1 of 14 MS 11

SQUIER, GEORGE OWEN, GENERAL USA (RETIRED) 1865-1934

Linear ft.: 9.6 Approx. no. pgs.: 14,000

Papers, 1883-1961

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH was born on 21 March 1865 in Dryden, Michigan. He was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and entered that institution in July 1883, graduating 12 June 1887. His first military assignment was to serve in garrison at Fort McHenry, Maryland, with the 3rd Artillery, 30 September 1887 to 9 March 1893. During his first assignment he also took a course of instruction at in electrical engineering which led to his receiving a Ph.D. from that institution in 1893, writing and completing thesis requirements relative to the "Chemical Effects Due to Magnetization." From March 1893 to 12 April 1893 he was on duty at Fort Barranacas, Florida. Squier was transferred to Fort McPherson, Georgia, 13 April 1893 and remained until 10 October 1893. During this time period he was promoted to 1st lieutenant of artillery, 30 June 1893. He was reassigned to Fort McHenry, Maryland, 12 October 1893 to 6 June 1894. Squier served as an instructor in the Department of Electricity and Mines, at the Artillery School, Fort Monroe, Virginia, from 1 September 1894 to 26 April 1898. He was appointed as Signal Officer, Department of the East, at Governor's Island, New York, 27 April 1898 to 25 June 1898, and was promoted to the rank of , 20 May 1898. Two months later, 18 July 1898, Squier was promoted to lieutenant and Chief Signal Officer, a position he held until October 1898. He was transferred to Washington, D.C., for three months in the office of the Chief Signal Officer. He was honorably discharged from volunteer service, 7 December 1898. Squier entered the Signal Corps as a 1st lieutenant, 23 February 1899 and promoted to captain, 17 April 1899. He took leave in Europe to study and obtain additional information relative to his research studies from 17 May 1899 to 11 August 1899. After returning from leave, he was again assigned to the office of the Chief Signal Officer, 12 August 1899 to 13 August 1900. On 15 August 1900, Squier took command of the cableship Burnside, laying the Trans- Pacific communication cable to the Philippines, to 26 September 1902. At Manila, he was 2 of 14 Superintendent of Telegraph Lines for the Signal Corps, Army, 27 September 1902 to 29 May 1903. On 2 March 1903, he was promoted to the rank of major. From 11 July 1903 to 31 July 1905, Squier was Signal Officer in San Francisco, California. He was transferred to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, as Assistant Commandant of the Army Signal School, 5 August 1905 to 8 March 1911. His next duty was Chief Signal Officer, Maneuver Division, San Antonio, Texas, 11 March 1911 to 13 July 1911. From Texas, Squier's next duty assignment was in Washington, D.C., in the office of the Chief Signal Officer, 17 July 1911 to 19 May 1912. He was appointed Military Attache, London, England, 1 June 1912 to 6 May 1916. On 17 March 1913, he was promoted again, to lieutenant colonel in the Signal Corps. Squier's next assignment was in Washington, D.C., in charge of Aviation Section, Signal Corps, 18 May 1916 to 13 February 1917. Squier was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, Chief Signal Officer, 14 February 1917 and then to the rank of major general 6 October 1917 with the same duty assignment, holding this position until 31 December 1923, the date of his retirement, which was at his request after over forty years of military service. Following his retirement, Gen. Squier continued to work in the communication field of engineering specializing in telegraphy and telephony. Squier never married. He shared most of his time among three geographical areas—Washington, D.C., Dryden, Michigan, and Saint Petersburg, Florida, after he retired from the Signal Corps. His awards and decorations include: Distinguished Service Medal, Knight Commander, Saint Michael, and Saint George, Great Britain; Commander, Order of the Crown, Italy; Commander, Legion of' Honor, France; Elliot Cresson gold medal; Franklin medal, Philippine Insurrection. Squier died on 24 March 1934 at George Washington Hospital, Washington, D.C.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE This collection relates to Squier's military career, from his entering the United States Military Academy in 1883 to his retiring from the U.S. Army Signal Corps as its commanding general in 1923. The most significant part of the material deals with Squier's contribution to communication engineering, telegraphy and telephony and his role in early military aviation. The balance of the material contains letters written to famous scientists who were also working in communication development, such as Bell, Ames, Walton, Mitchell and Millikan. This collection consists of twelve boxes and seven packages of manuscript material arranged in fifteen series: Series 1) Correspondence, Official and Personal, 1893-1898, 1911-1945; Series 2) Speeches and Addresses, 1924-1934; Series 3) Legal Documents, 1876-1956; Series 4) Invitations, 1916-1937; Series 5) Notebooks by Squier, 1885-1934; Series 6) Publications by Squier, 1893-1933; Series 7) Publications, 1892-1935; Series 8) Periodicals, 1895-1953; Series 9) Paintings, undated; Series 10) Photographs, 1883-1936; Series 11) Documents, 1833, 1837, 1912-1941; Series 12) Scrapbooks, 1918-1933; Series 13) News Clippings, 1899-1958; Series 14) Souvenirs, undated; Series 15) Tape Recordings, 1961.

3 of 14 SERIES ONE: CORRESPONDENCE, OFFICIAL AND PERSONAL, 1893-1898, 1911- 1945, consists of five hard bound books which contain official records of Squier's special orders plus copies of both his military orders and official letters to and by Squier. Also included are personal letters relative to both his duties in the service and to his private interests. SERIES TWO: SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES, 1924-1934, is a folder of copies of speech material most of which relates to the application of communication engineering to the military. SERIES THREE: LEGAL DOCUMENTS, 1876-1956, is an assortment of Squier's legal papers dealing with patents for electrical circuits, contracts, wills, and letters relative to the same. SERIES FOUR: INVITATIONS, 1916-1937, is a folder of a collection of invitations to social events, dinners, dances, parties, discussions, and visits as given to and for Squier. SERIES FIVE: NOTEBOOKS BY SQUIER, 1885-1934, is a collection of ten notebooks which relate to his studies at the U.S. Military Academy, his research while on duty with the Signal Corps, records of his personal activities, notes relative to his assignment in laying the Trans•Pacific cable and mathematical calculations relative to his work in engineering communications. SERIES SIX: PUBLICATIONS BY SQUIER, 1893-1933, is a collection of twenty articles written by Squier. All of these publications are concerned with the science of communications and most of them are to show the application of Squier's scientific knowledge to the military units and for special use by the artillery and aeronautics. The publications are calendared in the Arrangement and Description section of this Manuscript Record. SERIES SEVEN: PUBLICATIONS, 1892-1935, consists of three folders which contain published information relative to the scientific discipline which Squier was researching and about which he wrote. The second folder is a collection of issues of Science Abstracts, which date between 1914 and 1932 and have scientific information relative to telegraphy. Other items included in this series are writings about Squier and his accomplishments in the science of communication. The publications are calendared in the Arrangement and Description section of this Manuscript Record. SERIES EIGHT: PERIODICALS, 1895-1953, is a collection of twenty-five magazines and periodicals some of which pertain to Squier's work in aeronautics and communications. The periodicals are calendared within the Arrangement and Description section of this Manuscript Record. SERIES NINE: PAINTINGS, UNDATED, consists of an album which contains 4” x 6” Chinese oil paintings on rice paper. Also included in the album are Chinese postage stamps which depict the type aircraft which were being flown during World War I.

4 of 14 SERIES TEN: PHOTOGRAPHS, 1883-1936, consists of two packages and seven folders of photographs. Three photo albums contain both military and private-life photographs and records of Squier's accomplishments and interests from the time he entered the U.S. Military Academy as a cadet to his retirement years. The first album contains photographs of Squier's property and friends at Dryden, Michigan, Squier as a cadet in 1883, his place of duty assignment, San Antonio, Texas, as well as gatherings of family and friends following his retirement. The second album relates to his cadet days of U.S. Military Academy and the military honors given him during and following his duty with the Signal Corps. The third album is a series of photographs of his duty stations while in the Signal Corps. This book contains both military and private-life photographs. Also included is a signed photograph of Thomas Edison, 1914. The majority of the photographs are uncaptioned. SERIES ELEVEN: DOCUMENTS, 1883, 1837, 1912-1941, consists of two packages of framed mounted documents signed by persons such as John J. Pershing, Herbert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge as well as documents to certify land registration in 1833 and 1837, a Gold Medal, Franklin Institute Award to Squier, 1912, and Squier's certificate of promotion to major general, 1916. SERIES TWELVE: SCRAPBOOKS, 1918-1933, is a package of 4 scrapbooks which contain photographs, letters, calling cards, poems and records of both Squier and his friends which are pertinent to his military and private life. Much of the material deals with his relatives and property in and near Dryden, Michigan. SERIES THIRTEEN: NEWS CLIPPINGS, 1899-1958, is an assortment of references to Squier's scientific and military accomplishments as well as his service to his friends following his retirement from the military. Much of the records are relative to his contributions which were made to the communication field in telegraphy and telephony. In addition to his military and research activities, Squier contributed much time and money to the establishment of "a country club for country people" in his native city of Dryden, Michigan. Later clippings relate to the continued development of the country club at Dryden and dedications of memorials to Squier. SERIES FOURTEEN: SOUVENIRS, UNDATED, is an assortment of items saved by Squier. Contained in one box are a Chinese purse, fan, dishes, shell necklace, and Chinese prayer-sticks as well as a small booklet of Japanese Fairy Tales. SERIES FIFTEEN: TAPE-RECORDINGS, 1961, consists of two thirty-minute tapes which relate to the letters, documents, photographs, certificates and other written material contained within this collection. The recording was taped in 1961 (narrator unknown) to explain the type of material in the Squier collection and to relate that there are similar materials concerning Squier in the Michigan Historical Society, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

ARRANGEMENT AND DESCRIPTION 5 of 14 SERIES ONE CORRESPONDENCE, OFFICIAL AND PERSONAL, 1893-1898, 1911-1945 BOX ONE Official Volume 1 1893. Volume 2 1894. Volume 3 1896. BOX TWO Official Volume 1 1896. Volume 2 1898. BOX THREE Personal Volume 1 1933. Folder 2 1911-1945. Folder 2 Undated.

SERIES TWO SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES, 1924-1934 BOX FOUR Folder 1 1924-1934.

SERIES THREE LEGAL DOCUMENTS, 1876-1956 BOX FOUR Folder 2 1876-1956.

SERIES FOUR INVITATIONS, 1916-1937 BOX FOUR Folder 3 1916-1937

SERIES FIVE NOTEBOOKS BY SQUIER, 1885-1934 BOX FOUR 6 of 14 Volume 1 1885, Literary. Volume 2 1886, Private. Volume 3 1890, Chemistry. Volume 4 1892, Light. BOX FIVE Volume 1 1894, Problem. Volume 2 1902, Trans-Pacific Cable. Volume 3 1904, Private. Volume 4 1919, International Communications Conference. Volume 5 1932, Notes by Squier. Volume 6 1934, Notes by Squier.

