Description
Carl Ewald Grunsky was a civil engineer and served as President of the California Academy of Sciences. His papers include
a memorial, publications, clippings, manuscripts, notebooks, water table charts, letters and diaries of Charles and Clotilde
Grunsky, and San Francisco water supply investigations - reports on Feather River, Yuba River, Stanislaus River, and Eel River
as possible sources of water for San Francisco
Background
Carl Ewald Grunsky was born in San Joaquin County, California (4 Apr 1855). After graduating from high school, Grunsky continued
his education in Germany, attending Realschule, Stuttgart (1872-1874), and graduating from Polytechnikum, Stuttgart (1874-1877).
He received the degree of Doctor of Engineering from these schools in 1924 and 1910 respectively.
After returning to California he first worked as a topographer on a river surveying party with the State Engineering Department
of California (1878). He continued working with the Department until his departure as assistant state engineer in 1888.
Grunsky was a member of the Examining Commission on Rivers and Harbors of California (1889-1890). He continued in private
practice while assisting the San Francisco Sewage Commission (1892-1893), as consulting engineer to the Commissioner of Public
Works of California (1893-1894), San Francisco City Engineer (1900-1904), member of the Isthmian Canal Commission (1904-1905),
consulting engineer with the U.S. Reclamation Service (1905-1907), and consulting engineer for New York and San Francisco.
Grunsky was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (Norman Medal, 1910; Vice President, 1922-1923; President,
1924), the Pacific Coast Technology Society, the Commonwealth Club of California (President, 1920), and the American Association
for the Advancement of Science (President of the Pacific Division, 1924). He was elected a resident member of the California
Academy of Sciences (1896), served on the Board of Trustees (1898-1904), Acting Director (1932-1933), and was the Academy’s
President from 1912 until his death (9 January1934).