Beckman Historical Collection 002 Finding aid created and encoded into EAD by Kenton G. Jaehnig. Last updated on September 23, 2021. Science History Institute Archives Beckman Historical Collection Table of Contents Summary Information....................................................................................................................................3 Biography/History..........................................................................................................................................4 Scope and Contents....................................................................................................................................... 7 Administrative Information........................................................................................................................... 8 Related Materials........................................................................................................................................... 9 Controlled Access Headings..........................................................................................................................9 Collection Inventory.................................................................................................................................... 11 Series I. Arnold O. Beckman Files....................................................................................................... 11 Series II. Business Activities Files........................................................................................................36 Series III. Corporate and Division Histories.........................................................................................74 Series IV. Press Releases...................................................................................................................... 86 Series V. Financial Records.................................................................................................................. 92 Series VI. In-House Publications........................................................................................................ 103 Series VII. Salvadoran Kidnappings and Negotiations.......................................................................117 Series VIII. Clippings and Advertisements.........................................................................................120 Series IX. Patent Files......................................................................................................................... 124 Series X. Photographic Materials........................................................................................................128 Series XI. Bulletins..............................................................................................................................177 Series XII. Audio-Visual Materials.....................................................................................................191 Series XIII. Oversized......................................................................................................................... 224 Series XIV. Instructions and Manuals................................................................................................ 226 - Page 2 - Beckman Historical Collection Summary Information Repository Science History Institute Archives Creator Beckman, Arnold O. Creator Beckman Coulter (Firm) Title Beckman Historical Collection Call number 002 Date [inclusive] 1911-2011 Date [bulk] 1935-2004 Extent 137.2 linear feet (131 boxes (81 record boxes, 10 hollinger boxes, 3 half hollinger boxes, 26 photo album boxes, 2 videotape boxes, 1 audiocassette box, 4 cd-rom boxes, and 4 oversized boxes)) Language Collection materials are mostly in English. A small amount of material in German is also included in this collection. Abstract Business records, correspondence, research files, financial records, photographs, publications, and audio-visual materials of American scientist and industrialist Arnold O. Beckman and the American scientific and medical instrument manufacturer Beckman Coulter, Incorporated. Cite as: Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Beckman Historical Collection, 1911-2011, Science History Institute Archives. - Page 3 - Beckman Historical Collection Biography/History Dr. Arnold Orville Beckman, the founder of scientific and medical instrument manufacturer Beckman Coulter, Incorporated, was a prominent American scientist, inventor, industrialist, and philanthropist. Born in Cullom, Illinois on April 10, 1900, Beckman first became interested in chemistry at the age of nine, when he found a copy of J. Dorman Steele's textbook, Fourteen Weeks in Chemistry in his family's home. Encouraged by his father, he converted a tool shed into a laboratory and developed his interest in chemistry over the course of his childhood and adolescence. Beckman graduated as class valedictorian from University High School in Normal, Illinois in 1918 and served in the United States Marine Corps during the last months of World War I. After his discharge from the Marine Corps in 1919, Beckman furthered his education by earning a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering (1922) and a master's degree in physical chemistry (1923) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He entered the California Institute of Technology as a doctoral student in 1923, but interrupted his studies after one year to work for Western Electric Company in New York City, where he became interested in electronics. Beckman resumed his graduate studies at Cal Tech in 1926. While still a graduate student, he obtained the first of fourteen patents awarded to him in his lifetime. His first patent was for a "signaling device", a buzzer attached to an automobile's speedometer, which was designed to help drivers regulate their speed. Beckman earned his Ph.D. in photochemistry from Cal Tech in 1928. From 1928 to 1940, Beckman served as a chemistry professor at Cal Tech. He became fascinated with scientific instrumentation and increasingly focused his attention upon this area as his academic career progressed. In addition to his faculty duties, Beckman was retained as a consultant by a number of businesses, and served as an expert witness in a number of legal cases involving chemistry, which included the Church Horse Doping Case and the Cox and Weatherill Oil Swindle Case. In 1934, while still a professor at Cal Tech, Beckman was retained as a consultant by National Postal Meter Company to develop a non-clogging ink for postal meters. Beckman developed a non-clogging ink, albeit one noted for its rancid odor. He also invented and patented two appliances to apply the ink: an inking reel and an inking device. To manufacture the ink and develop the inking appliances, National Postal Meter set up a subsidiary named National Inking Appliance Company, and named Beckman Vice- President and Manager. Setting up shop in a garage in Pasadena, California, Beckman soon found that there was not much of a market for these products and this venture was not particularly successful. Around the same time, Beckman was approached by Glen Joseph, a chemist for the California Fruit Growers Exchange, who needed an electrochemical device to measure the acidity of lemon juice. In response to this need, Beckman invented and patented the first commercially successful pH meter. Later named the Model E, Beckman's new pH meter worked so well that he was soon asked to build more of them. Seeing a line of business that was potentially more profitable than postal meter ink and inking appliances, Beckman shifted his firm's focus to the manufacture of pH meters. To reflect this change, National Inking Appliance Company was renamed National Technical Laboratories on April 8, 1935. Now independent of - Page 4 - Beckman Historical Collection National Postal Meter Company, with Beckman serving as Vice-President and owning a 10% stake, the company sold eighty-seven Model E pH meters in its first year. By 1939, National Technical Laboratories had experienced significant growth, which led to Beckman being named President of the company. In 1940, Beckman resigned his professorship at Cal Tech to devote full-time attention to his firm. That same year, the company moved into its own building in South Pasadena, California. National Technical Laboratories expanded its line of instruments during World War II and made a number of notable contributions to the American war effort. Under Beckman's leadership, the firm introduced the Helipot Potentiometer in 1940, which became a vital component in American military radar systems. Beckman also spearheaded the development of the DU Spectrophotometer. Introduced in 1941, the DU Spectrophotometer revolutionized biochemical analysis and found numerous applications during the war, including the development and production of penicillin. In 1942, National Technical Laboratories introduced the IR-1 Spectrophotometer, an infrared spectrophotometer that was used in the development of synthetic rubber. Under Beckman's direction, National Technical Laboratories further contributed to the war effort by building micro-microammeters and dosimeters, both of which were used by the Manhattan Project. In addition to running National Technical Laboratories, Beckman founded two additional business concerns during World War II. In 1942, he established Arnold O. Beckman, Incorporated to manufacture the Pauling Oxygen Analyzer, an instrument for measuring oxygen levels in submarines and aircraft. This company