SERIES SIX PUBLICATIONS BY SQUIER, 1893-1933 BOX SIX Folder 1 1893-1900. "Electro-chemical effects due to magnetization," reprinted from the American Journal of Science, 1893. "Note on a photographic method of determining the complete motion of a gun during recoil," reprinted from the Journal of the United States Artillery, Vol. IV, No. 4, 1895. "Experiments with a new polarizing photo-chronograph as applied to the measurement of the velocity of projectiles," reprinted from the Physical Review, Vol. III, No. 13, July-August, 1895. "The new polarizing photo-chronograph at the United States Artillery School, Fort Monroe, VA, and some experiments with it," reprinted from the Journal of the United States Artillery, Vol. VI, No. 3, 1896. "Experiments with a new polarizing photo-chronograph as applied to the measurement of the velocity of projectiles," reprinted from the Physical Review, Vol. III, No. 13, July-August, 1895. "Discussion of the currents in the branches of a wheat•stone's bridge, where each branch contains resistance and inductance, and there is an 7 of 14 harmonic impressed electromotive force," reprinted from the London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine, March, 1897. "Le synchronographe nouvelle methode de transmission rapide de nouvelles par le courant alternatif," presente au Congres Postal International, Washington, D.C., Mai 1897. "Tests of the synchronograph on the telegraph lines of the British government," printed from the Journal of the Franklin Institute, Vol. CXLV, 1898. "A horizontal-base range and position finder for coast artillery," reprinted from the Journal of the United States Artillery, Vol. X, No. 3, 1899. "A practical transmitter using the sine wave for cable telegraphy, and measurements with alternating currents upon an Atlantic cable," reprinted from the Transactions, 1900. Folder 2 1906-1919. "Team-work in war," reprinted from U.S. Cavalry Journal, July, 1906. "The present status of military aeronautics," reprint from The Journal, The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1908. "Multiplex telephony and telegraphy by means of electric waves guided by wires," presented at a meeting of the Technical Conference Army Signal School, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, April 19, 1911. "Electrical methods of intercommunication for military purposes," reprinted from the Journal of the Franklin Institute, December, 1911. "Some experiments in "wired wireless" telegraphy for field lines of information for military purposes," (publisher unknown). "On an unbroken alternating current for cable telegraphy," reprinted from the Proceedings of the Physical Society of London, Vol. XXVII, Part V, August 15, 1915. “Aeronautics in the United States at the signing of the armistice, November 11, 1918," an address before the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, January 10, 1919. Folder 3 1919-1933. "Multiplex telephony and telegraphy by means of electric waves guided by wires," Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1919. 8 of 14 "Tree telephony and telegraphy," reprinted from the Journal of the Franklin Institute, June, 1919. "Multiplex telephony and telegraphy over open-circuit bare wires laid in the earth or sea," reprinted from the Journal of the Franklin Institute, June, 1920. Telling the World, the Williams and Wilkins Company in cooperation with the Century of Progress Exposition, 1933.

SERIES SEVEN PUBLICATIONS, 1892-1935 BOX SEVEN Folder 1 "Graphic tables of fire," 1st Lieutenant Garland N. Whistler, 5th Artillery, Artillery circular C, June 23, 1892. Adjutant General's Office, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1892. "The physical influence of elements on iron," J.O. Arnold; "The results of heat treatment on manganese steel and their bearing upon carbon steel," R.A. Hadfield, reprinted from the Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, 1894. "Experimental use of the essick page printing telegraph for transmitting information in sea coast artillery firing, 1895," H.C. Carbaugh, reprinted from the Journal of the United States Artillery," Vol. IV, No. 4, 1895. "On a certain class of functions analogous to the theta functions," Abraham Cohen, dissertation presented to the Board of University Studies of the Johns Hopkins University for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Baltimore, 1894. "Recent developments in vacuum tube lighting," D. McFarlan Moore, a paper to be presented at the 105th meeting of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, New York, April 22, 1896. "The decomposition of the feldspars," Allerton S. Cushman and Prevost Hubbard, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Public Roads, Bulletin No. 28, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1907. "Transactions of the illuminating engineering society," Vol. II, No. 6, June 1907, Illuminating Engineering Society, New York, 1907. The measurement of high temperatures, G.K. Burgess and H. LeChatelier, John Wiley and Sons, 1912, 3rd edition. 9 of 14 Folder 2 Science Abstracts, 1914-1932. Science Abstracts, Vol. 17, No. 194, Part 2, Feb 25, 1914. Science Abstracts, Vol. 17, No. 196, Part 4, April 27, 1914. Science Abstracts, Vol. 21, No. 244, Part 4, April 30, 1918. Science Abstracts, Vol. 21, No. 245, Part 5, May 31, 1918. Science Abstracts, Vol. 21, No. 247, Part 7, July 31, 1918. Science Abstracts, Vol. 21, No. 252, Part 12, Dec.31, 1918. Science Abstracts, Vol. 26, No. 306, Part 6, June 25, 1923. Science Abstracts, Vol. 26, No. 309, Part 9, Sep 25, 1923. Science Abstracts, Vol. 35, No. 409, Section A, Jan 1932. Folder 3 "A study of the dielectric strength of cables," Robert J. Wiseman; Abstract of a thesis submitted to the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts, 1915. "The homing pigeon, care and training for military purposes," prepared in the office of Chief Signal Officer, February 1920, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. "The earth's magnetic field for 1922," Louis A. Bauer, reprinted from Nature, August 25, 1923. "Some physical aspects of a recent analysis of the earth's magnetic field," Louis A. Bauer reprinted from Science, August 17, 1923, Vol. LVIII, No. 1494. "On the nature of atmospherics," R.A.W. Watt and E.V. Appleton, reprinted from Proceedings of the Royal Society, A. Vol. 103, 1923. "Joining the infra-red and electric wave spectra," E.F. Nichols and J.O. Tear reprinted from the Physical Review, Vol. 21, No. 6, June, 1923. "Short electric waves," E.F. Nichols and J.D. Tear, reprinted from the Physical Review, Vol. 21, No. 6, June 1923. "The optical constants of certain liquids for short electric waves," J.D. Tear, reprinted from the Physical Review, Vol. 21, No. 6, June 1923. "Applications of Heaviside expansion theorem," Louis Cohen, reprinted from the Journal of the Franklin Institute, March 1923. 10 of 14 "Electric filter circuits," Louis Cohen, reprinted from the Journal of the Franklin Institute, May 1923. "The status of women in the government service in 1925." Bulletin of the Women's Bureau, No. 53, U.S. Department of Labor, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1926. "Multiplex telegraphy and telephony," letter from the Secretary of Commerce, 69th Congress, 2nd Session, Document No. 172, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1926. "The search for security," Nicholas Murray Butler, address delivered in the Hall of Parliament, Budapest, Hungary, June 16, 1931. "The republican form of government," Nicholas Murray Butler, an address delivered in the Hall of Parliament, Vienna, Austria, June 22, 1931. "Some interpretations and conclusions of the land-grant radio survey," Tracy Ferris Tyler, National Committee on Education by Radio, Washington, D.C., 1933. Report of the United States National Museum, 1935. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

SERIES EIGHT PERIODICALS, 1895-1953 BOX EIGHT Folder 1 1895-1908. Munsey, October 1895. Munsey, Vol. LXX, No. 3, August 1920. In and Around Salt Lake City, Frank S. Thayer, Denver, Colorado, 1900. Human Life, Vol. l, No. l, June 1904. Putnam's Monthly, Vol. II, No. 2, May 1907. Journal of the U.S. Cavalry Association, Vol. XVIII, No. 66, October 1907. Journal of the U.S. Cavalry Association, Vol. XVIII, No. 67, January 1908. Folder 2 Raernaekers Cartoons, Empire House, Kingway, London, February 1916. 11 of 14 Scraps of Paper: German Proclamations in Belgium and France, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1916. World's Work, Vol. XXXIII, No. 3, January 1917. World's Work, Vol. XXXIV, No. 3, July 1917. Popular Radio, Vol. II, No. 2, October 1922. Popular Radio, Vol. III, No. 2, February 1923. Detroit Motor News, Vol. 6, No. 3, September 1923. Radio Electricite, Vol. IV, No. 10, 1923. Folder 3 Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 138, No. 2, August 1926. Forbes, Vol. XXI, No. 5, March 1928. 23rd Annual Report of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, December 1928. Nation's Business, Vol. 17, No. 1, January 1929. Natural History, Vol. XXXIII, No. 1, January-February 1933. National Geographic Magazine, Vol. CIV, No. 6, December 1953. Package 1 1916-1930. Oversize (with collection) The Graphic, February 1916-September 1916. The Illustrated London News, January-December 1916. Country Gentleman, June 1930.

