J. Erik Jonsson*
Class of 1969
- Mayor City of Dallas, Texas
To be successful you need vision, integrity, humility, and diligence toward worthwhile achievements.
J. Erik Jonsson was the only son of immigrant Swedish parents. In 1901, he was born in Brooklyn, New York, above a small cigar and stationery store that his father operated.
Jonsson worked throughout his teens and college years in menial and mechanical jobs. He financed his own education, earning a mechanical engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1922. He next worked a few years at Aluminum Company of America as a sales engineer before joining a pioneer geophysical exploration company, Geophysical Service, Inc.
Under Jonsson's influence, the company evolved into Texas Instruments, Inc. A vital force in the discovery of oil, the company advanced the development of the semiconductor field. After serving as president and chairman of the board for several years, Jonsson retired in 1966, and later served as mayor of Dallas.