author
Homer J. (Homer Jackson) Dana
1890–1970
An engineer with a wide-ranging curiosity, he wrote practical books that made technical subjects easier to understand. His work grew out of a long career at Washington State College, where he explored everything from electricity and communications to heating and refrigeration.
1 Audiobook
The Use of Ropes and Tackle
by Homer J. (Homer Jackson) Dana, W. A. (William Armour) Pearl
About the author
Born in 1890, Homer Jackson Dana studied at the State College of Washington, now Washington State University, earning a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1915 and a master's degree in 1917. Archival records also note that he later completed a second master's degree in mechanical engineering and spent much of his professional life connected with the college as an instructor and research engineer.
Dana wrote in a clear, useful style shaped by hands-on engineering work. He is best known to many readers for The Use of Ropes and Tackle, written with W. A. Pearl, and library and archival sources describe his interests as unusually broad, ranging across communications, electricity, heating, and refrigeration.
He died in 1970, but his papers remain preserved in Washington State University collections, where they document both his professional projects and his personal life. That surviving record helps show a practical-minded writer and engineer who cared about explaining how things work.