Murtagh, William J.
Enlarge text Shrink text-
Personality
|
System number
987007359201405171
-
Save successfulThe item can be found in your Personal ZoneשגיאהLog in to your account to save
Information for Authority record
Name (Latin)
Murtagh, William J.
Date of birth
1923-05-02
Date of death
2018-10-28
Field of activity
Architecture--History
Historic preservation
Associated Language
eng
Gender
male
MARC
MARC
Other Identifiers
Sources of Information
- Washington post WWW site, viewed Oct. 31, 2018(William J. Murtagh, 'pied piper' of American historic preservation, dies at 95; first keeper of the National Register of Historic Places; died Oct. 28 [2018] in Sarasota, Fla.; served as a vice president at the National Trust for Historic Preservation; helped establish preservation programs as a professor at Columbia University, the University of Maryland and the University of Hawaii; best known for his 13 years as keeper of the National Register, where beginning in 1967 he determined which sites would join the list. William John Murtagh was born in Philadelphia on May 2, 1923; received a bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania in 1950; decided to return to graduate school at Penn, where he received a master's degree in art history in 1953 and a doctorate in architectural history in 1963. His early focus was on Moravian architecture, studying the Colonial-era buildings built by German immigrants in cities such as Bethlehem, Pa., where he directed the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts and oversaw the organization Historic Bethlehem. His work there attracted the attention of Richard Hubbard Howland, first president of the National Trust. Dr. Murtagh was hired as Howland's assistant in 1958 and soon promoted to serve as the organization's director of education, and then of programs. After retiring from the National Register, Dr. Murtagh worked as a professor and returned for several years to the National Trust as vice president of preservation services)
- His Keeping time, 1988:CIP t.p. (William J. Murtagh)
- LC data base, 2/8/88(hdg.: Murtagh, William J.)