Harold Brown papers, 1941-1950

Summary Information

At a Glance

Call No.:
UA#0333
Bib ID:
15274726 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Brown, Harold, 1927-2019
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
3 linear feet (3 record cartons)
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 offsite. 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

Content Description

This collection contains Harold Brown's course work in physics, mathematics, chemistry, and the core curriculum. Materials include syllabi, readings, notebooks, exams, problem sets, and essays from both his undergraduate and graduate studies at Columbia University in the 1940s. A copy of his dissertation (Beta-spectra of gaseous A41 and O15) is also included in this set of materials.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in one series: Series I: Harold Brown papers, 1941-1950.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing 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 offsite. 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.

Conditions Governing Use

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Curator of Manuscripts/University Archivist, Rare Book and Manuscript Library (RBML). The RBML approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Harold Brown papers; Box and Folder; University Archives, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Libraries.

Accruals

No additions are expected.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was transferred to the University Archives by Harold Brown's daughter, Ellen Dunning Brown, in January 2021.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Joanna Rios, April 2021.

Biographical / Historical

Harold Brown (September 19, 1927–January 4, 2019) was an American nuclear physicist who served as United States Secretary of Defense from 1977 to 1981, under President Jimmy Carter. Previously, in the John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson administrations, he held the posts of Director of Defense Research and Engineering (1961–1965) and United States Secretary of the Air Force (1965–1969). He also served as President of the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) from 1969 to 1977.

Harold Brown entered Columbia at the age of 15 in 1943, when the College had adopted a trimester schedule as part of a war-time, accelerated program. He graduted in July 1945 with honors in Mathematics and Physics at the age of 17. He continued at Columbia where he earned an MA in 1946 and a PhD in 1949. After graduation, Brown received the University Medal of Excellence in 1963, the Graduate Faculties Alumni Association Award for Excellence in 1986, and the Columbia College Alexander Hamilton Medal in 1990.

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.

Name
Columbia University -- Alumni and alumnae CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Subject
Nuclear physics CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID