Z. Taylor Vinson ’55

Taylor died of myelodysplasia Oct. 25, 2009, in Alexandria, Va.  

Born in Huntington, W.Va., he came to Princeton from Woodberry Forest School. At Princeton he was president of Key and Seal, vice president of Triangle, and a humor columnist for The Daily Princetonian. After graduation he served with the Army in Germany, and spent a year in advertising in New York before obtaining a law degree from the University of Virginia.

Taylor was an associate with O’Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles until moving to Washington, D.C. He served for 36 years with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, retiring in 2003 as the agency’s longest-serving employee. Among other achievements, Taylor drafted the regulation on the center high-mounted stop lamp, required on all cars beginning with the 1986 model year. He also drafted many safety standards for motorcycles and electric vehicles.

A lifelong automotive enthusiast, Taylor served as president of the Society of Automotive Historians and as editor of its Automotive History Review. He maintained one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of automotive sales materials, which he bequeathed to the Hagley Library and Museum in Wilmington.

Taylor was a loyal ’55er who rarely missed a major reunion. He is survived by two sisters, a brother, and numerous nieces and nephews, to whom the class extends deepest sympathy.