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

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

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, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

. His parents were Henry Victor Morgan and Adda Camille Layne Pearne Morgan. His father was a Unitarian Universalist 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 and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

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

venereal disease A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, or ...

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

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in New York, where he received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate 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 prac ...

in communication.

Career

Journalist

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

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

'' and the '' New York Herald Tribune.'' He was also a radio personality for the Columbia Broadcasting System (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 the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

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

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

, the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

. 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. At the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, "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.

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