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Lagerquist (Roger) Isla Vista history collection
SBHC Mss 107
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
Title: Roger Lagerquist Isla Vista history collection
Identifier/Call Number: SBHC Mss 107
Physical Description:
19.84 Linear Feet
(6 legal document boxes, 7 clamshell albums, 3 oversize flat boxes)
Date (inclusive): Bulk of material date from 1958-1978
Abstract: The bulk of this collection include materials related to the history of Isla Vista and Lagerquist's involvement with the community
as a resident from the 1960's until his death in 2016. Materials include reports, newsletters, photographs, and studies on
Isla Vista's population, environment, and government. Additional materials in this collection include research and subject
files related to Lagerquist's career as an engineer, as well as materials related to Europe and the Soviet Union.
Physical Location: Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library
Language of Material: This collection is primarily in English, with some materials in Russian and German.
This collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Research Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish
or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Research Collections. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of the Department of Special Research Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.
[Identification of Item], Roger Lagerquist Isla Vista history collection, SBHC Mss 107. Department of Special Research Collections,
UC Santa Barbara Library
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials donated by Roger Lagerquist, 2016. Supplemental materials donated by the Lagerquist family (wife Hildegard, children
Jean Turner and Barbara Lagerquist), 2016.
Roger Lagerquist was a mechanical engineer by profession, having graduated from Caltech with a BSME in 1955. After completing
USAF ROTC at Caltech, Lagerquist was stationed at Spangdahlem Air Force Base in Germany (1955 to 1958). While there, he developed
a passion for amateur photography. He purchased a simple Agfa 35mm camera and began photographing the local countryside and
people. As his skills developed, he advanced to a 35mm Voigtländer SLR camera with detachable lenses, enabling him to expand
his capability behind the shutter.
While in Germany, he met and married Hildegard, his wife of nearly 60 years. After returning to the USA and spending a few
years near the Caltech campus in Pasadena, the couple, along with their young daughters, Jean and Barbara, moved to the beachside
community of Isla Vista. Their son, Thomas, was born the following year. Lagerquist continued his photographic hobby, capturing
not only family life, but also the spirited beauty of Isla Vista and its ever-changing collection of eclectic inhabitants.
During the height of the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War (the late 1960s), Isla Vista and the UCSB campus became a hotbed
of political activity and alternative lifestyles. Lagerquist could often be seen taking photographs while riding his bicycle
or rowing his boat. Over a span of more than 50 years, he captured the unique experiences of living in Isla Vista; a microcosm
of the much larger American socio-political scene.
Lagerquist had a dynamic Engineering career spanning many disciplines and resulting in several patents. Early in his career,
he worked for Edgerton, Germeshausen, and Grier, Inc., and designed the tower used by Dr. Rats of UCLA for his study on the
effects of low level radiation on the flora and fauna in a desert test area. This study predicted that there would be changes
in the local mammals, but the surprising find was how this radiation over time caused the ovaries of the lizard population
not to form; thus causing their extinction in the local area. Lagerquist also worked on vehicle safety and crash testing at
AMF. This critical work lead the way to numerous safety improvements found in today's automotive industry.
Later in his career, he worked in the burgeoning field of biomedical engineering, furthering the technology of intraocular
lenses for cataract surgery, developing surgical instruments for laparoscopic surgery, and other medical products.
Lagerquist had a strong personality, a great sense of humor, and was an inveterate activist. He loved his family and was devoted
to their wellbeing. He and wife Hildegard raised 3 children, (all of whom graduated from UCSB), and they have 5 grandchildren.
Biography written by Lagerquist's daughter, Jean Turner.
The bulk of this collection includes material related to the history of Isla Vista and Lagerquist's involvement with the community
as a resident from the 1960's until his death in 2016. Materials include reports, newsletters, photographs, and studies on
Isla Vista's population, environment, and government. Researchers may wish to consult the Isla Vista series to find resources
related to the burning of the Bank of America in Isla Vista as well as additional protest and riot related material. The photographs,
negatives, and slides in this collection are primarily original images taken by Roger Lagerquist.
Additional materials in this collection include research and subject files related to Lagerquist's career as an engineer,
as well as materials related to Europe and the Soviet Union.
This collection is organized into six series: Personal and biographical files, Publications, Isla Vista materials, Subject
files, Photographs and slides, and Audiovsisual materials. The series in this collection are organized chronologically by
date with undated materials placed at the end of the series.
A number of other collections with Isla Vista and related materials are described in the UCSB Santa Barbara Historical Collections
series of Special Research Collections.
Examples include:
-University of California, Santa Barbara, Office of Public Information Subject Files, UARCH 12. Department of Special Research
Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library
-Isla Vista Archives, SBHC 41. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library
-Local History Files, SBHC 44. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Housing -- California -- Isla Vista
Riots -- California -- Isla Vista
Isla Vista (Calif.) -- History
Isla Vista (Calif.) -- History, Local
Student movements -- California -- Santa Barbara
Student movements
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