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Hao Wang Papers
The Papers of Hao Wang document the life and career of Hao Wang, a mathematician, logician, and philosopher affiliated with The Rockefeller University from 1967 until his death in 1995. The Hao Wang Papers (Record Group 450 W184) are part of the Rockefeller University Archives and constitute approximately 60 cubic feet of material.
Although Hao Wang joined the faculty of The Rockefeller University in 1967, files in the collection date back to the 1940s. The collection includes a significant amount of material on the life and work of mathematician-philosopher Kurt Gödel, as well as some early material on Wang's interest in automated theorem proving and artificial intelligence.
Hao Wang was born on May 20, 1921 in Jinan (Tsinan) in what is today the People's Republic of China. Wang grew up in China, and received his Bachelor's degree in Mathematics from the National Southwestern Associated University in 1943, and his Master's degree in Philosophy from Tsing Hua University in 1945.
Wang moved to the United States, and in 1948, he received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Harvard University. He remained at Harvard as a Junior Fellow of the Society of Fellows (from 1948 to 1951) and was subsequently appointed as Assistant Professor of Philosophy.
In 1954, Wang travelled to England, where he served as John Locke Lecturer and as Reader in the Philosophy of Mathematics (1956-1961) at Oxford University. Upon reentry into the United States, Wang returned to Harvard as Gordon McKay Professor of Mathematical Logic and Applied Mathematics. During his tenure at Harvard, Wang also collaborated with the Burroughs Corporation, the University of Michigan, the International Business Machine Corporation (IBM), Bell Laboratories, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
In 1967, Wang joined the faculty of The Rockefeller University, a position he would hold until his death in 1995. Although the Logic Research Group was disbanded in 1976, Wang remained at the University, continuing his research and work in mathematics, logic, and philosophy. Wang's early research was in computer science, artificial intelligence and automated theorem proving, and in the 1960s, he introduced domino problems ("Wang tiles"). Later in his career, Wang focused his attention on the life and writings of the mathematician-philosopher Kurt Gödel. Prior to his death in 1978, Gödel allowed Wang to have many in-depth discussions with him; one product of these conversations was Wang's 1987 book, Reflections on Kurt Gödel.
Wang was a member of the Association of Symbolic Logic and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was named Honorary Professor at both Peking University (1985) and Tsing Hua University (1986). In addition to numerous articles, Wang authored Logic, Computers and Sets (1962), From Mathematics to Philosophy (1974), Popular Lectures on Mathematical Logic (1981), Beyond Analytical Philosophy: Doing Justice to What We Know (1985), and A Logical Journey: From Gödel to Philosophy (1996). In 1983, Wang was awarded the first Milestone Prize for Automated Theorem Proving.
Hao Wang died of an extended illness at the age of 73 on May 13, 1995.
For additional information on the contents and arrangement of the collection, please see the Hao Wang Papers Scope and Content Note, or e-mail archive@rockarch.org.
The Papers of Hao Wang have been fully processed by Archivist Bethany J. Antos and are open and available for research at the Rockefeller Archive Center.
George Zeidenstein Papers
The George Zeidenstein papers are open for scholarly research. The collection consists of George Zeidelstein's prefessional correspondence, spanning his seventeen years of service to the Population Council.
George Zeidenstein, born July 29th 1929, began his professional career as a corporate and securities lawyer on Wall Street, and in 1976 became president of the Population Council (with John D. Rockefeller 3rd serving as Chairman of the Council).
Zeidenstein also actively served in several capacities in international development issues with the Ford Foundation and the Peace Corps. His work with the Peace Corps relocated Zeidenstein and his family to Nepal, where Zeidenstein was Country Director, and Bangladesh, as Representative of the Ford Foundation. Zeidenstein is currently a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard University's Center for Population and Development Studies, where he began in 1993.
For his work, Zeidenstein has been decorated by the governments of Senegal and Finland. Zeidenstein is also a former Board Member of the International Center for Research on Women.
For more information, see the Papers of Individuals, Family Related collection description, and the online finding aid.
Rockefeller Brothers Fund Record Group 3 Project Files
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund Record Group 3 Project/Grant files are open for scholarly research. The Project/Grant files consist of approximately 750 cubic feet.
