Biographical / Historical
Scope and Contents
Conditions Governing Use
Conditions Governing Access
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Preferred Citation
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Samuel L. Ginn papers
creator:
Ginn, Samuel L.
Identifier/Call Number: M1936
Physical Description:
15 Linear Feet
(29 boxes)
Date (inclusive): circa 1960-2010
Abstract: The papers of Samuel L. Ginn include materials generally related to telecommunications and wireless cellular technology and
business.
Biographical / Historical
Samuel L. Ginn is a retired business executive who worked in the telecommunications industry for over 40 years, with an emphasis
on wireless technology and mobile communications. He is known for his role in expanding the market for wireless telecommunications
and laying the foundation for the nation’s largest cellular phone business, Verizon Wireless.
Samuel Lou Ginn was born in Anniston, Alabama on April 3rd, 1937. He attended Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, graduating
from the College of Engineering in 1959. After serving in the Army Signal Corps, Ginn began working at the American Telephone
& Telegraph Company (AT&T) as a student engineer in Cincinnati in 1960, eventually becoming Vice President of Network Operations
in 1977. During the divestiture of the Bell System, Samuel Ginn joined Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company in Los Angeles
as Vice President in 1978. When Pacific Telesis (commonly abbreviated to “PacTel”) was created in 1983 as one of the seven
Regional Bell Operating Companies after Bell System’s divestiture, Ginn joined as Vice Chairman. In 1988, Ginn became President
and Chief Operating Officer of the Pacific Telesis Group, a position he would hold until 1994.
In 1994, PacTel’s Cellular Division was spun off into the wireless telephone service provider AirTouch Communications. Ginn
served as AirTouch’s CEO and Chairman of the Board until 1999, when the company was merged with Vodafone to become AirTouch
Vodafone, and later Verizon Wireless, going on to become the largest wireless telecommunications provider in the United States.
Ginn retired in 2000 and thereafter served as an advisor to telecommunications companies and board member for companies such
as Chevron, Hewlett-Packard, and Safeway, as well as institutions such as the Hoover Institute and the Yosemite Fund.
Additionally, Samuel Ginn served on Auburn University’s board of trustees from 2005-2013. He was inducted into Alabama’s Engineering
Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Wireless History Foundation’s Wireless Hall of Fame in 2014. Ginn’s $25 million donation to Auburn’s
College of Engineering funded a wireless engineering degree and led the college to be renamed the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.
Scope and Contents
The Samuel L. Ginn papers consist of memoranda, meeting minutes, annual reports, speeches, presentations, articles, planners,
and directories generally pertaining to telecommunications and wireless cellular technology and business. The majority of
the material comes from Pacific Telesis (commonly abbreviated to “PacTel”) and AirTouch Communications, both telecommunications
companies of which Sam Ginn was CEO during the 1980s and 1990s.
There are a number of articles and memoranda related to the 1994 founding of AirTouch Communications from PacTel’s cellular
division, as well as the 1999 merger of Vodafone Group and AirTouch Communications. Ginn’s time as CEO of PacTel and AirTouch
is documented through numerous speeches, notes, emails and letters, as well as a number of planners and directories, the latter
of which provide extensive photographic documentation of PacTel and AirTouch’s executive management group. There are also
a number of employee newsletters and general employee publications from AirTouch. There are general articles and clippings
about the history of the telecommunications industry, and interviews, drafts, and notes for “Anytime, Anywhere: Entrepreneurship
and the Creation of a Wireless World” by Louis Galambos and Eric John Abrahamson, a 2002 history of the wireless communication
industry that features Ginn as its protagonist.
Finally, a hard drive included with the collection is closed until processed, and a set of documents concerning company payroll
are restricted until 2075.
Conditions Governing Use
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.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use. Born-digital material
is closed until processed. Restricted material in Series 11 is closed until 2075.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Samuel L. Ginn; 2013 and 2017. Accession MSS 2013-010 and 2018-011.
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], Samuel L. Ginn papers (M1936). Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford
University Libraries, Stanford, California.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Telecommunication
Silicon Valley
Wireless communications
Ginn, Samuel L.