Krasnow History
Shelley Krasnow was an only child born of two Russian Jewish Immigrants in 1907 in New York, New York. He later attended the City College of New York and moved to Northern Virginia where he began his career as an engineer and physicist. In the 1930's, Shelley met and married Alice Hatch and they moved into a historic house around Main Street and Pickett Road in Fairfax County, Virginia. They lived in this house together for about 50 years and sold it. Later it was saved around October 24, 2002 [9]. Unfortunately they did not have kids, but they were still a happy family. In 1950, Krasnow created his own company based on mechanics and engineering which was orginally named Geophysical Instrument Company and was later changed to Georator Corporation. Later on in life, Krasnow began to display his interest in building his own Institute for Advanced Study that was combined with with ideas from his idol Albert Einstein and his own ideas. He then decided to build his dream on his 39 acres of land; however, Fairfax County contained guidelines that prohibited him from building it there. He then met a businessman named Sidney O. Dewberry who introduced him to George Mason University (GMU)'s Fairfax Campus. After much thought, Krasnow decided that George Mason was the right place for him to build his institute. Unfortunately, Krasnow suddenly passed at 83 in the middle of planning for the construction of his dream, so Dewberry, GMU, and other contributors were in charge of bringing his dream to life. This page displays not only the chronological story Shelley Krasnow lived, but also background information that allows readers to live his life a bit more [11].
The Russian Jewish Immigration in the 19th Century from Russia to America occurred for a multitude of reasons; however, the following are a few of the main ones: oppression, coersion, and better opportunities. Shelley Krasnow's parents were part of this movement, but their reasons are unknown. Many Jewish people during this time stayed in New York due to the opportunities the state provided while others dispersed due to overpopulation and competition. However, American oppression began quickly in different forms such as decreasing standards of living, decreasing wage levels, increasing crime and illiteracy, and lowering overall culture [1,9]. This made it harder for immigrant families to thrive and make a living. Through this information it can be concluded that the life that Shelley lived growing up was not easy and a large majority of his accomplishments were hard earned. This allows readers to have background information and understand the life a person has lived instead of developing prejudice [1].
During the Russian Jewish Immigration, a multitude of issues began to arise such as the following: an increase in work competition, an increase in oppression from Americans, overpopulation, a decline in living conditions, an increase in illiteracy, a decrease in wage levels, an increase in labor jobs, and an increase in a struggle to live [1]. This means that for Krasnow it was a hard childhood for him. It was harder for him to live due to his parents struggling to find a job, him struggling to get a good education, his family and him struggling daily due to poor living conditions and oppression, and many other daily life struggles. This displays the strength of his background and may help display determination in his life. Below are charts that contain information on Krasnow's possible living conditions from his childhood (around age 11) and from his adulthood (around age 43). This information paired with other information allows readers to appreciate his successes and understand his lifestyle choices during these times allowing them to compate how normal or abnormal they are.
This home is originally known as the Ratcliffe-Logan-Allison house; however, this is also known as Shelley and Alice Krasnow's home after they got married. There are no photos of the home that are linked to their names, but with a lot of research, it can be found. In these photos it can be seen that the wealth of the owners of the house are above average. The house has mineral doorknobs which were just as rare then as they are today. It also has a fireplace that was not the usual brick that was popular during this time meaning the fireplace may have added to the cost of the home along with the high ceilings. Along with that, the house has two-stories which means the house will cost more due to the square footage being increased. From these images, it can be suggested that Shelley and Alice Krasnow made a good living for themselves and lived a life with minimal financial struggle [13].
Alice Hatch was born in Brock, Nebraska. Her father was a reverend and her mother was a minister. Alice was one of six children, 3 boys and 3 girls. As an adult, she moved to Northern Virginia to work in the church. Alice then met and married Shelley Krasnow in the 1930's and lived together in Fairfax County, VA. Here they built a life together as a happily married couple, eventhough they did not have kids. With Alice living in the church most of her life and Shelley coming from a religious background [2,3], it can be assumed they continued to pursue religion regularly. Information on their marriage is limited; however, there isn't a lot of information needed to know the strength of their relationship.
This is a page from the Richmond Times Dispatch Newspaper that was published on March 25, 1974. This page of the newspaper contains an ad that was placed my Shelley Krasnow's Georator Company [10].
This is a photo taken of a newspaper clip from George Mason University's archive [14].
This building was built on behalf of Shelley Krasnow to bring college students together of all majors to share their love and passion for their major and future profession with each other. His intention behind this was to allow students to become familiar with subjects outside of their majors and minors [11]. Unfortunately, this building has not gotten the action Krasnow intended to obtain. The reasoning for this is unknown; however, the reasoning could be suggested to be because of the location of the building along with many other reasons. Eventhough the institute has not reached much of it's intention, it has improved drastically in the subject of research. As the field of science furthers into research, the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study has obtained more instruments that assist in completing more complex research.