SCOPE NOTE
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Preferred Citation:
Publication Rights
Access Restrictions
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Charles David Marx papers
Identifier/Call Number: SC0161
Physical Description:
13.5 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1873-1942
Language of Material:
Undetermined .
SCOPE NOTE
Marx's papers date from 1873 to 1942 and include correspondence, reports, research notes,
manuscripts, drawings, financial records, clippings, minutes, reprints, and photographs. The
papers primarily relate to engineering projects in which Marx was involved, largely dams and
water systems in California, including projects at Stanford and Palo Alto. Other subjects
include his years as student and lecturer at Cornell University; his civic work; and other
professional activities.
Of note are minutes, correspondence, financial records, drawings, and reports of the
Committee on Arch Dam Investigation of the Engineering Foundation, 1925-1933, which built an
experimental single arch dam on the Stevenson Creek near Fresno, California; Marx was
chairman of the Committee. Other persons represented in this series include H.W. Dennis,
chief construction engineer of Southern California Edison Company, Fred A. Noetzli,
construction engineer in charge of the dam, Willis A. Slater, engineer with the US Bureau of
Standards, Alfred D. Flinn, director of the Engineering Foundation, and J.L. Savage of the
US Dept. of the Interior.
The papers have been organized into the following series: I. Projects, II. Correspondence,
III. Committee on Arch Dam Investigation, IV. Writings, V. Pipes and Pipe Flow, VI.
Publications and Printed Matter, VII. Consultation Files, VIII. Other Professional Papers,
and IX. Personal and Miscellaneous Papers.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Charles David Marx was one of Stanford's original faculty, the Old Guard. He came to
Stanford in 1891 as Professor of Civil Engineering and taught here until his retirement in
1923. He formed close friendships with his students and was affectionately known as Daddy
Marx.
Marx was born in Ohio in 1857; during part of his youth he lived in Holland and Germany. He
earned a bachelor's of civil engineering from Cornell University in 1878, after which he
returned to Germany for further study. Before joining the Cornell faculty in 1884 he worked
as an engineer on railroad and river projects in the eastern United States.
Marx's activities outside his Stanford work included serving on the Palo Alto Board of
Trustees from 1896 to 1904 and 1908 to 1933; chairing the first State Water Commission after
its organization in 1911; and serving as President of the American Society of Civil
Engineers. After his retirement from teaching, Marx was a consultant on many hydraulic and
sanitary engineering projects.
Preferred Citation:
[Identification of item], Charles David Marx Papers, SC 161, Stanford University Archives,
Stanford, Calif.
Publication Rights
Property rights reside with the repository. Literary rights reside with the creators of the
documents or their heirs. To obtain permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the
Public Services Librarian of the Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives.
Access Restrictions
None.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
cyanotypes
(photographic prints)
Palo Alto (Calif.)
Engineering -- Study and teaching.
Dams -- Design and construction.
Photoprints.
Civil engineering.
Engineering drawings.
Arch dams.