Murray, Thomas E. (Thomas Edward), 1860-1929

Thomas Edward Murray was born in Albany, New York on October 21, 1860 to parents John and Anastasia Murray. He attended public school until the age of nine, when his father passed away and he was compelled to enter the workforce. While attending night school, he worked in the drafting rooms of many architects and engineers in Albany, N.Y., completed a machinist apprenticeship, and in 1881 became an operating engineer at the pumping plant of the Albany Waterworks.

In 1887 Murray married Catherine Bradley of Brooklyn, N.Y. and was put in charge of the power station of the Municipal Gas Company of Albany. In the ensuing years he was called upon as a consulting engineer at power stations throughout the state of New York, and in 1895, Murray moved his family to Brooklyn when he was hired to oversee the formation of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company, later known as the Brooklyn Edison Company.

Murray was ultimately appointed second vice president and general manager of the company, and in this capacity he oversaw the construction of many electric power stations in New York City, including the East River Generating Station, which still supplies power to the city in the present day. Murray also established several companies of his own, including Thomas E. Murray, Inc., the Metropolitan Device Corporation, the Metropolitan Engineering Company, and the Murray Radiator Company. The holder of over 1,100 patents, Murray's many inventions included electrical protection devices, copper radiators, cinder catchers, pulverized fuel equipment, and automatic welding devices. Thomas E. Murray died on July 21, 1929 and was survived by his wife and eight children.

Murray's son, Thomas E. Murray, Jr., was born in 1891 and followed in his father's footsteps, earning a bachelor's degree in engineering from Yale University at age 19. He worked as an engineer at the New York Edison Company for two years before joining his father's firm, the Metropolitan Engineering Company, of which he became president following his father's death in 1929. Like his father, the younger Murray was a prolific inventor and over 200 patents were issued in his name. In 1950, he was appointed to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission by President Harry S. Truman, and served on the Commission until 1957. Thomas E. Murray died in 1961 and was survived by his wife Mary (nee Brady) and 11 children, including Paul Murray, who donated the materials that comprise this collection.

From the guide to the Thomas E. Murray family papers, 1898-1987, (Brooklyn Historical Society)