Grant-making is the core of Rockefeller Brothers Fund operations. The RBF makes grants to local, national, and international philanthropic organizations that depend on the general public for funding. Principally, contributions are made to organizations whose activities reach a large number of people. The RBF's program has also included support for, and in some instances, direct operation of, experimental or new undertakings.
RG 3 Project/Grant Files includes correspondence, memoranda, reports, financial records, and background material relating to grant applications and grant administration.
For more information, see the online finding aid.
Warren Weaver Papers
The Warren Weaver papers are now open for scholarly research. The collection consists of approximately 32 cu. ft. of records.
Warren Weaver (b. July 7, 1894, d. November 24, 1978) was a scientist, mathematician and science administrator, best known as one of the pioneers of machine translation and as an advocate and supporter of science in all its forms. Weaver joined the administration of the Rockefeller Foundation and General Education Board as Director of the Division of Natural Sciences in 1932, and later served as Director, Division of Science and Agriculture, 1951-1955, and as Vice President for Natural and Medical Sciences, 1955-1959. His vast experience as a science administrator includes but is not limited to his service with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Salk Institute of Biological Studies and the Sloan-Kettering Institute. Weaver's personal research interests focused in the fields of communication and probability theory.
For more information, see the Warren Weaver Papers collection description and the online finding aid.
Trilateral Commission
The records of the Trilateral Commission (North America) are now open for scholarly research. The collection consists of approximately 217 cu. ft. of records.
The Trilateral Commission is a discussion group focused mainly on policy studies which was founded in 1973 by David Rockefeller and several other prominent private sector leaders of North America, Europe and Japan to broaden the understanding of international issues and their transnational impact. The Commission was originally established for a 3 year period. It has since been renewed for successive triennia, most recently for a 13th triennium to be completed in 2012.
For more information, see the Trilateral Commission collection description and the online finding aid.
Charles B. Fahs Papers
The records of Charles B. Fahs, former Director of the Rockefeller Foundation, Humanities, have been processed and are now available for research. The collection is 5 cubic feet and spans the years 1908-1980. It is comprised of biographical material, memorabilia, college diplomas, and a small amount of material covering childhood as well as personal and professional correspondence. This collection was processed by archivist Charlotte Sturm.
Fahs, born in 1908 in Brooklyn, New York, received his B.S. from Northwestern University in 1929. He proceeded to receive both his M.A. and Ph.D. from Northwestern in 1931 and 1933, respectively. As an undergraduate, Fahs studied at the University of Berlin, Germany (1929-1930). Fahs received General Education Board fellowships to the Ecole Nationale des Languages Orientales, France (1933-1934), Kyoto Imperial University, Japan (1934-1935) and Tokyo Imperial University, Japan (1935-1936). He received a United States Medal of Freedom for services rendered with the Office of Strategic Services (Far Eastern Division) during World War II, where he had served as Division Chief.
Fahs joined the Rockefeller Foundation in 1946. He served as Assistant Director (1946-1948), Associate Director (1949), and Director (1950-1962) of the Rockefeller Foundation-Humanities, before leaving the RF on March 31, 1962.
After leaving the RF, Fahs was awarded Japan's Order of the Sacred Treasure, Third Class (the highest honor available to non-Japanese citizens) and continued his interest in Japan in his capacity as Minister-Counselor for Cultural and Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. He proceeded to join the political science faculty at Miami University and, upon retirement in 1973, worked as an editor for Grolier Publications.
Charles B. Fahs died at Mercy Hospital in Hamilton, OH on February 26, 1980.
See also: The Charles B. Fahs collection description and the online finding aid.
William T. Grant Foundation Records Now Open
The records of the William T. Grant Foundation have been processed and now are available for research at the Rockefeller Archive Center. The collection, 102 cubic feet of material spanning the years 1916-1999, is comprised primarily of the foundation's files of grantees, the bulk of which date from 1970-1985. The bulk of the collection is open for research; records that document the peer review process are restricted from public access. The records were processed by Becky Robbins.
Since its incorporation in 1936, the William T. Grant Foundation has focused on research in the mental health of children and youth. William T. Grant (1876-1972) created the foundation in 1930 with the profits he earned from his chain of dry goods stores. He intended the foundation, he wrote, "to assist . . . people or peoples to live more contentedly and peacefully and well in body and mind through a better knowledge of how to use and enjoy all the good things that the world has to offer them."
