Oskar Zernickow Papers

Oskar Zernickow, son of Oscar and Marianne Zernickow, was born in 1919 in Westchester, New York. and initially moved south to be a sailor. He spent some time in the Merchant Marine, but after some difficulties with the seaman's union, enlisted in the U.S. Army. Initially stationed in the Canal Zone, he was transferred to the Pacific Theater after attending OCS and becoming an officer. He was in combat in the Phillipines and New Guinea.

After the war, Zernickow returned to the United States and enrolled as a pre-med student at Tulane University in New Orleans. He later changed his major to geology and foreign languages, and earned a master's degree in German and a PhD in Spanish. After a brief stint with DuPont, he became a professor of Spanish and German at Mississippi State University from 1960 until he retired.

Zernickow was an avid motorcyclist, and enjoyed target shooting. he was also widely known for living in a small house in the woods with no running water, electricity, or a telephone, and for his work on steam engines. He died in Starkville in July of 2009.