Interview with Thomas A. Tombrello - Caltech Oral Histories

CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT
Interview with Thomas A. Tombrello
Pasadena, California
by Heidi Aspaturian
Session 1 December 26 and 31, 2010
Session 2 December 26, 2010
Session 3 December 26, 2010
Session 4 December 27, 2010
Session 5 December 27, 2010
Session 6 December 28, 2010
Session 7 December 28, 2010
Session 8 December 29, 2010
Session 9 December 31, 2010
SESSION 1 2
December 26, and December 31, 2010
ASPATURIAN: This is the first oral history interview session with Professor Tom Tombrello. As I
always do, I’d like to begin by asking you about your background, your family, and your early
experiences.
TOMBRELLO: So we’ll begin at the beginning. I was born in Austin, Texas, September 20, 1936.
We lived there for three years, and I remember absolutely none of it. I think my first conscious
memory, as near as I can tell, was probably the first day we were in Memphis, Tennessee, which
would have been sometime in 1939. That was before World War II, and it was a different world.
2 This session combines an interview with Thomas A. Tombrello recorded on December 26, 2010, and a follow-up
interview recorded on December 31, after it was discovered that due to an electrical outlet failure, some of the
December 26 interview was not recorded. Additional material in this session was originally recorded during
Interview #4.
http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Tombrello_T