Philip Hauge Abelson: A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress (full view)

Title: Papers of Philip Hauge Abelson
Span Dates: 1939-2002
Bulk Dates: (bulk 1970-1989)
ID No.: MSS84803
Creator: Abelson, Philip Hauge
Extent: 16,100 items; 46 containers; 18.4 linear feet
Language: Collection material in English
Repository: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Abstract: Nuclear physicist, chemist, and editor. Correspondence, notes, reports, speeches and writings, and other papers documenting Abelson's contribution to scientific policy-making through committees, organizations, and publications.

Selected Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.

Names:

Abelson, Philip Hauge
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Geophysical Union
Bio-energy Council
Carnegie Institution of Washington
International Union of Geological Sciences
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (U.S.)
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Subjects:

Science
Science
Science--Societies, etc.

Occupations:

Chemists
Editors
Nuclear physicists

Administrative Information

Provenance:

The papers of Philip Hauge Abelson, nuclear physicist, chemist, and editor, were given to the Library of Congress by Abelson in 2001 and 2002.

Copyright Status:

Copyright in the unpublished writings of Philip Hauge Abelson in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public.

Preferred Citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Philip Hauge Abelson Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Biographical Note

Date	Event
1913, Apr. 27	Born, Tacoma, Wash.
1935	M.S., Washington State University, Pullman, Wash.
1936	Married Neva Martin (died 2000)
1939	Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, Calif. Identified products of uranium fission
1940	Codiscoverer with Edwin M. McMillan of Element 93 (Neptunium)
1941-1945	Associate physicist, physicist, senior physicist, and principal physicist, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C.
1945	Awarded U.S. Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Medal
1946-1953	Chairman, Biophysics Section, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C.
1953-1971	Director, Geophysics Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C.
1959	Elected to National Academy of Sciences
1960-1963	General Advisory Committee, Atomic Energy Commission
1962-1984	Editor, Science magazine
1968-1981	Council member, National Academy of Sciences, with a seven-year absence from 1971 to 1978
1971-1978	President and trustee, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C.
1972	Awarded Kalinga Prize, UNESCO
1978-1980	Chairman, Board of Trustees, Bio-Energy Council
1984	Received Distinguished Public Service Award, National Science Foundation

Scope and Content Note

The papers of Philip Hauge Abelson (1913- ) span the years 1939-2002, with the bulk of the material dating from 1970 to 1989. The papers are organized in the following series: Committees and Organizations, Science Magazine, Speeches and Writings, and a Miscellany consisting of awards, biographical material, general correspondence, photographs, and printed material.

The Committees and Organizations series contains correspondence, financial records, grant proposals, minutes, publications, and reports relating to Abelson's participation in scientific professional organizations and advisory committees. Notable organizations include the American Geophysical Union, Bio-Energy Council, Carnegie Institution of Washington, International Union of Geological Sciences, Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, and the National Academy of Sciences.

The Science Magazine series consists of texts of editorials written by Abelson during his tenure as editor of the chief publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. An index to the editorials is included. The correspondence primarily contains reactions of the general public and the scientific community to opinions voiced by Abelson in his editorials. As editor of this important publication, Abelson visited both foreign and domestic research laboratories. His notes and correspondence regarding these trips are included.

The Speeches and Writings series contains chiefly texts of speeches given by Abelson to educational institutions, private companies, and scientific organizations. Also included are articles written for publications other than Science and correspondence regarding two of Abelson's books.

Organization of the Papers

The collection is arranged in four series:

Committees and Organizations, 1946-2001, n.d.
Science Magazine, 1962-2000, n.d.
Speeches and Writings, 1950-1999, n.d.
Miscellany, 1939-2002, n.d.

Container List

Box	Contents


BOX 1-24	Committees and Organizations, 1946-2001, n.d.
		Correspondence, financial records, grant proposals, minutes, publications, and reports relating to Abelson's participation in scientific professional organizations and advisory committees.
		Arranged alphabetically by name of committee or organization and therein chronologically.

BOX 1		Ad Hoc Geological Committee on Remote Sensing from Space, 1975-1976

		Advisory Committee, American University, Washington, D.C., 1973

		Advisory Panel on the Documentation, Dissemination, and Use of Research and Development Results, 1963-1964, n.d.

		American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1965-1966, 1972-1979, 1990
			(4 folders)

		American Chemical Manufacturers Association, 1980

		American Council on Education, 1978

		American Geophysical Union

			1973-1979

BOX 2			1980-1983
				(6 folders)

		American Philosophical Society, 1973-1979

		Bio-Energy Council

			Correspondence

				1977

BOX 3				1978-1979
					(7 folders)

			Financial records, 1978-1980, n.d.

BOX 4			Grant proposals, 1979-1980, n.d.
				(7 folders)

BOX 5			Meeting minutes, 1978-1979

			Miscellany, 1979-1980, n.d.

		Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C., 1964-1966, 1977-1983

		Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C.

			Correspondence, 1967-1970, 1980-1982

			News releases and printed matter, 1962-1963, n.d.

			Reports

				Director of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, 1946-1954
					(2 folders)

				Director of the Geophysical Laboratory

					1953-1963
						(2 folders)

BOX 6					1963-1969
						(6 folders)

BOX 7					1969-1971
						(2 folders)

				General Electric Corporate Research and Development, 1977-1978, n.d.
					(4 folders)

				President

					1946, 1956-1961

BOX 8					1964-1977
						(2 folders)

			Specialized Conference on the Application of Science and Technology to Latin American Development, Brasilia, Brazil, 1972
				(3 folders)

BOX 9			Studies of Biosynthesis in Escherichia Coli, 1963

		Chemical Abstracts Service, 1976-1980

		Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology, Research Triangle Park, N.C., 1979, 1985

		Council on Science and Technology for Development

			1977-1979
				(5 folders)

BOX 10			1980-1981, n.d.

		Encyclopedia of Bioethics, 1973-1974

		Energy Information Administration, 1979

		Geological Survey of Canada, 1979

		International Geological Correlation Program, 1978-1981

		International Union of Geological Sciences

			1972-1979
				(3 folders)

			1980

				Jan.-Mar.

BOX 11				Apr.-Nov.
					(2 folders)

		Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.

			Correspondence, 1976-1984
				(3 folders)

			Notes, 2001

			Photographs, 1978-1980

			Printed matter

				1978-1980

BOX 12				1981, n.d.

		National Academy of Public Administration, 1978-1984
			(4 folders)

		National Academy of Sciences

			Awards, 1981-1982

			Committee on an Aging Society, 1982-1983

			Committee to Review the Office of Information, 1982

			Congressional endowment proposal, 1980

			Correspondence

				1978

BOX 13				1979-1980
					(7 folders)

BOX 14				1981-1984
					(4 folders)

			Finance Committee, 1974-1979

			Geology Section, 1979-1983
				(2 folders)

			Institute of Medicine, 1973-1982

			Meeting minutes

				1978

BOX 15				1979-1981
					(6 folders)

			National Research Council

				Advisory Committee on International Investment, Technology, and Development

					1980

BOX 16					1981-1983

				Biomass Substitutes for Liquid Fuels Symposium, Campinas, Brazil, 1981-1982
					(2 folders)

				Climate Research Board, 1980-1984
					(3 folders)

BOX 17				Commission on International Relations, 1976-1981

				Commission on Natural Resources

					Board on Mineral and Energy Resources, 1975-1980
						(4 folders)

					Miscellany, 1979

BOX 18				Committee on Abiogenic Methane, 1979
					(2 folders)

				Committee on Geology, 1979

				Committee on Internal Management Structure, 1981-1982

				Committee on International Human Resources Issues, 1979

				Division of Earth Sciences, 1973-1975

				Division of Medical Sciences

					Committee on Radiation Cataracts, 1949-1955

					Subcommittee on Shock, 1950-1953
						(2 folders)

				Geological Sciences Board, 1979-1983, n.d.

				Geophysics Research Board

					1973-1978

BOX 19					1979
						(6 folders)

BOX 20					1980-1984, n.d.
						(8 folders)

BOX 21				Governing Board meeting, 1979
					(2 folders)

				Miscellany, 1973, 1979

				U.S. National Committee for the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, 1973-1974, 1981-1983

			Printed matter, 1978-1983
				(3 folders)

			Treasurer's reports, 1979-1981

		National Association of Science Writers, 1963, 1976-1978

		National Commission on Air Quality, 1981

BOX 22		National Science Foundation, 1964-1966, 1973-1984, n.d.
			(2 folders)

		Phi Beta Kappa, 1979-1982, n.d.

