2 Quotes & Sayings By Walter B Gibson
Walter B. Gibson was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 14, 1882 to parents who were members of the Free Methodist Church. He was the fourth child of six siblings and graduated from high school in 1900. Throughout his life, Gibson credited his mother with instilling in him an appreciation for learning
It was his mother who taught him that "anybody can learn anything if they just set their mind to it hard enough." Gibson enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh in 1902 and obtained his Bachelor's degree in Engineering in 1906. He worked for a year as a foundry laborer while attending night classes at the University of Pittsburgh to prepare for graduate work in electrical engineering. After receiving his degree, he worked three years for Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company (now Westinghouse Electric Corporation) before joining the faculty at Carnegie Institute of Technology, now Carnegie-Mellon University, as an assistant professor of electrical engineering. The following year Gibson married Margaret Hester Adams (1885-1956), who held degrees in English and Sociology from State Normal College (now Central State University). She had been the first person from her hometown to obtain a college degree.
They had two sons, William W. Jr., born on February 18, 1918 and David B., born on October 30, 1920. In 1921 Margaret was diagnosed with breast cancer which ultimately led to her death on May 17, 1956 after a long battle with the disease.
In 1925 Gibson accepted a position as an associate professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where he served until 1942 when he became a full professor and chairman of the department of Electrical Engineering at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University). On December 2, 1956 Gibson retired from teaching and spent most of his remaining years as a resident of Florida where he died on August 16, 1962.