The foundation's first grant was to Harvard University for "a systematic inquiry into the kinds of people who are well and do well." The files document this grant and grants for research at major universities and such institutions as the Community Research Associates, the Society for Research in Child Development, the Tavistock Institute of Child Development, and the work of Anna Freud. Grant files typically include the initial research proposals, grant actions and award documents, and a final report; these are supplemented by grant-related reprints, conference papers and unpublished reports, bound separately and arranged by institution. Administrative files document the foundation's philosophical and structural evolution. Included are "Program Development and Evaluation" files that contain statistical analyses of funded programs, committee materials, and litigation documents pertaining to the bankruptcy of the W.T. Grant Company. Additional materials document particular programs and projects, such as the W.T. Grant Scholarships (1960-1969), the Faculty Scholars Program, and the Commission on Work, Family and Citizenship.
Along with the records of the Foundation for Child Development, the Grant Foundation records greatly enhance the RAC's collections related to children and youth. For additional materials at the RAC on this subject, see the online Survey of Sources at the Rockefeller Archive Center for the History of Child Studies.
See also: William T. Grant Foundation online finding aid.
Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship Files and Fellowship Recorder Cards
The files of the Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship Program, formerly closed to research, have now been made available to researchers. This material, consisting of 211 cubic feet of material dating from the 1930s into the 1970s, constitutes Record Group 10.1 of the Rockefeller Foundation Archives. Archivist Beth Jaffe-Davis has conducted preliminary processing to gain intellectual and physical control of the collection, and she has created a folder-level inventory to enhance scholarly access to the fellowship files. Ms. Jaffe-Davis also has created a finding aid for a derivative set of materials, the Fellowship Recorder Cards that have previously been available to researchers and which were processed by Joelle Miller in 2007. The fellowship Recorder Cards constitute Record Group 10.2 of the Rockefeller Foundation Archives and date from the beginning of the fellowship program in 1917. Both the inventory of the fellowship files and the finding aid for the recorder cards are available at the Rockefeller Archive Center.
The Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship Program began in 1917 with a few appointments and grew gradually so that by 1925 there were several hundred fellowships awarded annually. By the time the foundation published its Directory of Fellowships and Scholarships, 1917-1970 (1972), approximately 9,500 individuals from around the world had received such support from one of the foundation's five divisions: International Health, Medical Sciences, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities. Direct applications were discouraged; potential applicants were identified by RF officers from staff at universities, research institutes and governmental bodies. A fellowship award was typically for one or two years, and the program required fellows to travel and study outside of their native country.
Most of the fellowship files consist of an application, accompanied by a photo of the applicant, and other pertinent background information such as curriculum vitae, a listing and/or copies of their publications, theses, articles, correspondence and grant information. The inventory for the fellowship files includes the fellow's name, gender, country of origin, and discipline. This will allow for searches by country, date and/or discipline, in addition to name.
To ensure individual privacy, medical and student records are restricted from public access and are closed to research. Until more thorough processing is completed, fellowship files requested for research will be reviewed by an archivist.
Information on the fellowship recorder cards (RG 10.2) was collected from the fellowship files (RG 10.1) by RF administrative staff. The recorder cards are available for research without restriction. In addition to information about RF fellows, the recorder cards also document awards given by the General Education Board, the International Education Board, and the China Medical Board.
See The Rockefeller Foundation Archives
Max Bergmann Papers
The papers of German biochemist Max Bergmann have been fully processed by archivist Marisa Hudspeth and are available for research at the Rockefeller Archive Center. This collection primarily documents the Bergmann's laboratory research and administration during his tenure at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, now the Rockefeller University, from 1934 until his death in 1944.
Bergmann (1886-1944) was born in Furth, Bavaria and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Berlin in 1911. He then worked closely as an assistant to Hermann Emil Fischer from 1911 to 1919, and together they laid the foundation for scientific knowledge of proteins, carbohydrates, and tannins. After Fischer's suicide, Bergmann accepted a position as vice-director and head of the Department of Organic Chemistry at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Fiber Chemistry in Berlin. In 1921, he became director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Leather Research until 1933. When the conditions in Germany grew too hostile, he immigrated to the United States and became an associate member of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, where his research continued to focus on proteins and protein-splitting enzymes, as well as the chemistry of carbohydrates and fats. In 1937, he became a full member of the Institute. At the time of his death in 1944, he was conducting research under contract with the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development.
These records are particularly focused on the research he conducted in the 1940s on problems of interest to the U.S. Armed Forces, namely the synthetic, analytical, and inorganic problems in chemical warfare and B-4 toxicity, especially mustard gases. Records consist mostly of laboratory research notes, notes on related scientific literature, research progress reports, correspondence with colleagues and administrative officials, administrative circulars and memoranda, reprints of Bergmann publications, and receipts of classified reports and scientific samples. Research topics of interest include World War II chemical warfare research, Selective Service deferments for scientists, policies and procedures of the Office of Scientific Research and Development and the National Defense Research Committee, and the "brain drain" or significant emigration of scientists and technologists to the United States from Europe as a result of hostile conditions prior to World War II. The collection also contains a minimal amount of biographical material, including Bergmann's personal correspondence, documents relating to Bergmann's funeral, and photographs.
See the Max Bergman online finding aid
Stanford Moore Papers
The Papers of Stanford Moore document the life and scientific career of Moore, a biochemist at The Rockefeller University for over forty years, and winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1972. The Stanford Moore Papers are part of the Rockefeller University Archives (Record Group 450 M786) and constitute approximately 56 cubic feet of material.
Stanford Moore was born on September 4, 1913 in Chicago, Illinois, to John Howard and Ruth Fowler Moore. Moore grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. After attending Peabody Demonstration School, he enrolled at Vanderbilt University, graduating in 1935. That same year, he began graduate studies in Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin. Under the supervision of Karl Paul Link, he produced his Ph.D. thesis, "The Identification of Carbohydrates as Benzimidazole Derivatives" in 1938. After Moore obtained his degree, he was recommended by Link for a research assistantship in the Max Bergmann Laboratory in 1939. At the Bergmann Laboratory at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, he met his colleague and research partner of forty years, William H. Stein.
During World War II, Moore served as a technical aide in the Office of Scientific Research and Development from 1942 to 1945. In 1945, both Moore and Stein returned to the Institute to form the Moore-Stein Laboratory. For over forty years, until his death, Moore was a member of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (later the Rockefeller University). He primarily researched in the areas of chromatography and chemistry of carbohydrates, proteins, and amino acids, and had a keen interest in the development of scientific equipment. Together with Stein, Moore worked to develop quantitative chromatographic methods through which proteins, peptides, and amino acids could be separated.
In 1972, Moore and Stein were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. They shared the award with Christian B. Anfinsen from the National Institutes of Health.
Moore was active in various professional scientific organizations, including the American Society of Biological Chemists, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. In addition to the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1972, Moore (along with Stein) was awarded the 1964 American Chemical Society Award in Chromatography and Electrophoresis, and the Richards Medal and the Linderstrøm-Lang Medal, both in 1972.
Stanford Moore died in New York City on August 23, 1982 at the age of sixty-eight.
The papers of Stanford Moore have been fully processed by Archivist Bethany J. Antos and are open and available for research at the Rockefeller Archive Center.
Stanford Moore Papers online finding aid
The Hugh Morrow Papers
The papers of Hugh Morrow, a member of the executive staff of Nelson A. Rockefeller during Rockefeller's service as governor of New York State and vice president of the United States, have been processed and are now available for research at the Rockefeller Archive Center. The Hugh Morrow papers constitute Series 21.2 of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Gubernatorial Papers, Record Group 15 of the Rockefeller Family Archives. The Morrow papers consist of 42.8 cubic feet of material covering the years 1958-1977. The collection was processed by archivist Monica Blank.
Hugh Morrow (1915-1991) was a newspaper reporter in his native Pennsylvania and in Washington, D.C., before becoming an associate editor of the Saturday Evening Post for ten years. He joined the staff of Governor Rockefeller in November 1959 as a speechwriter and a special assistant. Morrow was appointed Director of Communications in February 1969, and in 1974 became Vice President Rockefeller's Press Secretary.
This collection of Morrow's papers includes miscellaneous files on state and national issues; speeches, articles, and campaign materials used during Rockefeller's bids for the presidency in 1964 and 1968 and his gubernatorial reelection campaign in 1970; speech transcripts from Rockefeller's last term as governor (1971-1974); transcripts of interviews, press conferences and speeches during Rockefeller's term as vice presidential (1975-1976); and Morrow's subject files, 1955-1974.
