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Papers of Vannevar Bush Vannevar Bush A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress Prepared by Carolyn Sung Revised and expanded by Allan J. Teichroew Manuscript Division, Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 1985 Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html Text converted and initial EAD tagging provided by Apex Data Services, 1999 January; encoding completed by Manuscript Division, 1999 2004-12-01 converted from EAD 1.0 to EAD 2002 Collection Summary Title: Papers of Vannevar Bush Span Dates: 1901-1974 Bulk Dates: (bulk 1932-1955) ID No.: MSS14498 Creator: Bush, Vannevar, 1890-1974 Extent: 55,000 items; 174 containers; 69.6 linear feet Language: Collection material in English Repository: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Abstract: Physicist, engineer, government official, and science administrator. The collection relates primarily to Vannevar Bush's role as coordinator of the scientific community for defense efforts during and after World War II when he served as chairman of the National Defense Research Committee and director of its successor, the Office of Scientific Research and Development, where he supervised the Manhattan Project and other programs. Selected Search Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein. Names: Bush, Vannevar, 1890-1974 Acheson, Dean, 1893-1971--Correspondence Arnold, Henry Harley, 1886-1950--Correspondence Bradley, Omar Nelson, 1893-1981--Correspondence Bohr, Niels Henrik David, 1885-1962--Correspondence Choate, Robert A., 1912- --Correspondence Compton, K. T. (Karl Taylor), 1887-1954--Correspondence Conant, James Bryant, 1893-1978--Correspondence Dewey, Bradley, 1887-1974--Correspondence Dollard, Charles, 1907-1977--Correspondence Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969--Correspondence Forrestal, James, 1892-1949--Correspondence Garth, W. W.--Correspondence Haskins, Caryl Parker, 1908- --Correspondence Josephs, D. C. (Devereux Colt), 1893-1977--Correspondence Killian, James Rhyne, 1904- --Correspondence Leffingwell, R. C. (Russell Cornell), 1878-1960--Correspondence Lilienthal, David Eli, 1899-1981--Correspondence Magoan, F. Alexander--Correspondence McCarthy, Joseph, 1908-1957 Patterson, Robert Porter, 1891-1952--Correspondence Price, Don Krasher--Correspondence Proctor, Redfield, 1831-1908--Correspondence Putnam, Palmer Cosslett, 1900- --Correspondence Richards, Alfred N. (Alfred Newton), 1876-1966--Correspondence Root, Elihu, 1845-1937--Correspondence Ruebhausen, Oscar M.--Correspondence Rule, John T. (John Thomas)--Correspondence Schell, Orville J.--Correspondence Simon, Leslie Earl, 1900- --Correspondence Spaatz, Carl, 1891-1974--Correspondence Timble, W. H.--Correspondence Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972--Correspondence Papers of Vannevar Bush 2 Voorhees, Tracy S. (Tracy Stebbins), 1890-1974--Correspondence Weaver, Warren, 1894- --Correspondence Webster, Bethuel Matthew, 1900- --Correspondence Wilson, Carroll L.--Correspondence Wilson, Robert E. (Robert Erastus), 1893-1964--Correspondence American Telephone and Telegraph Company Brookings Institution Carnegie Institution of Washington Franklin Institute (Philadelphia, Pa.) Johns Hopkins University Manhattan Project (U.S.) Massachusetts Institute of Technology Merck & Co. Metals & Controls Corporation National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) National Research Council (U.S.) National Science Foundation (U.S.) Smithsonian Institution Tufts University United States. Council of National Defense. National Defense Research Committee United States. Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint Commission on New Weapons and Equipment United States. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics United States. Office of Scientific Research and Development United States. Patent Office Subjects: Cold War--Technology Loyalty-security program, 1947- Nuclear energy--Government policy Nuclear energy--Research--International cooperation Science--History--20th century Science and state World War, 1939-1945--Science World War, 1939-1945--Technology Soviet Union--Foreign relations--United States United States--Foreign relations--Soviet Union Occupations: Engineers Physicists Public officials Science administrators Administrative Information Provenance: The papers of Vannevar Bush, engineer, scientist, administrator, and government official, were donated to the Library of Congress by Bush in 1967. Small additions were donated by Lee Anna Embrey in 1970 and 1975. Processing History: The papers of Vannevar Bush were initially arranged and described in 1968. Material received between 1970 and 1975 was added and the collection