Collection Guide
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History of electric vehicles, John Newell collection
M0963
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: John Newell collection on the history of the electric vehicle
Identifier/Call Number: M0963
Physical Description:
7.4 Linear Feet
(20 manuscript boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1962-1993
Abstract: 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.
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.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was given by John Newell to Stanford University, Special Collections in 1998. Accession 1998-046.
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.
For over 25 years, Newell helped to promote and expand the EAA throughout the Bay Area, across the country, and internationally.
In 1982, Newell converted his Ford Escort automobile to electric, and according to an article in the Palo Alto Daily Times
from 1995, he had "driven 50,000 miles and the only thing I've had to replace has been a windshield wiper." Newell and his
wife, Lydia Zinov Newell managed the production and distribution of the EAA newsletter and related EAA business from their
home in Belmont, California, and were both awarded the EAA Fellow award for their dedicated efforts to the association. Through
the EAA, Newell advocated for electric vehicle legislation and their mass production through various letter writing campaigns
to California politicians and major automobile companies. Newlell passed away in in 1998.
[identification of item], John Newell collection on the history of electric vehicles (M0963). Dept. of Special Collections
and University Archives, Stanford Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
The collection features materials collected by Newell about the electric automobile during the 1970s through the early 1990s,
and with a particular emphasis on the Electric Automobile Association's activities in Northern California. The collection
includes photographs and filers for electric car rallies and exhibition shows; and documentation for individual electric car
projects, instruction manuals, and surveys conducted about electric car ownership. The collection also includes a series run
of the Electric Automobile Association newsletters, a publication featuring articles about electric vehicle conversion projects,
listings for educational resources and vendors, and events showcasing EVs held locally and nation-wide.
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.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Electric vehicle industry
Electric vehicles.
Electric vehicles--Law and legislation
Electricity in transportation
Electric bicycles
Automobiles, Electric.
Automobiles, Home-built