Ervin Sewell Perry and Carlos Eduardo Castaņeda

The Perry-Castañeda Library is named for two former University professors, Ervin Sewell Perry and Carlos Eduardo Castañeda.

Ervin S. Perry, the first African American to be appointed to the academic rank of professor at the University of Texas at Austin, was an associate professor of civil engineering at the time of his death in 1970 at the age of 34. He received the M.S. degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1961 and the Ph.D. in civil engineering from the university in 1964, working in the areas of materials science and structural mechanics. Before his untimely death, Dr. Perry was a prominent figure in engineering. In 1970, he was named to receive the National Society of Professional Engineers' first "Young Engineer of the Year Award." He had been similarly honored at state and county levels by the Texas Society of Professional Engineers.
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Carlos E. Castaņeda played a central role in the early development of the Benson Latin American Collection, which is considered one of the world's foremost repositories of Latin American materials. He was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Texas at Austin where he earned the B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees. Dr. Castaņeda was librarian of the Latin American Collection from 1927 until 1946 and is given principal credit for acquiring the incomparable private collection of Garcia Icazbalceta of Mexico. Recognized as an authority on the early history of Mexico and Texas, Dr. Castaņeda served as a part-time associate professor of history from 1936 to 1946, after which time he was a professor of Latin American history until his death. more...