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Add Forrest M. Mims III bio with Wikimedia Commons photos

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Author section on /mims with portrait (2016, public domain),
Vietnam rocket photo (1967, public domain), and TX-1 rocket
photo (1970, CC BY-SA 4.0). All with proper attribution.
Brief mention added to homepage heritage section.
This commit is contained in:
Ryan Malloy 2026-02-13 05:50:28 -07:00
parent f7b160a9c1
commit 195e8fbf2b
5 changed files with 87 additions and 21 deletions
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@ -185,14 +185,15 @@ const totalBooks = allBooks.length;
<div class="space-y-4">
<h2 class="text-2xl font-bold title-accent">Preserving Electronics Heritage</h2>
<p class="text-muted-foreground leading-relaxed">
These references represent the golden age of hands-on electronics education. From Forrest Mims'
distinctive hand-drawn notebooks that taught millions through Radio Shack, to Ugly's practical
field guides trusted by electricians everywhere.
These references represent the golden age of hands-on electronics education. Forrest M. Mims III,
a Texas A&M graduate and one of the most widely read electronics authors in history, taught millions
through his hand-drawn Radio Shack notebooks. His work sits alongside Ugly's practical field guides,
trusted by electricians everywhere.
</p>
<p class="text-muted-foreground leading-relaxed">
What makes these works special is their approach: clear explanations, practical focus, and
a personal touch that made complex concepts accessible. Many engineers credit these materials
with sparking their interest in electronics - reading them under the covers with a flashlight,
with sparking their interest in electronics — reading them under the covers with a flashlight,
building circuits on breadboards, learning schematic symbols for the first time.
</p>
<p class="text-muted-foreground leading-relaxed">

99
site/src/pages/mims/index.astro
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@ -60,26 +60,91 @@ const allTopics = [...new Set(mimsBooks.flatMap(book => book.data.topics))].sort
<!-- Grid -->
<BookGrid books={mimsBooks} />
<!-- Info box -->
<div class="mt-12 p-6 rounded-lg bg-card border border-border">
<div class="flex items-start gap-4">
<div class="w-10 h-10 rounded-lg bg-primary/10 flex items-center justify-center shrink-0">
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="text-primary">
<circle cx="12" cy="12" r="10"/>
<line x1="12" x2="12" y1="16" y2="12"/>
<line x1="12" x2="12.01" y1="8" y2="8"/>
</svg>
<!-- About the Author -->
<section class="mt-12 p-6 md:p-8 rounded-lg bg-card border border-border space-y-8">
<div class="grid md:grid-cols-[280px_1fr] gap-6 md:gap-8 items-start">
<div class="space-y-3">
<figure class="overflow-hidden rounded-lg border border-border">
<img
src="/images/author/mims-portrait-2016.jpg"
alt="Forrest M. Mims III with his atmospheric measurement instruments at Geronimo Creek Observatory, Texas, 2016"
class="w-full object-cover"
loading="lazy"
/>
<figcaption class="px-3 py-2 text-[11px] text-muted-foreground bg-muted/50">
Mims at Geronimo Creek Observatory, 2016. Photo by Minnie C. Mims, public domain via
<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Forrest_Mims" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="underline hover:text-foreground">Wikimedia Commons</a>.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div>
<h3 class="font-semibold text-foreground">About This Collection</h3>
<p class="text-sm text-muted-foreground mt-1">
These notebooks were originally published by Radio Shack between 1985 and 1993.
All materials have been preserved and made available through Archive.org's
Folkscanomy project. Click any notebook to view it with our embedded PDF reader,
or download it in various formats.
<div class="space-y-4">
<h3 class="text-xl font-semibold title-accent text-foreground">About Forrest M. Mims III</h3>
<p class="text-sm text-muted-foreground leading-relaxed">
Forrest M. Mims III is a Texas A&M University graduate, amateur scientist, inventor, and
one of the most widely read electronics authors in American history. His Radio Shack
Engineer's Mini-Notebook series — featuring hand-lettered text and meticulously drawn
circuit diagrams — sold over 7.5 million copies and introduced an entire generation to
practical electronics.
</p>
<p class="text-sm text-muted-foreground leading-relaxed">
Beyond the notebooks, Mims designed atmospheric science instruments used by NASA and
has published in <em>Nature</em>, <em>Science</em>, and numerous other journals. He has
conducted daily atmospheric measurements at his Geronimo Creek Observatory in Texas
since 1990 — a continuous record spanning over three decades. <em>Discover</em> magazine
named him one of the "50 Best Brains in Science" in 2008.
</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- Photo gallery -->
<div class="grid grid-cols-2 gap-4">
<figure class="overflow-hidden rounded-lg border border-border">
<img
src="/images/author/mims-vietnam-rocket-1967.jpg"
alt="Forrest Mims preparing a model rocket for launch near Saigon, Vietnam, 1967"
class="w-full aspect-square object-cover object-top"
loading="lazy"
/>
<figcaption class="px-3 py-2 text-[11px] text-muted-foreground bg-muted/50">
Preparing a model rocket near Saigon, 1967. US Air Force photo, public domain via
<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Forrest_Mims_Rocket_Vietnam_1967_Cropped.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="underline hover:text-foreground">Wikimedia Commons</a>.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="overflow-hidden rounded-lg border border-border">
<img
src="/images/author/mims-tx1-rocket-1970.jpg"
alt="Forrest Mims with a 1970 model rocket equipped with the first MITS TX-1 telemetry transmitter"
class="w-full aspect-square object-cover object-top"
loading="lazy"
/>
<figcaption class="px-3 py-2 text-[11px] text-muted-foreground bg-muted/50">
With the first MITS TX-1 telemetry transmitter, 1970. Photo by Mark Langford,
<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="underline hover:text-foreground">CC BY-SA 4.0</a> via
<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Forrest_Mims_with_his_1970_rocket_equipped_with_a_TX-1,_MITS%27_first_telemetry_transmitter.JPG" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="underline hover:text-foreground">Wikimedia Commons</a>.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="border-t border-border pt-6">
<div class="flex items-start gap-4">
<div class="w-10 h-10 rounded-lg bg-accent/20 flex items-center justify-center shrink-0">
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="text-accent-foreground">
<circle cx="12" cy="12" r="10"/>
<line x1="12" x2="12" y1="16" y2="12"/>
<line x1="12" x2="12.01" y1="8" y2="8"/>
</svg>
</div>
<div>
<h3 class="font-semibold text-foreground">About This Collection</h3>
<p class="text-sm text-muted-foreground mt-1">
These notebooks were originally published by Radio Shack between 1985 and 1993.
All materials have been preserved and made available through Archive.org's
Folkscanomy project. Click any notebook to view it with our embedded PDF reader,
or download it in various formats.
</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>
</div>
</Layout>