Bergen Davis papers, 1898-1960

Bergen Davis papers, 1898-1960

Summary Information

At a Glance

Call No.:
MS#0327
Bib ID:
4078681 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Davis, Bergen, 1869-1958
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
1.83 linear feet (2 manuscript boxes and one record carton)
Language(s):
English .
Access:
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

This collection has no restrictions.

Description

Summary

Professional papers of Davis, including correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, memorabilia, and printed materials. The correspondence consists chiefly of Davis' typescript carbons of his letters to Columbia colleagues, other physicists, and other individuals at various manufacturers of equipment. The topics covered deal with Columbia students, faculty, course and research work, and his life long interest in the study of x-rays. The majority of these files cover the years 1914 to 1921 and 1932 to 1936. The cataloged letters include one each from Michael I. Pupin, Isidor I. Rabi, and Robert Simpson Woodward, one lengthy letter from Davis, and ten letters from Nicholas M. Butler. Also included are letters from Marie Clark Davis relating to the research of Lucy J. Hayner and Harold Webb for Webb's biography of Davis that appeared in the National Academy of Sciences' BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS (v. 34, 1960) along with extensive notes, bibliographies and manuscript and typescript versions of Webb's article. There are also manuscripts, typescripts, and notes by Davis relating to his research and writings, photographs of Davis and of his x-ray spectograph, and clippings and memorabilia of his life and work.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into two series.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

This collection has no restrictions.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Bergen Davis papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Ownership and Custodial History

Gift of the Columbia University Physics Department, 1978; transferred from the Pegram Papers, 1979.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--Physics Department. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--1978. Accession number--M-78.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Cataloged Christina Hilton Fenn 06/--/89.

Revision Description

2012-05-22 xml document instance created by Judi Zupnick

2019-05-20 EAD was imported Spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

2020-10-29 Added Series III. Addition, formerly part of the University Archives' Department of Physics records (UA# 0021).

Biographical / Historical

Professor of Physics, Columbia University, 1903-1939 (Columbia University A.M., 1900; Ph.D., 1901; D.D. Sc., 1929). Married Marie Clark in 1927.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form
Photographs
Name
Butler, Nicholas Murray, 1862-1947
Columbia University -- Faculty
Columbia University -- Students
Hayner, Lucy Julia, 1898-1971
Pegram, George Braxton, 1876-1958
Pupin, Michael, 1858-1935
Rabi, I. I (Isidor Isaac), 1898-1988
Webb, H. B (Harold B.)
Woodward, Robert Simpson, 1849-1924
Subject
Physics -- Study and teaching
X-rays -- Research

Series I: Correspondence, 1914-1954


Subseries I.1: Cataloged Correspondence


Box 1

Davis, Bergen


Box 1

Butler, Nicholas Murray


Box 1

Pupin, Michael Idvorsky


Box 1

Rabi, Isidor Isaac


Box 1

Woodward, Robert Simpson


Subseries I.2: Uncataloged Correspondence


Box 1

Incoming, 1926-1954


Box 1

Outgoing, 1914-1936, 11 folders


Box 1

Marie Clark Davis (Mrs. Bergen Davis)

Series II: Documents and Photographs


Box 2

Manuscripts


Box 2

Biographical


Box 2

Memorabilia


Box 2

Photographs


Box 2

Printed Materials

Series III: Addition, 1901-1955

The records in this series were transferred from the Rare Book and Manuscript Library to the University Archives in 1997. In Fall 2020, they were reunited with the rest of the collection. These records include photographs, articles, correspondence, and writings by Prof. Davis.


Box 3

Blueprints for scientific instruments, 1927-1933

(Condenser plates and generator)


Cavendish Physical Laboratories


Box 3

Photograph of a group of scientists including Bergen Davis, 1902

(Names included)


Box 3

Post-prandial proceedings (poems/song lyrics), circa 1907

(Sent to Bergen by O.W. Richardson)


Correspondence


Compton, Arthur H.


Box 3

The Reflection Coefficient of Monochromatic X-Rays from Rocksalt and Calcite, 1917-1921


Box 3

Possible Method of Determining the Nature and Origins of Cosmic Rays, 1932


Box 3

Kellogg, Jerome, 1937 September 3

(Biographical sketch of M.I. Pupin)


Box 3

Correspondence re: Professor Davis's article on Michael I. Pupin, 1937-1938


Box 3

Hallock, Professor William, undated

(Photograph)


Gottingen, Germany


Box 3

Photographs, 1901-1902


Box 3

Subjects and faculty names, 1901-1902

(Davis's notebook)


Box 3

Pegram, Professor George B., 1907-1955

(Au revoir dinner program, photograph circa 1920, obiturary and Pegram lab article)


Printed Materials


Box 3

Articles about M.I. Pupin, 1932-1938


Box 3

Articles by M.I. Pupin, 1920-1933

(Offprints)


Box 3

"Bergen Davis 1869-1958. A Biographical Memoir" by Harold W. Webb, 1960

(National Academy of Sciences, reprinted from Biographical Memoirs, Volume XXXIV)


Box 3

Testimonial dinner programs, 1925-1937

(Edward Dean Adams, Charles P. Berkey, Hendrik Antoon Lorentz)


Writings by Professor Davis


Box 3

Continuous X-Ray Spectrum, undated

(Manuscript)


Box 3

The Grating Space of Some Crystals, undated


Box 3

International Peace and Research in the Physical-Chemical Sciences, undated


Box 3

Minute in Memory of Professor Albert Potter Wills, 1937

(Includes photograph of Professor Mills, circa 1920, and a list of his graduate students. Presented to the Faculty of the School of Engineering)


Box 3

A Proposed Investigation into the Nature of Cosmic Rays, undated


Michael Idvorsky Pupin memoir by Bergen Davis


Box 3

Manuscript, undated

(Includes lists of publications and patents)


Box 3

Typescript, undated


Box 3

Reflectivity of Crystals for X-Rays, undated


Box 3

A Suggested Method of Determining the Nature of Cosmic Rays, undated