This material is open for research subject to the restrictions on access to documents about living members of the Rockefeller family, which are closed to research.
See the Nelson A. Rockefeller Papers
See also: Talking About NAR: Oral History Transcripts Now Available
Harkness House Architectural Drawings
A collection of 775 architectural drawings of Harkness House, former home of Edward and Mary Stillman Harkness and then the headquarters of the Commonwealth Foundation (One East 75th Street in New York City), have been processed by archivist Beth Jaffe-Davis and are available for research at the Rockefeller Archive Center. The drawings constitute Record Group 19.3 of the Commonwealth Fund Archives.
Built between 1906 and 1908, Harkness House was a wedding gift from Anna Harkness, founder of the Commonwealth Fund, to her son Edward and his new wife. Designed by James Gamble Rogers, the house is located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 75th Street in New York City. When Mary Stillman Harkness died in 1950 without an heir, Harkness House was turned over to The Commonwealth Fund and became its headquarters in 1952. The building received New York City landmark status in 1967. This collection of oversized drawings range in date from the original designs of James Gamble Rogers through the renovations completed in the 1980s.
See Also: Commonwealth Fund Archives
Newly Received Collections: Efim Semenovich London Papers
The papers of the renowned physiologist Efim Semenovich London have been donated to the Rockefeller Archive Center by members of his family and are available for research. London developed the surgical technique called angiostomy, which permanently attaches kanules, or silver tubes, to internal organs permitting repeated sampling and long-term observation of the changes in the blood before and after it passes through living organs.
Efim Semenovich London (1869-1939) was born in Poland and was a graduate of the University of Warsaw Medical School. In 1896 London was invited to join the faculty of what is now known as the Institute of Experimental Medicine in Moscow, but was originally founded in 1890 in St. Petersburg by Prince A. P. Oldenburgsky as the Imperial Institute of Experimental Medicine. Although London oversaw several laboratories across Russia, he considered his laboratory at the Institute to be his "chief laboratory, which is best equipped and where I do my most important work." In addition to the angiostomical method, London is also known for his work on the polyfistular method for studying the different processes within the stomach and intestines. Working with S.W. Goldberg, he also claimed the first histologically proven cure of a basal cell carcinoma of the face.
Along with his scientific pursuits, London also nurtured a great love for music. He was considered an accomplished musician together with his wife, the Russian pianist Raissa Eshman London. Later in his career, London began to meld his scientific and musical interests, as evident in his article, "Music from the Viewpoint of the Newest Ideas in Physics and Physiology," found in this collection.
The small collection includes photographs of the scientist, his family, his colleagues, and his laboratories and experiments; articles describing his life, discoveries, and travels to the United States; reprints of his publications; and correspondence with other contemporary leading scientists, such as Emil Fischer, Emil Abderhalden, Einar Lundsgaard, A. Schittenhelm, and Rudolf Keller.
Newly Received Collections: Christian de Duve Papers
Nobel Laureate Christian de Duve has donated his papers to the Rockefeller Archive Center. For his research that described the structure and function of the organelles lysosomes and peroxisomes within the cell, De Duve received the 1974 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine along with fellow Rockefeller University professors Albert Claude and George E. Palade.
The son of Belgians who took refuge in London during the First World War before returning home, de Duve was born in London in 1917 and raised in the cosmopolitan city of Antwerp. He received his MD from Catholic University of Louvain in 1941 and embarked on a career in medical research. His research focused on insulin until an interesting "chance observation" captured his attention and eventually led to the discovery of new parts of the cell. For more on his life and career, see the autobiographical note on the Nobel Prize website.
The 76 boxes in the collection contain material from 1962 to 2004 and include correspondence, grant files and progress reports, manuscripts, publications, and reprints.
Other Newly Received Collections
The Archive Center also received the following new collections and additions in the past year. This material will be available for research after it has been processed by RAC staff:
- important additions to the papers of Nobel prize laureate John Northrop
- important additions to the papers of physicist and former Rockefeller University president Frederick Seitz
- Stacy May papers from the American Heritage Center
- Horace Albright papers from the American Heritage Center
- Asia Society material from the Museum of American Art
- additions, mostly photographs, to the papers of the William Rockefeller family
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