The John Newell collection on the history of the electric automobile includes 22 boxes of print and photographic materials documenting Newell's role as a co-founder of the California Electric Automobile Association (EAA) and as a hobby enthusiast of the electric vehicle during the 1970s through the early 1990s. The collection includes photographs, correspondence, newsletters, subject files, and a sampling of project papers and schematics for electric vehicle conversion projects. A limited amount of biographical related materials about Newell is also included in the collection.

John Newell (b. 1910 d. 1998) graduated from Kansas University; and after a long career with oil companies in Oaklahoma, music instrument manufacturer C.G. Conn, and the Defense Department at Point Mugu in Southern California, he moved to the Bay Area in 1957 to work as a systems engineer at Lockheed Missiles and Space until retiring. He became co-founder and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Electric Automobiles Assocation (EAA) in 1967, an interest-based organization that was the outcome of a symposium on the Electric Auto held that same year and organized by the Engineering Department at San Jose State College. The EAA provided an opportunity for the exchange of information and ideas about the electric automobile among engineers and enthusiasts alike.

7.4 Linear Feet (20 manuscript boxes)

While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.

Open for research, with the exception of born-digital materials, which are closed until processed. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use. Audiovisual materials are not available in original format, and must be reformatted to a digital use copy.