The processing, arrangement, and description of this collection was created as part of the project, "Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech," funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) from 2022 to 2024.The collection is open for research.
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction.
Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Hugh P. and Ethel C. Kelly Collection, c. 1930s-2000, Ms2024-060, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Hugh P. and Ethel C. Kelly Collection was donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 2015.
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Hugh P. and Ethel C. Kelly Collection was completed as part of the project, "Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech," funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) in 2024.
The son of Hugh Powell and Clara Bartlett Kelly, Hugh Powell Kelly, Jr. (1916-1989) grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and received his bachelors and masters degrees in electrical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1937 and 1938. He went on to work for the Richmond telephone company, where he met Ethel E. Cross (1917-2012), the daughter of Ethel Mae Cumber and Davis Sydney Cross. They married on September 18, 1941.
Later that year, Kelly was selected to work for Bell Labs in New York before moving to corporate headquarters in New Jersey. He remained at the company, and in 1960, he was placed in charge of developing the Trans Atlantic Cable. His efficiency and good work persuaded the French government to buy into the Telstar proposal, later recognizing Kelly's efforts with a prestigious award when the Telstar link between the United States and France was completed in 1962. Telstar made world-wide telephone service possible and allowed communications industries such as cable television and international electronic data transfers to take off. After retiring from AT&T in 1979, Kelly remained active in the field, working to develop a computer for handicapped users.
Ethel Kelly continued to celebrate her husband's legacy, establishing the Hugh P. and Ethel C. Kelly Professorship of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech in 1999. She was inducted into Virginia Tech's Ut Prosim Society in honor of her generosity and devotion to the college.
External sources:
"Hugh P. Kelly", Academy of Engineering Excellence, Virginia Tech, https://eng.vt.edu/about/distinguished-alumni/academy-of-engineering-excellence/hugh-p-kelly.html, accessed June 5, 2024.
"Hugh Powell Kelly" in the Virginia, U.S., Marriage Records, 1936-2014, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/11682576:9279, accessed June 5, 2024.
"Hugh Powell Kelly Jr.", Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35685032/hugh-powell-kelly, accessed June 5, 2024.
Ethel Cross Kelly obituary, Bennett Funeral Homes, January 5, 2012, https://www.bennettfuneralhomes.com/obituary/1358410, accessed June 5, 2024.
"Ethel Edmonia 'Dee' Cross Kelly", Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/178165146/ethel_edmonia_kelly, accessed June 5, 2024.
This collection contains materials related to Hugh P. and Ethel C. Kelly, including a scrapbook, portrait of the couple, a Telstar artifact, and a French medal and menu honoring Hugh P. Kelly. The scrapbook contains information about a dinner honoring Ethel Kelly for the establishment of the Hugh P. and Ethel C. Kelly Professorship in the Virginia Tech College of Engineering. There is also a collage of items about Hugh Kelly's college days at Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
This collection is arranged chronologically.
The guide to the Hugh P. and Ethel C. Kelly Collection by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (