Burke, J. A., Jr. (Jerry Allen)
Biographical Note
Jerry Allen Burke, Jr. grew up in Appomattox, Virginia. His parents were Jerry Allen Burke Sr. and Ethel Abbitt; he had two siblings. In 1938, Burke earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering with a focus in aeronautical engineering from Virginia Tech. In 1942, Burke worked for the U.S. Navy at the Aeronautical Engine Laboratory of the Naval Air Experimental Station in the Naval Air Materials Center in Philadelphia, PA. Prior to this Navy work, he was an engineering expert for the Royal Insurance Company in New York. After WWII, Burke continued to work in engineering as an engineering expert for various insurance companies. In 1946, he invented a modification to a flight calculating device originally invented by George N. Butterfield. Burke patented another invention in 1976 with John Gordon Davoud: a condensing vapor heat engine with a two-phase compression and constant volume superheating. Burke lived in Richmond, Virginia, in his later years.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
J. A. Burke, Jr., Collection
This collection contains materials dated from 1936-1938 and 1942-1947 relating to Jerry Allen Burke, Jr.: class notes and reports from his time spent as a student at Virginia Tech as well as papers, correspondence, and technical drawings from his work in private business and in the U.S. Navy.