Record status: unconfirmed. Class-roster match confidence is medium. Correct the infobox if you have a source, and note it on talk.
Melvin L Kranzberg
Personal details
Born1917
Died1995
NativityUnited States
ReligionJewish
AwardsBronze Star Medal
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
ASN37406528
RankPrivate First Class
Camp RitchieClass 20 (19 June – 16 August 1944)
Section5E
EnlistedJefferson Barracks, Missouri
TeamIPW 151
Awards and honors
Bronze Star Medal
Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.
Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.


Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Kranzberg graduated from Amherst College, received a master's and a Ph.D. from Harvard University and served in the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II. He received a Bronze Star for interrogating captured German prisoners and learning the location of Nazi gun emplacements. He was one of two interrogators out of nine in Patton's army who were not killed during the conflict. He received his interrogation training at Camp Ritchie in Maryland, making him one of the Ritchie Boys.

Biography edit

He completed 4 years at Amherst College. Louis, Missouri, Kranzberg graduated from Amherst College, received a master's and a Ph.D. From Harvard University and served in the U.S.

He received his interrogation training at Camp Ritchie in Maryland, making him one of the Ritchie Boys.

In 1967 Kranzberg was awarded the Leonardo da Vinci Medal by the Society for the History of Technology. Melvin attended Master’s and PhD at Harvard. He received a Bronze Star for interrogating captured German prisoners and learning the location of Nazi gun emplacements.

He was one of two interrogators out of nine in Patton's army who were not killed during the conflict. Kranzberg is known for his laws of technology, the first of which states "Technology is neither good nor bad; nor is it neutral." He was one of the founders of the Society for the History of Technology in the United States and long-time editor of its journal Technology and Culture.

Kranzberg served as president of the society from 1983 to 1984, and edited the society's journal from 1959 to 1981, when he turned it over to Robert C. Https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/09/us/melvin-kranzberg-78-historian-of-technology.html Share full article Melvin Kranzberg, a scholar who helped establish the study of the history of technology and explained its impact on society, died on Wednesday at his home in Atlanta. Kranzberg, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, was 78.


Gallery edit

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Technical record edit

Field Imported value
Approx Age at Death 78
Nara ASN 37406528
Nara Name KRANZBERG MELVIN L
Nara State 75
Nara County 189
Nara POE 7545
Nara DOE 281242
Nara Grade Alpha PVT
Nara Grade Code 8
Nara Branch Alpha BI
Nara Branch Code 0
Branch Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Nara Term or Enlistment 5
Term of enlistment Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Defer. Date 0
Nara Source 0
Nara Nativity 75
Nativity.1 MISSOURI
Nara Year of Birth 20
Nara Race 1
Nara Race Description White citizen
Nara Education 8
Nara Civilian Occupation 993
Nara Marital Status 2
Nara Height (inches) 72
Nara Weight (lbs) 239
Class_ASN 13106147
Class_Name KRANZBERG, Melvin
match_method pass2_unique_name
row_source both

Timeline edit

  • 4 September 1944 — Promoted to S/Sgt.
  • 16 January 1945 — Promoted to T/Sgt.
  • Assigned to IPW Team 151 attached to Third Army.
  • Drafted into Army as Pvt (ASN 35060279).
  • Graduated with Class 20 (Classification: Documents Examiner).

Sources edit

  • Melvin Kranzberg, 78, Historian of Technology - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
  • Wikipedia: Melvin Kranzberg
  • Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
  • Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
  • NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
  • 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
  • Dan Gross, Timeline of Melvin L Kranzberg for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
  • Dan Gross, Timeline of Kranzberg, Melvin L for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: MELVIN KRANZBERG.doc)