About the Collection
This collection contains materials related to the Link family and their companies. Individuals documented include Edwin A. Link, his wife Marion Clayton Link, and his siblings Marilyn C. Link and George T. Link.
Much of the collection is dedicated to Edwin's invention of the flight simulator and the series of companies that designed, marketed, and sold his simulators, including Link Aviation Devices Inc., Link Aviation Inc., Link Aeronautical Corp., Link Manufacturing Company Ltd. (in Canada), General Precision Inc., General Precision Systems Ltd., and Singer-Link. The aviation-related portions of the collection also document Link's relationships with other companies and organizations, including his contracts with the Air Force, his consulting work on aviation safety, and his service on the board of Robinson/Mohawk Airlines.
While Edwin founded companies related to his aviation inventions, the other family members often participated in these ventures. Marion Link was deeply involved in promoting Edwin's work and his companies, and wrote several books about their oceanography projects. Marilyn was interested in aviation education and often worked in the administration of Edwin's aviation-related companies. She was also involved in the Link Foundation, which Edwin and Marion founded to fund scientific research. George was most involved in the business side of Link's companies, and was often instrumental in company mergers and purchases.
Another major portion of the collection is dedicated to Marion and Edwin's work in underwater archaeology and submersibles. As with the aviation materials, this sometimes includes submersible designs, scientific research, records of oceanography-related businesses, correspondence, promotional materials, and news clippings. These records also include Marion and Edwin's writings about oceanography, and plans for various archaeological digs. In their oceanography work, the Links often worked with Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI), the Smithsonian, National Geographic, Ocean Systems Inc., and the Navy, so these organizations are also heavily represented in correspondence and collected publications.
The original collection of Edwin Link's papers was donated to the University by Edwin and Marion Link in 1975. The Links divided their collection of Link material between Binghamton University and the Roberson Center for the Arts and Sciences in Binghamton, New York. Most of the papers originally donated to the Roberson were transfered to the University in 1993.
Edwin's younger sister Marilyn Link gathered Marion Link's papers and arranged to have them donated to Binghamton University in 1993.
In 1996, Hughes Training Inc., microfilmed their historical archives, which contained materials relating to the Links' enterprises, and donated the originals to the University. L-3 donated additional materials related to the Link companies in 2003.
Books and other publications have been cataloged separately.
Complementary collections of Link materials were donated by the Links to the Roberson Museum and Science Center in Binghamton, New York; the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida; and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
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