		President's Science Advisory Committee, 1980

		Sigma Xi, 1964, 1973, 1979-1981, n.d.
			(5 folders)

		Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT), 1979

		United States Association for the Club of Rome

			1977

BOX 23		United States Association for the Club of Rome

			1978-1981
				(5 folders)

		United States Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, 1978-1979

		United States Geological Survey, 1979-1984
			(2 folders)

BOX 24		United States Navy, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C.

			Atomic Energy Submarine, 1946

			Liquid Thermal Diffusion, 1946, 1958, 1985-1998
				(4 folders)

		Washington Gas Light Co., 1974-1975, 1981-1984

BOX 25-36	Science Magazine, 1962-2000, n.d.
		Texts of editorials written by Abelson, correspondence in reaction to his editorials, and notes taken on business trips.
		Arranged alphabetically by type of material and therein chronologically.

BOX 25		Correspondence

			1962
				(2 folders)

			1963

				Jan.-Aug.
					(6 folders)

BOX 26				Sept.-Dec.
					(2 folders)

			1964-1965
				(6 folders)

BOX 27			1966-1969
				(8 folders)

BOX 28			1970-1972
				(9 folders)

BOX 29			1973-1974
				(8 folders)

BOX 30			1975-1985, n.d.
				(8 folders)

BOX 31		Editorials

			Index, 1962-2000
				(2 folders)

			1962-1971
				(7 folders)

BOX 32			1972-1973
				(7 folders)

BOX 33			1974-1987
				(7 folders)

BOX 34			1988-2000
				(2 folders)

		Trips

			California, 1962

			China, 1978-1979
				(2 folders)

BOX 35			India and Thailand, 1984
				(3 folders)

			London, England, 1963-1964

			Research laboratories

				Bell Laboratories, 1964, 1979

				E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Co., 1978, n.d.

				Exxon Research and Engineering Co., 1978

				General Electric Co., 1975-1978

				General Motors Research Laboratories, 1977-1979

				International Business Machines Corp., 1978

				Miscellany, 1978-1983, n.d.

BOX 36				Texas Instruments, 1978

				3M Co., 1979

BOX 36-42	Speeches and Writings, 1950-1999, n.d.
		Articles, books, and texts of speeches along with related correspondence and administrative material.
		Arranged alphabetically by type of material and therein chronologically.

BOX 36		Articles

			1950-1992
				(7 folders)

BOX 37			1993-1999, n.d.
				(2 folders)

		Books

			Energy: Uses, Conservation, and Supply, 1974

			Enough of Pessimism, 1985-1987, 1993-1998, n.d.

		Speech file

			1963-1964
				(4 folders)

BOX 38			1965-1973
				(9 folders)

BOX 39			1974-1979
				(7 folders)

BOX 40			1980-1981
				(6 folders)

			1982

				Jan.-May

BOX 41				July-Nov.
					(4 folders)

			1983-1990
				(4 folders)

BOX 42			1991-1999, n.d.
				(3 folders)

BOX 42-46	Miscellany, 1939-2002, n.d.
		Awards, biographical material, general correspondence consisting primarily of invitations to speak, photographs, and printed matter.
		Arranged alphabetically by type of material and therein chronologically.

BOX 42		Abelson, Neva, 1991-2000, n.d.

		Appointment books and calendars, 1963-1979
			(5 folders)

BOX 43		Awards and honors, 1962-1963, 1974-1995

		Biographical material

			Autobiography, 1997, n.d.

			Miscellany, 1962-1965, 1972-1985, n.d.

			Oral history transcripts, 2002, n.d.

		Correspondence

			1962-1970
				(6 folders)

BOX 44			1971-1976
				(10 folders)

			1977

				Jan.-Sept.
					(2 folders)

BOX 45				Oct.-Dec.

			1978-1981
				(6 folders)

			1983

				Jan.-Apr.
					(2 folders)

BOX 46				May-Dec.
					(2 folders)

			1984-1991, 1997, n.d.
				(3 folders)

		Photographs, 1939, 1968, 1984, n.d.

		Printed matter, 1961-1975, 1982, n.d.
			(2 folders)

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Philip Hauge Abelson

A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress

Prepared by Donna Ellis

Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

Washington, D.C.

2003

Date

Event

Committees and Organizations, 1946-2001, n.d.

Science Magazine, 1962-2000, n.d.

Speeches and Writings, 1950-1999, n.d.

Miscellany, 1939-2002, n.d.