Finding Aid to the AIP CHP Project on the History of Recent Physics addition to records, 1959-1994

Selected Search Terms

These papers have been indexed in the International Catalog of Sources for History of Physics and Allied Sciences (ICOS) using the following terms. Those seeking related materials should search under these terms.

Historical Note

The Project on the History of Recent Physics arose out of the American Institute of Physics' Committee on the History and Philosophy of Physics. Initial funding for the Project came from National Science Foundation grants awarded in 1961 and 1963. Dr. W. James King was named Director of the Project in mid-1961. The early staff also included a full-time secretary and some part-time assistants. The project was overseen by an Advisory Committee chaired by Dr. Gerald Holton of Harvard University. Activities pursued included the collection of historical materials and biographical and bibliographical information on leading physicists. Dr. John J. Beer joined the Project on the History of Recent Physics in 1963 to coordinate the Project's collecting of information and archival material from industrial companies involved in physics research. He served as a staff consultant while still a member of the faculty at the University of Delaware and left the project in 1964 after generating a final report of his efforts.

Scope and Contents of Collection

This addition to the collection includes correspondence, personal notes and records taken and kept by Gerald James Holton, Chairman of the AIP advisory committee, leading up to and during the project on the history of recent physics.

Organization and Arrangement of Collection

Collection is arranged into a single series.

Access to Collection

Permission of an officer of depositing organization required for access to records less than 25 years old. http://www.aip.org/history/nbl/access.html.

Restrictions on Use of Collection

Provenance and Acquisition Information

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Amanda Nelson in 2011.

Preferred Citation of Collection

Box [number], Folder [number], AIP CHP Project on the History of Recent Physics addition to records. American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, College Park, MD 20740, USA.

Container List

Series I: AIP CHP Project on the History of Recent Physics addition to records
Box 1	Folder 1	Gerald James Holton correspondence regarding funding, 1959-1961
	Folder 2	Gerald James Holton correspondence, 1962-1963
	Folder 3	Speech draft on the Center for History of Physics, 1994
	Folder 4	Research and notes for speech on Center for History of Physics, 1994
	Folder 5	Gerald James Holton notes and correspondence of American Institute of Physics (AIP) advisory committee, 1961
	Folder 6	Gerald James Holton notes and correspondence of American Institute of Physics (AIP) advisory committee, 1961
	Folder 7	Gerald James Holton notes and correspondence of American Institute of Physics (AIP) advisory committee, 1962
	Folder 8	Gerald James Holton notes and correspondence of American Institute of Physics (AIP) advisory committee, 1962
Box 2	Folder 1	Gerald James Holton notes and correspondence of American Institute of Physics (AIP) advisory committee, 1963
	Folder 2	Gerald James Holton notes and correspondence of American Institute of Physics (AIP) advisory committee, 1963