This fall, BCPL’s Archive and History Center plans to celebrate the placement of a new historical marker, sponsored by the Boone County Historical Society, near downtown Burlington. The marker will recognize the life and accomplishments of Frank Sinton Milburn (1910-1984), a former resident of Burlington and Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky.
Frank Sinton Milburn was an inventor, engineer, small business-owner, creator, writer, photographer, and advocate for everyday citizens. Sinton was born in Louisville, Ky.; in 1920, his family moved to Fort Mitchell, Ky. He studied at the Ohio Mechanics Institute in Cincinnati from 1930-1931; in his early career, he established a die-casting plant in Osgood, Indiana; in 1938 he opened an out-of-the-way “tool and die” machine shop in Burlington, Ky.
Frank S. Milburn’s World War II draft registration card, front and back, Oct. 16, 1940. At age 30, his place of employment is indicated as a “tool + die shop, Burlington, Boone County, Ky.”
Source: Ancestry Library Edition, U. S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947.
BCPL- BAHC was fortunate to acquire a collection of Milburn’s personal materials in January 2023. The Frank S. Milburn Papers, 1908-2014, are chock full of interesting examples of print and photographic formats from 20th century life and culture in the Northern Kentucky region. Let’s zoom in on some examples of the physical items included within Milburn’s papers.
Frank Milburn outside his Burlington workshop, ca. 1951
Among Milburn’s many interests and accomplishments, Milburn is noteworthy for his work as a technical consultant to the U. S. military during World War II; he is credited with important improvements for the top-secret Norden Bombsight project. Given the confidential nature of this work, few available records survived to document this.
Milburn patented a number of his own inventions. He also was passionate about helping everyday citizens realize their dreams of developing inventions to improve daily life. During the 1940s and 1950s, he successfully utilized print and television media to promote his and others’ inventions, such as through his Invenoscope newspaper column with the Cincinnati Post, 1950-1956, among others.
Milburn was an avid photographer; he experimented with many cameras and film formats over several decades. His collection includes a variety of photographic formats dating from the 1930s-2010s. He used his photographic skills to capture many subjects, including, for example, a small group of images of the devastating 1937 Ohio River flood. He also loved to take photographs when travelling around the U. S.
[Left] View of Covington, Ohio River Flood, 1937 | [Right] Frank Milburn with multiple cameras, Minnesota, Aug. 1949
For more information about Frank S Milburn, check out other blogs in the series:
