The Center for History of Physics and Niels Bohr Library & Archives have been producing our longest-running publication, the AIP History Newsletter, since 1964. Until this fall, only issues from 2004 to the present were digitized and available on our website. Happily, it became my project to digitize and upload all of the newsletter issues from the beginning (1964) through 2003 as part of my fall internship. I am someone who loves to digitize stuff, so hip hip hooray! And thus, I entered the world of Niels Bohr, modern physics, and physics history. During my journey, I stumbled across some unexpected – but pleasantly surprising – mentions of a Chinese translator and an electro-ballistic apparatus used to measure the speed of cannonballs! (See Volume 17, No. 1.)
“‘Electro-ballistic apparatus for measuring the speed of cannon-balls.’ from Harper’s Weekly, 24 Dec 1864. One of the many thousands of illustrations and photographs in the collections of the National Museum of American History.” This image is a screenshot from the newsletter, Volume 17, No. 1, p. 3, heading an article spreading the word about the (then) new Archives Center at the National Museum of American History.
But first: an overview of the newsletter. Did you know the AIP History Newsletter has held five different names over the years? The earliest version of the newsletter was the Friends of the Niels Bohr Library Newsletter, which begins with Volume 1, No. 1, July 1964, and ends with Volume 2, No. 4, October 1965. Topics in this version of the newsletter focus on the growth, development, and special acquisitions of the Niels Bohr Library after its official opening in September 1962. The newsletter also touches on the merger/partnership of the library with the History of Physics Archives and the Project on the History of Recent Physics in the United States into what came to be known as the Center for History and Philosophy of Physics as of July 1, 1965, and in the present era, Center for History of Physics or simply the History Center. (Today, we recognize the Niels Bohr Library and the History of Physics Archives as a single unit – the Niels Bohr Library and Archives, which partners in a joint History Programs initiative with the History Center.) In Volume 2, No. 4, October 1965, the newsletter provides a plethora of background information about the Project on the History of Recent Physics in the United States and notes that the Center for History and Philosophy of Physics will be putting out its own forthcoming newsletter at regular intervals to replace the Friends newsletter.
Top section of the first Project on the History of Recent Physics in the United States newsletter
Thus, the Project on the History of Recent Physics in the United States Newsletter naturally became the second rendition of the newsletter. This version begins with Volume 1, No. 1, May 1964, and ends with Volume 1, No. 3, February 1965. Volume 1, No. 1 and No. 2 give a brief overview of the new newsletter, emphasizing its purpose to “serve as a medium for the exchange of information in the History of Physics” for all who are interested in the field. Additionally, the newsletter continues to give updates relating to the Center and the Niels Bohr Library.
The following version of the newsletter was the Center for History and Philosophy of Physics Newsletter, which ran from Volume 2, No. 1, January 1966, through Volume 5, No. 3, April 1972. Volume 2, No. 1 provides an overview of the newsletter’s new name and expanded scope; this new version of the newsletter covers all of AIP’s activities in the physics field in addition to the newsletter’s previous topics.
Niels Bohr Centennial commemorative poster, 1988. Credit: Drawing by Liam Roberts, courtesy AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives.
Next came the Center for History of Physics Newsletter, a name change that resulted from a change in the Center’s name from the “Center for History and Philosophy of Physics” to the “Center for History of Physics.” We can see this change reflected in Volume 5, No. 4, October 1972. This version of the newsletter ran from Volume 5, No. 4, October 1972, through Volume 19, No. 2, December 1987. On our website you will find Volumes 5-9 and Volumes 10-19 in two groupings. The Center for History of Physics Newsletter covers topics similar to those of the previous versions in addition to more content about advancements in modern physics. Of significant interest is the beginning of the History Center’s Grants-in-Aid program mentioned in Volume 15, No. 1. This new program was originally dedicated to funding research in “the history of 19th and 20th century physics and astronomy and their social interactions.” Today, the program is still in full swing and more broadly supports “research in the history of the physical sciences.” Volume 12, No. 2 mentions another topic of interest: AIP’s ongoing efforts to preserve the memories of women scientists, especially highlighting interviews conducted by Katherine Sopka that were supported by the Alfred Sloan Foundation Grant (p.6). Additionally, Volume 17, No. 1 features an article about the Centennial of Niels Bohr in 1985 and a poster and postcard that AIP distributed to commemorate the milestone event.
Top of the 1993 newsletter, showing a black-and-white rendering of the then-new American Institute of Physics building in College Park, Maryland.
“Ge Ge, devoted translator of Niels Bohr’s works into Chinese, looking at one of his volumes shortly after receiving the prestigious Danish Order of the Dannebrog.” Screenshot from the newsletter, Vol 33, No. 2, p. 2.
Finally, we have the version of the newsletter most familiar to us today: the AIP History Newsletter. This version covers from Volume 20, No. 1, May 1988, through the present and reports on the same types of topics as those of the previous version of the newsletter. There are some very interesting developments to note in this version of the publication. Volume 25, No. 2 mentions AIP’s planned relocation from New York City to the American Center for Physics Building in College Park, Maryland, in October 1993. Volume 26, No. 1 features an article about the National Archives and Record Administration’s plans to move a significant portion of its records to its new facility in College Park, emphasizing that the science-related records will move between May and September 1994. Volume 32, No. 2 also features an article about the beginning of the Physics History Finding Aids Website, an expansion of the Center’s International Catalog of Sources for History of Physics and Allied Sciences (ICOS). At the time, the finding aids website was the largest subject-based consortium of finding aids on the web. Today, the website can be searched to find collections from major repositories throughout the U.S. relating to 20th century physics, astronomy, and geophysics, and it continues to grow every year. Volume 33, No. 2 features an article about a Chinese translator of Niels Bohr’s works, and he is referred to as a “Hero of History of Science” in the newsletter! After encountering funding issues as well as political challenges during the Cultural Revolution of China in the late 1960s, Professor Ge Ge from the East-China Petroleum Institute in Beijing strived to translate each volume of Niels Bohr’s collected works – even translating some before the originals went into circulation!
As you can see, I had quite the journey! If you would like to set sail on the same waters of adventure as I did, I encourage you to check out the rest of the newsletters, which are all now available on our website!
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