further described in 1978 and 1985. Papers of Vannevar Bush 3 Copyright Status: Copyright in the unpublished writings of Vannevar Bush in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public. Preferred Citation: Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Vannevar Bush Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Biographical Note Date Event 1890, Mar. 11 Born, Everett, Mass. 1913 Graduated, Tufts College, Medford, Mass. 1916 Ph.D., engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, both in Cambridge, Mass. Married Phoebe Davis 1917 Consulting engineer, American Radio and Research Corp. 1919 Appointed associate professor of electrical power transmission, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. 1932-1938 Dean of engineering and vice president, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. 1939-1955 President, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C. 1940-1941 Chairman, National Defense Research Commission 1941 Awarded Edison Medal, American Institute of Electrical Engineers 1941-1947 Director, Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) 1942-1946 Chairman, Joint Commission on New Weapons and Equipment of Joint Chiefs of Staff 1946 Published Endless Horizons (Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs Press. 182 pp.) 1947 Awarded Hoover Medal, American Institute of Electrical Engineering 1947-1948 Chairman, Research and Development Board, National Military Establishment 1947-1962 Board member, American Telephone and Telegraph Co. 1949 Published Modern Arms and Free Men (New York: Simon and Schuster. 173 pp.) 1957-1959 Chairman, MIT Corp. 1957-1962 Chairman of the board, Merck and Co. 1974, June 28 Died, Belmont, Mass. Papers of Vannevar Bush 4 Scope and Content Note The papers of Vannevar Bush (1890-1974) span the years 1901-1974, with the bulk of the items concentrated in the period from 1932 to 1955. The collection consists of general correspondence, family papers, scientific papers, speeches and writings, subject files, and printed matter. It documents various phases of Bush's professional life as a physicist, engineer, and administrator of scientific research. Bush's strong advocacy of closer cooperation between scientists and the federal government during World War II led to his role as the principal mobilizer of American scientific and engineering talent in the wartime defense of the nation. His first national appointment was to the chairmanship of the National Defense Research Committee, an embryonic agency for weapons development which Bush proposed and which President Franklin D. Roosevelt inaugurated in 1940. One year later Bush assumed the directorship of a greatly expanded successor organization, the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD), where he supervised the Manhattan Project and a number of other programs. The primary series of Bush's papers is the general correspondence, which includes not only letters sent and received but also a wide variety of materials ranging from personal manuscripts and memoranda to organizational reports and minutes. Organized alphabetically by person, organization, and in some cases by subject, the general correspondence and enclosures cover the gamut of Bush's professional and avocational interests from the late 1930s through 1955. Illuminated are his various inventive probings (Bush was knowledgeable in areas as far afield as optics, medicine, ornithology, and zoology) and his puzzling over questions as seemingly unrelated as the uses of penicillin, the “homing instinct” of birds, and the development of a “rapid selector” for the retrieval of microfilm and tape recordings. Evident as well are his connections to businessmen, academic associates, and government officials who shared his enthusiasms or had an interest in their practical resolution and marketability. There is also information regarding his career as a teacher and dean at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the 1930s. The main focus of the correspondence, however, is on Bush's responsibilities as coordinator of the scientific community during and after World War II. Featured are the complexities and challenges of running the OSRD, but prominent as well are the activities of other governmental and quasi-governmental bodies whose tasks supplemented or continued OSRD policies through World War II and into the Cold War era. Included among the agencies which are represented in some detail are the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the Joint Committee on New Weapons and Equipment of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the National Science Foundation, the National Research Council, and the National
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