The family of F.M. Denton, the professor who established the Electrical Engineering Department at UNM in 1927, has donated a first edition copy of “Relativity and Common Sense,” a book written by Denton just before he came to UNM. The book is especially valuable because it was signed by Albert Einstein.
Photo: F.M. Denton
The Einstein family was traveling through the American West to see the Grand Canyon in 1931, and Einstein signed the book when his train made a short stop in Albuquerque. The Denton family also donated copies of Einstein’s correspondence with Denton, including a letter from Elsa Einstein saying that they would be traveling through Albuquerque.
F.M. Denton attended the University of London and graduated in 1903 with an Associate of the City and Guilds Institute in the field of electrical engineering. He moved to New Mexico for his health in 1925, and taught briefly at New Mexico Normal University in Las Vegas before moving to Albuquerque to establish a department in Electrical Engineering at UNM. Denton raised a family in Albuquerque and taught at UNM for ten years before dying at the age of 57.
There is currently an exhibit at Centennial Science and Engineering Library featuring the book and information about Einstein’s trip through Albuquerque and correspondence with Denton. Bruce Neville, director of Centennial Library says the book will be kept in the library’s special collections area.
Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu