Melvin "Jack" Murdock (August 15, 1917 – May 16, 1971) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and radio technician from

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. He was a co-founder of

Tektronix, Inc. Tektronix, Inc., historically widely known as Tek, is an American company best known for manufacturing test and measurement devices such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and video and mobile test protocol equipment. Originally an independent ...

Background

Murdock was born in

, on August 15, 1917. Upon graduating from Franklin High School, Murdock’s father offered him a choice of financing for college, or for a business. Murdock opened "Murdock Radio and Appliance Company" in 1935 in southeast Portland, where, in 1936,

Howard Vollum Charles Howard Vollum (May 31, 1913 – February 5, 1986) was an American electronics engineer, businessman, and philanthropist in Oregon, United States. He was the co-founder of Tektronix Corporation, and endowed the Vollum Institute. Back ...

began working as a radio technician in the back of the shop. Murdock served in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Tektronix, Inc.

In 1946– headquartered a mere six blocks from his earliest family home –Murdock formed Tektronix, Inc. as an equal partnership with Vollum, fellow former "coastie" Miles Tippery, and accountant Glenn McDowell. Tektronix, Inc. quickly became one of the world’s largest manufacturers of oscilloscopes, as well as other electronic devices. The founders were known

humanitarians Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...

who undertook business operations as one might run a large and caring family. In 1978, Tektronix was named by authors Robert Levering and Milton Moskowitz, et al, as among ''The 100 best companies to work for in America'' in their book of the same name. Murdock began as the company’s vice president and general manager, before assuming the role of chairman, in 1960 — a position he would hold until his passing, in 1971.

Aviator and death

Jack Murdock began to learn flying in 1954 through a club hosted by Tektronix. Outside of his work, Murdock was a passionate aviator flying out of Pearson Airfield in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...

. His favorite plane was a

Piper Super Cub The Piper PA-18 Super Cub is a two-seat, single-engine monoplane. Introduced in 1949 by Piper Aircraft, it was developed from the PA-11 Cub Special, and traces its lineage back through the J-3 Cub to the Taylor E-2 Cub of the 1930s. In close ...

and he founded Melridge Aviation. the Piper Aircraft distributorship in the 11 western states and Alaska. Murdock died on May 16, 1971, in a

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

accident on the Columbia River. According to reports, there were high winds and the Super Cub overturned while taxiing on the water, near Maryhill, WA. The airplane was top heavy because Murdock had installed extra auxiliary fuel tanks in the wings. His body was never recovered, and he was declared legally deceased on June 11, 1971. He was 53 years old.

Accolades

In 1966, the

University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...

awarded Murdock an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. Jack Murdock received the Silver Knight of Management award from the National Management Association for "outstanding record in management and labor relations." Murdock initiated several modifications to make aircraft safer and more practical for pilots, and was posthumously inducted into The Oregon Aviation Hall of Honor in 2003. The Jack Murdock Aviation center in

was named for Murdock, and is now the

Pearson Air Museum The Pearson Air Museum is a place-based aviation museum at Pearson Field in Vancouver, Washington, USA. Managed by the National Park Service as part of the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, museum exhibits provide an opportunity for visitor ...

Philanthropy

Murdock never married and had no immediate relatives. After his death in 1971 the majority of his estate — approximately $80 million – was left to the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust.

References

''Find A Grave'' Memorial #52381366: "Melvin Jack Murdock".
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murdock, Jack 1917 births 1971 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists American manufacturing businesspeople Aviators from Oregon Businesspeople from Portland, Oregon Franklin High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni Philanthropists from Oregon Technicians Tektronix people