William Hillman Shockley was born on September 18, 1855 in New Bedford, Massachusetts to William, a whaling captain, and Sarah Shockley. He had two younger brothers, George and Walter. Shockley graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1875. He worked for a time in Florida and California before moving to Nevada.
The Charles S. Sprague and Benjamin Gill Papers on Nevada Mining (1904-1925) are comprised of various records from the mining companies owned and operated by businessmen Charles S. Sprague and Benjamin Gill who were active in the central Nevada boomtowns of Goldfield and Tonopah in the early twentieth century. Documents include correspondence, receipts and invoices, detailed records and copies of government legislative bills relating to the mining industry, and other business correspondence. Sprague's collection consists of his mining business correspondence dating from 1906 to 1925. Gill's papers are comprised of his business correspondence from 1916 to 1922.
Notable film composer Victor Young was born on August 8, 1900 in Chicago, Illinois. Young studied under Ididor Lotto in Warsaw, Poland at the age of 10. After returning to the United States, he began performing as concertmaster in the LA Theatre and the Central Park Theater. He then joined Ted Fiorito becoming a violinist and arranger. Young directed radio programs until he moved to Los Angeles, California to create his own orchestra.
Ralph Graves was a film actor, director, and screenwriter known for his work in silent films. Born on January 23, 1900 in Cleveland, Ohio, Graves is credited for approximately ninety films between the 1910s and 1940s, including the first film produced by Howard Hughes, Swell Hogan (1926). He retired in 1949, the same year of his last film, Joe Palooka and the Counterpunch. Graves died on January 10, 1977 in Santa Barbara, California.
On March 5, 1978, collector Wendy Christian interviewed truck driver Henry Clay Davis (born April 19, 1900 in Irondale, Virginia) in his home in Las Vegas, Nevada. This interview covers Henry Clay Davis’s personal life history as a resident of Las Vegas, which includes hunting and fishing. He also discusses employment, the railroad, old hotels, the Davis Dam, and Lake Mead. Additionally, he offers a detailed description of the Helldorado.