T. James Crawford was born on December 14, 1916 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and died on August 15, 2000 in Bloomington, Indiana. Crawford grew up in the Pittsburgh area where he would later receive both his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Pittsburgh. It was while he was attending the University of Pittsburg that he met D.D. Leesenberry, with whom he would later coauthor 20th Century Typewriting. Crawford would later return to the University of Pittsburgh to obtain his doctoral degree.
In May of 1942, after serving as a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh and the Women's College of the University of North Carolina, Crawford came to Indiana University. His intention was to join the IU Summer Session faculty but instead was given the duty of assisting with the organization of the U.S. Naval Training School which was being started as a result of the war effort. While not yet in active duty, he became supervisor of instruction in the U.S. Navy School for Yeomen and Storekeepers. In that position, he helped design a program for the first group of WAVES that had been recruited by the Navy. In December of 1942 Crawford was provided his orders for active duty as a supply officer for a Seabee battalion. He would serve overseas for nearly two years.
Following the war, Crawford returned to IU as a faculty lecturer in the School of Business. During his tenure at IU, he was chairman of the department of administrative systems and business education for 15 years. Additionally, he worked to initiate educational television by assisting in the development of some of the first television courses via the IU television network. Crawford's professional associations were with the Indiana Business Educators Club, the National Association for Business Teacher Education, and the State Association for Business Education for which he served for a period of time as president. Crawford retired from Indiana University in 1987.
From the guide to the T. James Crawford papers, 1940-1987, (Indiana University Office of University Archives and Records Management http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives)
