Glenn Theodore Seaborg A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress Prepared by Margaret McAleer and Edward Green, Jr., with the assistance of Paul Colton, Alys Glaze, John Monagle, Susie Moody, Kathryn Sukites, and Chanté Wilson Manuscript Division, Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 2000 Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division, 2006 Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms006039 Collection Summary Title: Papers of Glenn Theodore Seaborg Span Dates: 1866-1999 Bulk Dates: (bulk 1940-1998) ID No.: MSS78514 Creator: Seaborg, Glenn Theodore, 1912-1999 Extent: 370,000 items; 1,015 containers plus 1 oversize plus 4 classified; 407.4 linear feet; 13 microfilm reels Language: Collection material in English Repository: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Abstract: Nuclear chemist, public official, and educator. Journals, correspondence, memoranda, minutes, reports, telephone and appointment logs, scientific research, speeches, writings, photographs, biographical material, newspaper clippings, and other printed matter documenting Seaborg's work as a nuclear chemist who codiscovered numerous chemical elements, as a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, California, and as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission from 1961 to 1971. 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: Seaborg, Glenn Theodore, 1912- Compton, Arthur Holly, 1892-1962--Correspondence Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969--Correspondence Gol'danskiĭ, V. I. (Vitaliĭ Iosifovich)--Correspondence Groves, Leslie R., 1896-1970--Correspondence Holifield, Chet, 1903- --Correspondence Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973--Correspondence Joliot-Curie, Frédéric--Correspondence Joliot-Curie, Irène, 1897-1956--Correspondence Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963--Correspondence Lawrence, Ernest Orlando, 1901-1958--Correspondence McMillan, Edwin M. (Edwin Mattison), 1907- Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967--Correspondence Perlman, Isadore--Correspondence Petros'iants, A. M. (Andranik Melkonovich),1906- --Correspondence Segrè, Emilio--Correspondence Stevenson, Adlai E. (Adlai Ewing), 1900-1965--Correspondence Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972--Correspondence Seaburg family. United States. Office of Scientific Research and Development. Metallurgical Laboratory United States. President's Science Advisory Committee Atomic Scientists of Chicago Chemical Education Material Study International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Lawrence Hall of Science Manhattan Project (U.S.) U.S. Atomic Energy Commission--Officials and employees U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. General Advisory Committee University of California, Berkeley--Faculty University of California, Berkeley. Dept. of Chemistry Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (1996) Papers of Glenn Theodore Seaborg 2 Subjects: Chemical elements Educational change--United States Intellectual property Nobel Prizes Nuclear arms control Nuclear chemistry--United States Nuclear energy--Government policy--United States Nuclear energy--International cooperation Nuclear medicine Nuclear physics--History Nuclear physics--Research--Moral and ethical aspects Nuclear physics--Research--Political aspects Nuclear physics--Research--Social aspects Nuclear physics--Study and teaching Nuclear weapons--Government policy--United States Nuclear weapons--Research--United States Plutonium Plutonium--Storage--United States Radioactive waste disposal Science--Soviet Union--International cooperation Science--United States--International cooperation Science projects--Competitions--United States Seaborgium Transuranium elements Transuranium elements--Nomenclature Westinghouse Science Talent Search Occupations: Educators Public officials Scientists Administrative Information Provenance: The papers of Glenn Theodore Seaborg, nuclear chemist, public official, and educator, were given to the Library of Congress by Seaborg and his estate between 1989 and 1999. Processing History: A description of the Seaborg Papers appears in Library of Congress Acquisitions: Manuscript Division, 1989, pp. 29-32. Transfers: Audio recordings and a videotape have been transferred to the Library's Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division where they are identified as part of these papers. Copyright Status: Copyright in the unpublished writings of Glenn Theodore Seaborg in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public. Papers of Glenn Theodore Seaborg 3 Security Classified Documents: Government regulations control the use of security classified material in this collection. Manuscript Division staff can furnish information concerning access to and use of classified items. Microfilm: A microfilm edition of part of these papers is available on thirteen reels. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. Preferred Citation: Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Glenn Theodore Seaborg Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Biographical Note Date Event 1912, Apr. 19 Born, Ishpeming, Mich. 1934 A.B., University of California, Los Angeles, Calif. 1937 Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, Calif. 1940-1974 Codiscovered numerous atomic elements including plutonium (1940), curium (1944), americium (1944-1945), berkelium (1949), californium (1950), eisensteinium (1952), fermium (1953), mendelevium (1955), nobelium (1958), and seaborgium (1974) 1941-1971 Assistant professor and professor, Chemistry Department, University of California, Berkeley, Calif. 1942-1946 Section chief in charge of plutonium chemistry, Manhattan Project, Metallurgical Laboratory, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill. 1944 Developed the actinide concept of heavy element electronic structure 1945 Signed report written by James Franck urging the United States not to drop the atomic bomb on Japan Inadvertently announced the recent discovery of two new chemical elements on “Quiz Kids” radio program 1946-1950 Member, General Advisory Committee, Atomic Energy Commission 1950-1955 Consultant, Technical Advisory Panel on Atomic Energy, Defense Department Research and Development Board 1951 Awarded with Edwin M. McMillan Nobel Prize in chemistry for the discovery of plutonium 1953-1958 Faculty athletic representative, Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 1954-1961 Associate director, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif. 1957 Published with Joseph J. Katz The Chemistry of the Actinide Elements (New York: John Wiley and Sons. 508 pp.) 1958-1961 Chancellor, University of California, Berkeley, Calif. Papers of Glenn Theodore Seaborg 4 1959-1961 Member, President's Science Advisory Committee 1959-1974 Chairman, Chemical Education Material (CHEMStudy) Steering Committee 1960-1961 Member, National Science Board, National Science Foundation 1961-1971 Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission 1963 Chairman, United States delegation for signing the “Memorandum on Cooperation in the Field of Utilization of Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes,” Moscow, USSR Member, United States delegation for signing the Limited Test Ban Treaty, Moscow, USSR 1964 Chairman, United States delegation, Third United Nations International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, Geneva, Switzerland 1971 Appointed university professor, Chemistry Department, University of California, Berkeley, Calif. President, Fourth United Nations International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, Geneva, Switzerland Published with William R. Corliss Man and Atom: Building a New World through Nuclear Technology (New York: E. P. Dutton & Co. 411 pp.) 1972 President, American Association for the Advancement of Science 1976 President, American Chemical Society 1981 Published with Benjamin S. Loeb Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Test Ban (Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press. 320 pp.) 1981-1983 Member, National Commission on Excellence in Education 1982-1998 Cofounder, director, and chairman, Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley, Calif. 1987 Published with Benjamin S. Loeb Stemming the Tide: Arms Control in the Johnson Years (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books. 495 pp.) 1993 Published with Benjamin S. Loeb The Atomic Energy Commission under Nixon: Adjusting to Troubled Times (New York: St. Martin's Press. 268 pp.) 1994 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemisty approved the name “seaborgium” for atomic element 106 1998 Published A Chemist in the White House: From the Manhattan Project to the End of the Cold War (Washington, D.C.: American Chemical Society. 341 pp.) 1999, Feb. 25 Died, Lafayette, Calif. Scope and Content Note The papers of Glenn Theodore Seaborg (1912-1999) span the years 1866-1999, with the bulk of the material dating between 1940 and 1998. The collection documents Seaborg's career as a nuclear chemist, which included the discovery of plutonium Papers of Glenn Theodore Seaborg 5 in 1940, and as a public official who shaped United States nuclear policy as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) from 1961 to 1971.