George Owen (1877-1959) was a yacht designer and professor in MIT’s Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. After graduating from MIT in 1894, Owen worked as a draftsman at a Lawrence, MA textile mill, as an engineer at an Ontario steel company, and a designer at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, MA, all while designing a string of successful sailing yachts on the side. In 1907, he became a full-time naval architect, turning out yachts and commercial vessels. In 1915, he accepted a teaching position at MIT, where he specialized in teaching yacht design. He continued developing yacht designs at MIT, perhaps most enduringly, drawing the MIT Tech Dinghy that is still in use at the Institute today.

This collection contains ship’s plans, manuscripts, photographs and artifacts from across George Owen’s long career. Plans make up the bulk of the collection. These are primarily of Owen’s own designs, though there are also plans for yachts that Owen altered or which he collected for reference. Manuscripts, photographs, and artifacts likewise primarily relate to Owen’s yacht and commercial designs, with the exception of a large group of slides containing images of Owen family life. Almost all material has been digitized.

Title: George Owen Professional Naval Architecture Collection

Creator: George Owen

Dates: 1889-1958

Extent: 2,500 plans and 4 linear feet archives and photos

Language: English

Repository: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collection

Access: Open for research by appointment and online

Copyright: No known restrictions.

Credit: Hart Nautical Collection, MIT Museum

See more detail in the [Finding Aid]