Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Jergenson, George
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1909 September 19 - 1986 November 7
History
George A. Jergenson (ADVT 1935) was born in Chicago on September 19, 1909. His family moved to Fresno in 1915 where he graduated from high school and attended Fresno State for one year. He entered The Art Center School in 1932 and graduated in April 1935. Tink Adams got him a job at M. E. Harlan Advertising in San Francisco where he worked from April 1935 to December 1936. During that time he met his future wife, Theda Barr. On December 08, 1936 he started working at General Motors Styling where he stayed until June 1947. While there, he was on the design team for the Opel Kapitӓn and worked for Buick, Chevrolet, and Cadillac, where he was chief designer. During World War II, he created propaganda posters and instruction manuals. After the war, he designed the General Motors Train of Tomorrow. In 1947, he returned to Art Center to chair the Industrial Design Department, during which time the Transportation Design major was started. He returned to General Motors in May 1969 and remained there until his retirement in September 1974. After moving back to Los Angeles, Jergenson enjoyed painting and working on his memoirs until he passed away on November 07, 1986.
Places
Legal status
Functions, occupations and activities
ADVT 1935
Faculty, Industrial Design
Chair, Industrial Design, 1947-1969
Mandates/sources of authority
Internal structures/genealogy
Parents: John A. and Jennie (Gunderson)
Brother: Harold (wife: Gladys; daughter: Sally Louise)
Wife: Theda Z. (Barr)
Sons: Jerg Barr (wife: Carol Rae Tajima; no kids); Jon Gregory