Luckiesh, Matthew, 1883-1967

Matthew Luckiesh (1883-1967), an authority and pioneer in the research of light, lighting, color, vision, and seeing, also known as the "father of the Science of Seeing", was born on September 14, 1883 in Maquoketa, Iowa. He was the second son of John and Frances Root Luckiesh. Matthew had an older brother, Frank (William Frank), and a younger brother, Edward. He graduated from high school in Maquoketa in 1899 at the age of 15. Matthew came from a background where hard work was very highly valued and education encouraged. He wanted to go to college and his parents were supportive but he was charged with finding a way to pay for it. About the time he graduated high school, he learned to play the trombone, and became the member of some musical groups in Maquoketa and then a minstrel show and a circus. The trombone was how he would pay for college, although he never considered music as a career path. He had a goal of being an engineer and he thought of music as more of a hobby, not suitable for a life-long career goal. He had a few other jobs and adventures, however, before entering college six years after graduating from high school.

After leaving the circus band about 1904 to come home and prepare for college, his brother Frank, a photographer, convinced Matthew to go to California with him. He got a job with a band but did not want to pay the union fee so he worked in a casket factory instead, increasing his knowledge and skill of working with specialized tools. Still with his goal of becoming an engineer in mind, he began to look for work in the mining industry. He got a job with the Yellow Pine Mining Company assessing mining claims around the area of Goodsprings, Nevada with one other man for four months. After this, he returned to Los Angeles and then to Maquoketa to take care of things at home while his parents visited Frank. At home in Maquoketa, he concentrated on preparing academically and financially for college and entered Iowa State College (now Iowa State University) in the fall of 1905. He transferred to Purdue University the next fall, earning his way through college playing his trombone as a member of the musicians union. He graduated from Purdue University in 1909 with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering. In 1911 he received a Master of Science degree from the State University of Iowa and in 1912 the degree of Electrical Engineer from Iowa State College (Iowa State University).

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