James William Martin, son of James Chester Martin and Alice Winnefred Crammer, was born in Kent, Iowa, on October 8, 1908. He served as the Head of the Department of Agricultural Engineering at the University of Idaho from 1946 to 1966 and as Professor from 1946 to 1973, when he retired. He is the author of over fifty articles and technical publications, including a book co-authored with H. F. McColly, entitled Introduction to Agricultural Engineering, published in 1955. He earned Bachelor degrees in Electrical Engineering in 1933 and in Agricultural Engineering in 1938 from the Kansas State University and a M.S. in Agricultural Engineering from Iowa State University in 1939. He joined the United States Naval Reserve as lieutenant and served from 1943 to 1946. Besides his teaching experience, J. W. Martin also had experience in industry, including employment with Continental Oil Co. and John Deere Co. He was President of the Idaho Society of Professional Engineers in 1962, Vice chairman of the Professional Engineers in Education of the National Society of Professional Engineers in 1966-1967, and the Regional Director of the Pacific Northwest Region of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers in 1971. In 1934 he married Beulah Louisa Callis, born on April 26, 1908 in Chase, Kansas, the daughter of Charles Edwin Callis and Matie Blanche Barngrover. Mrs. Martin earned a B.S. in General Science from Kansas State College in 1930 and a M.S. in Education from the University of Idaho in 1958. She taught in the Department of Agricultural Engineering at the University of Idaho.
From the guide to the James W. Martin Papers, 1930-1988, 1943-1973, (University of Idaho Library Special Collections and Archives)
