Murray Cromwell Morgan (1916–2000) was an author and historian of the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

region. Throughout his life he was also a writer, journalist, and political activist. He was a history teacher at Tacoma Community College.

Early life

Murray Morgan was born February 16, 1916, in Tacoma, Pierce County,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. His parents were Henry Victor Morgan and Adda Camille Layne Pearne Morgan. His father was a

Unitarian Universalist Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present) ...

minister and his mother wrote plays for the theater. Henry published his wife's plays and his poetry.

Education

He graduated from Stadium High School in Tacoma in 1933. He attended the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

and was editor for its paper, UW Daily. Morgan wrote an article about the prevalence of

venereal disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are Transmission (medicine), spread by Human sexual activity, sexual activity, especi ...

among the university's students, which resulted in him being suspended. He graduated from UW in 1937. Morgan attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York, where he received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in communication.

Career

Journalist

Morgan was a journalist for the regional Hoquiam Daily Washingtonian and national news outlets, including ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' and the '' New York Herald Tribune.'' He was also a radio personality for the

Columbia Broadcasting System CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

(CBS).

Historian

He was a noted historian of the Pacific Northwest, particularly

. Some of his most noteworthy works are ''Skid Road'', the "longest-running Pacific Northwest book in print" which was written about

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

in 1946 and ''Puget's Sound'' written about Tacoma. Among other topics, he wrote about the Alaska Gold Rush, the Columbia River, the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large v ...

. Morgan taught history at Tacoma Community College.

Personal life

In 1939, Morgan married Emma Rose Northcutt at the Unitarian Universalist church where his father was minister. He and his bride, nicknamed Rosa, spent their honeymoon in paddling a kayak on the

Danube River The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

. At the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, "found themselves briefly immersed" in the wartime activities. The couple lived in a log cabin in Auburn; their home was previously Trout Lake Dance Hall. They had a daughter, Lane Morgan. Morgan was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1964. He was told that he had less than a year to live, but was able to overcome cancer. His treatment included surgery and a prescribed diet of hamburgers for breakfast. He died on June 22, 2000, in Tacoma, Washington, and his remains were cremated.

Legacy

The Murray Morgan Bridge in Tacoma, originally known as the 11th Street Bridge, was renamed in 1997, to honor Morgan for his contributions as a Pacific Northwest historian of his generation. Morgan was a bridge tender on the bridge during the 1940s.

Published works

;Murray Morgan * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ''The Viewless Winds.'' Oregon State University Press, Northwest Reprints series. 1990.

;Co-author * *

References

External links

''Murray's people, a collection of Murray Morgan's stories''
* Tacoma Community College Archive
''Biographical Files''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Murray 1916 births 20th-century American non-fiction writers 2000 deaths University of Washington alumni Columbia University alumni 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers Writers from Tacoma, Washington The Daily of the University of Washington alumni Historians from Washington (state) American male non-fiction writers