Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- [189-]-1998 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
12.4 m of multi-media records (41 boxes)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
L.E. "Ted" Jones was born in Montreal in 1910. After the First World War, his family settled in Transcona, a suburb of Winnipeg. He completed a B.Sc. in 1931 at the University of Manitoba and graduated as a gold medallist in civil engineering. The following year he moved to Toronto to undertake graduate work in open channel hydraulics at the University of Toronto. After completing his MASc and PhD degrees, he joined the department of applied physics and subsequently the department of mechanical engineering in 1944.
Professor Jones was associated with the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering for approximately seventy years. Over his career, he instructed students in fluid mechanics and hydraulic engineering, metrology and numerical analysis. His research was primarily focused on open channel hydraulics – the science of water flow in channels like rivers and canals. Jones also undertook consulting work in the area of hydraulics. In addition to his research and teaching activities, he also served as an unofficial ombudsman to students and was famous for his lectures on the use of the slide rule as well as his annual address on dress and deportment, which was delivered before the graduation ball.
Professor Jones retired from the University in 1972. He was appointed Professor Emeritus in 1975. Prior to his retirement, and as a consequence of his deep interest in the Faculty’s history, he was appointed Engineering Archivist by Professor James Ham, then Dean, a role he continued to hold until his death.
Professor Jones was a man of many interests. Starting from his early years at the University until after his retirement, he sang with the Hart House Glee Club. It was through his singing, while working on a University production of a Gilbert and Sullivan opera that he met his wife Dorothy, whom he married in 1938. He also was actively involved in his church, St. George’s on-the-Hill in Etobicoke, wrote poetry, was a calligrapher who hand-lettered citations and awards bestowed by the University and an avid photographer who recorded notable events. L.E. Jones maintained his connection to the University and pursued many of these activities until his death in 1999.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
This accession contains both personal and professional records created and collected by Dr. L.E. Jones, professor of engineering. Although a small percentage of this fonds documents his personal life, the vast majority of material was created after his retirement in 1972, which he created in his capacity as Faculty Archivist and Professor Emeritus. The paucity of information from the earlier years can be attributed to the loss of many of his records during the Sir Sandford Fleming building fire in 1977.
The records have been arranged into series to reflect either the type of record or the activity involved. Records documenting Jones’ personal life are filed first, followed by papers documenting both the personal, professional and academic projects and activities that he worked on during his life. There are also special series dedicated to the archival information and records that he collected as Engineering Archivist. Photographs have been placed at the end in Series XI.
Some of the records that are included in this fonds include Professor Jones personal documents such as: his student workbooks and thesis, his letters to the editor, correspondence, and activities with his church and the Hart House Glee Club. Most of the records pertain to his professional activities and consist of documents such as: correspondence, publications, lectures and student marks. There are also a significant number of files that document his involvement in Faculty activities such as the Iron Ring Ceremony, the Hall of Distinction and the Centennial and Sesquicentennial celebrations. The work that he undertook for the Faculty providing calligraphy for the inscriptions on the awards and medals that were granted by the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering are also documented in many of the files. Finally, two series are dedicated to the articles that he collected documenting the history of the Faculty as well as the archival items that he acquired as Engineering Archivist.
Despite the fact that most of the records in this fonds document Professor Jones’ personal and professional activities after his retirement, they provide an interesting glimpse into his life while assuming the role of Engineering Archivist and Professor Emeritus. As the Engineering Archivist, Jones collected a variety of rich and interesting documents pertaining to some of the early pioneers within the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. In addition to collecting material, Jones also documented the Faculty by photographing notable individuals and events. This fonds would therefore be useful to those individuals interested in examining the life of Professor Jones, as well as researchers who wish to delve into the history of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering.
Records acquired in 2019 include drafts and notes related to the writing of his PhD thesis titled, “The undular surge in an open channel” (1941); early lecture notes and files relating to his teaching, in particular photography; further professional correspondence and memos related to his role as Engineering Archivist; additional items he collected as Engineering Archivist, in particular belonging to and/or about Prof. Louis B. Stewart and Prof. J.W. Melson; collected ephemera, artifacts, and photos about the University and the Faculty of Engineering.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Records from B2019-0019 were given an imposed order as no consistent original order could be identified.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Uploaded finding aid
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
See also the oral history with Jones (linked below)
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Accession
Accession
Accession
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Dates of creation revision deletion
- Original finding aid by Marnee Gamble
- Added to AtoM by Karen Suurtamm, May 2016
- B2019-0019 added by E. Sommers, Nov 2021