SERIES NINE PAINTINGS, UNDATED BOX NINE Folder 1 Album 1, Chinese, oil on rice paper, undated.

SERIES TEN PHOTOGRAPHS, 1883-1936 BOX NINE Folder 2 Album 1, 1883-1936. 12 of 14 Folder 3 Album 2, 1883-1930. Folder 4 Album 3, 1922-1935. Package 2 Framed photos, 1914-1923. Oversize (with collection) Aeronautical Society of American, dinner, 28 Nov 1916. Squier family reunion, 16 July 1924. Squier family, August 1925. Sumner home of Gen. Squier, Dryden, Michigan. Albert Kahn, November 13, 1933. George O. Squier, December 1933. Birthday roses, March 1923. Thomas Edison, autographed, 29 Jan 1914. Package 3 Framed photos, 1911-1921. Photo W.W.I aviator, unidentified, 16 May 1917. Office of the Chief Signal Officer Maneuver Division San Antonio, Texas, July 1911. Retirement dinner, Squier, Washington, D.C., December 1923. Unidentified gentlemen, 1921. General George Gibbs, 1919. Cableship Burnside, 1902. BOX TEN Folder 1 Squier family and friends, undated. Folder 2 Fort McHenry, Maryland, undated. Folder 3 European photologs, undated. Folder 4 West Point, Signal Corps, and Family, 1888-1933.

SERIES ELEVEN DOCUMENTS, 1833; 1837; 1912-1941 Package 4 1921-1941. 13 of 14 Letter, Calvin Coolidge to Squier, 27 June 1931. Letter, John J. Pershing to Ira Parker, 1 February 1921. Letter, Herbert Hoover to Squier, 14 November 1925. Letter, Dawson Olmstead to James A. Purcell, 7 February 1941. Certificate: membership of Squier in National Aeronautic Association, 18 March 1929. "The Radio Dozen," definition of terms, 10 March 1933. Package 5 1833, 1837, 1912, 1916. Oversize Certificate of Land Registration #6027, 8 June 1833, Macomb County, Michigan Territory Land Office of Detroit. Michigan Territory Land Office of Detroit #16654, 1 May 1837. Certificate, Franklin Institute Award, Elliott Cresson Gold Medal to Squier, 5 June 1912, for Invention in Multiplex Telephony. Certificate, Promotion to Major General Squier, 6 Oct 1916, signed by Woodrow Wilson. Certificate, Appointment of Squier to Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, 29 May 1916.

SERIES TWELVE SCRAPBOOKS, 1918-1933 Package 6 1918-1933. Oversize Package 6A (with collection). Package 6B (with collection).

SERIES THIRTEEN NEWS CLIPPINGS, 1899-1958 Package 7 1899-1958. Oversize Package 7A Newspapers (with collection). Package 7B News clippings, Masonic pins (with collection). 14 of 14

SERIES FOURTEEN SOUVENIRS, UNDATED BOX ELEVEN Purse, needlepoint. Fan, ivory, from India. Necklace, shell. Dishes, China 2 each, hand-painted. 1 each, Chinese plate. 1 each, Austrian plate. Prayer-sticks, Chinese. Booklet, Japanese Fairy Tale Series #13.

SERIES FIFTEEN TAPE RECORDINGS, 1961 BOX TWELVE Folder 1 1961.