering at his Alma Mater, today’s A&M College, accepting in 1946 the position of chief civil engineer for a chemical company at Freeport TX, continuing in this position until his retirement in 1955. During his professional career, he made surveys on public utilities locations. He was also known as hydraulic engineer, and an expert on land boundary suits. He further served during World War II. Munson was rather a general civil engineer and educator than a hydraulic engineer advancing research. He was in the early 1920s a consulting engineer for waterworks and sewers, and in the mid-1920s a special engineer and advisor for high-pressure lines. In the late 1920s he made surveys and reports for the reclamation of state land in Texas from Brazos River floods. In the 1930s he made investigations, designs, and reports on rainfall, runoff, flood flows and flood frequencies, flood protection, and navigation improvements in the Missouri River Basin, with the US Engineers’ Office, Kansas City MO. He was further involved in investigations and reports on the flood damage for two large railways companies from 1934 to 1940. Munson was member of the American Society of Civil Engineers from 1944, serving as chairman its Texas Section, and the Brazos County Branch from 1939 to 1940. He also was member of the Texas Water Conservation Association, the National Geographical Society, and the Brazos County Development Association. Anonymous (1948). Munson, Thurmond A. Who’s who in engineering 6: 1423-1424. Lewis: New York. Anonymous (1959). Thurmond A. Munson. Trans. ASCE 124: 1072-1073. Munson, T.A. (1924). Investigation of the effects of grade and types of road surface on the fuel consumption of motor vehicles. Iowa State College: Iowa City. https://www.munsons-of-texas.net/pic-jwm-04.html P

MURPHY 17.06. 1859 Croydon ON/CA 18.09. 1934 Santa Monica CA/USA Edward Charles Murphy obtained the BS degree in civil engineering in 1884, the MS degree in 1885, and the PhD degree in 1900. He was from 1887 to 1899 assistant professor of engineering at Kansas University, Lawrence KS, then instructor at Cornell University, Ithaca NY, and took over in 1903 until retirement in 1926 as engineer of the US Geological Survey. He was awarded the Fuertes Gold Medal. Murphy was a successful hydrographer of the early 20th century, given that his experience was sought by individuals of the calibre of Robert E. Horton (1875-1945) or Grove K. Gilbert (1843-1918). The 1907 report summarizes the then available data on weir flow, including these of Henry Bazin (1829-1917), among many others, therefore providing a useful data-set to describe the main weir flow characteristics. The 1907 paper recommends the Stevens method for discharge extrapolation from available data of a certain river, which is discussed in most of the textbooks of the day. Murphy suggested that one should spend sufficient time to determine the accurate slope and cross-section. He was also interested in stream discharge measurement by the current meter, as evidenced by his discussion of a notable paper in the Trans. ASCE in 1910. Previously, he had presented in the 1902 report the then used methods of discharge measurement in the USA. The measurements with the meters proposed by William G. Price (1853-1928), Eugene E. Haskell (1855-1933), or even Alphonse Fteley (1837-1903) were compared with weir observations; the best results resulted from the Price meter. Gilbert, G.K., Murphy, E.C. (1914). The transportation of debris by running water, based on experiments made with the assistance of Edward C. Murphy. Govt. Printing Office. Horton, R.E., Murphy, E.C., Beardsley, R.C. (1907). On a suggested method for extrapolating values of stream discharge. Engineering News 58(8): 202-203. Horton, R.E., Murphy, E.C. (1907). Weir experiments, coefficients and formulas. Washington. Kolupaila, S. (1960). Edward C. Murphy: Early history of hydrometry in the United States. Journal of the Hydraulics Division ASCE 86(HY1): 34. P Murphy, E.C. (1901). The windmill. Government Printing Office: Washington DC. Murphy, E.C. (1902). Accuracy of stream measurements. Govt. Printing Office: Washington. Murphy, E.C. (1902). Current meter and weir discharge comparisons. Trans. ASCE 47: 370. Murphy, E.C. (1904). Hydrographic manual of the United States Geological Survey. Government Printing Office: Washington DC.