WILLIAM J. MURTAGH has held pivotal positions in the field of historic preservation for almost fifty years. He served as the first keeper of the National Register of Historic Places, Department of the Interior; and was vice president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and president of the Victorian Society in America. He directed the preservation program at Columbia University and initiated preservation programs at the University of Maryland and the University of Hawaii. He is a founding and active member of the Preservation Roundtable in Washington, D.C.