http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf0q2n985c No online items Guide to the Raymond Thayer Birge Papers, 1909-1969 Processed by The Bancroft Library staff The Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California, 94720-6000 Phone: (510) 642-6481 Fax: (510) 642-7589 Email: [email protected] URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu © 1998 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Note Physical Sciences --PhysicsHistory --History, University of California --History, UC Berkeley Guide to the Raymond Thayer BANC MSS 73/79 c 1 Birge Papers, 1909-1969 Guide to the Raymond Thayer Birge Papers, 1909-1969 Collection number: BANC MSS 73/79 c The Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California Contact Information: The Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California, 94720-6000 Phone: (510) 642-6481 Fax: (510) 642-7589 Email: [email protected] URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu Processed by: The Bancroft Library staff Encoded by: Charlotte Gerstein © 1998 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Collection Summary Collection Title: Raymond Thayer Birge Papers, Date (inclusive): 1909-1969 Collection Number: BANC MSS 73/79 c Creator: Birge, Raymond Thayer, 1887- Extent: Number of containers: 42 boxes, 25 cartons and 7 oversize foldersLinear feet: ca. 45.5 Repository: The Bancroft Library. Berkeley, California 94720-6000 Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog. Abstract: Letters written to him and copies of letters by him; manuscripts and reprints of his articles and papers; speeches; research data including notebooks; lecture notes, course descriptions, exams and other University-related material; papers (minutes of meetings, programs, etc.) relating to professional organizations, including American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Institute of Physics, American Physical Society and National Academy of Sciences. Covers his research on band spectra and physical constants as well as his academic career. Languages Represented: English Access Collection is open for research. Publication Rights Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft Guide to the Raymond Thayer BANC MSS 73/79 c 2 Birge Papers, 1909-1969 Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Raymond Thayer Birge Papers, BANC MSS 73/79 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. Biography Raymond Thayer Birge was born in Brooklyn, New York, March 13, 1887, to John Thaddeus and Caroline S. (Raymond) Birge. He attended high school in Troy, New York. From there he went to the University of Wisconsin where he obtained his A.B. in 1909, his A.M. in 1910 and his Ph.D. in 1914. His dissertation was on the photographing of the band spectrum of nitrogen and required a technique including careful measurement. In 1913 he accepted his first academic position, as instructor of physics at Syracuse University. In 1915 he was promoted to assistant professor. After the first World War the cost of living rose sharply and this, coupled with the threat of an increased teaching load leaving little or no time for research, inspired Birge to look for a position elsewhere. He greatly respected E. P. Lewis and knew of the well equipped spectroscopy laboratory at the University of California, and, when offered the position of instructor there in 1918, he readily accepted. In 1926 he was made professor of physics and by 1933 was chairman of the Department, a position he retained until his retirement. His research in spectroscopy led to several important contributions characterized by his style of rigorous and close attention to detail. He provided the original experimental verifications of quantum theory; discovered the carbon 13 isotope; predicted the existence of deuterium; and made a critical analysis and calculation of values of all general physical constants. His chairmanship of the Physics Department was characterized by an emphasis on research including the strengthening of the Department by attracting promising young men and giving them as much freedom to pursue research as possible. He retired in 1955 and, among other things, wrote a detailed history of the Physics Department and began a more intensive look at the scientific validity of certain psychic phenomena. Scope and Content The Birge collection came to The Bancroft Library in November 1972 as a gift of Professor Birge. Consisting of forty-one boxes (now 42) of correspondence and twenty-five cartons of related papers, with some material in oversize folders, it includes letters addressed to Birge; copies of letters written by him; reports; University notices; notes; minutes of meetings of University committees; research data; reprints of his writings; exams; news clippings; and publications. The papers cover a wide range of subject matter including his research on band spectra and physical constants; his membership in professional organizations; and his career as professor of physics and chairman of the Physics Department. Correspondence Boxes 1-30 Letters written to Birge Scope and Content Note Include letters from colleagues, family, friends, university administrators and organizations relating to his teaching career, to his research concerning band spectra and physical constants and to his chairmanship of the Physics Department. Arranged alphabetically. A partial list of correspondents follows the Key to Arrangement. Unlisted letters are arranged alphabetically in miscellanies preceding each letter of the alphabet. Boxes 31-41 Letters written by Birge, 1912-1966 Scope and Content Note Primarily carbon copies with occasional drafts. No letters for the years 1913-15. Arranged chronologically with undated letters at the end. Box 31 - 1912-1925 Box 32 - 1926-1929 Box 33 - 1930-September 1933 Box 34 - October 1933-May 1936 Box 35 - June 1936-1938 Box 36 - 1939-1941 Guide to the Raymond Thayer BANC MSS 73/79 c 3 Birge Papers, 1909-1969 Correspondence Box 37 - 1942-August 1945 Box 38 - September 1945-March 1949 Box 39 - April 1949-1953 Box 40 - 1954-1957 Box 41 - 1958-1966 & n.d. Box 42 3 legal-size folders removed from Boxes 13 and 15 - Hansel and Jevans materials. Material relating to the University of California Scope and Content Note This series includes notices, minutes, reports, news clippings, etc., relating to various committees, offices and departments, and to the University in general. Included also are form letters from Robert G. Sproul, Clark Kerr, Monroe E. Deutsch, various administrative officers and faculty members. Arranged as follows: Ctn. 1 Academic Salary Scales Academic Salary Scales; Other Universities Academic Senate, Northern Section Academic Senate, Northern Section; Committee on Memorial Resolutions Academic Senate, Northern Section; Meetings Academic Senate, Northern Section; Representative Assembly; Agenda Committee Academic Senate, Northern Section; Representative Assembly; Elections Academic Senate, Northern Section; Representative Assembly; meetings 1952-1957 (2 folders) Academic Senate, Southern Section Anti-Communism (News clippings) Appointment Committee Association of American Universities Meeting, November 1938 Budget Butler Report, Committee on, November 1937 Calendar Committee; Calendars 1945-1960 (11 folders) Calendar Committee; Calendars of Other Universities (compiled Feb. 1954) Calendar Committee; Memoranda by Birge Calendar Committee; Miscellaneous Calendar Committee; Quarter System Chancellor's Advisory Administrative Council College of Engineering; Committee on Curriculum College of Engineering; Executive Committee College of Letters and Science College of Letters and Science; Committee for Recommendations for Dean, 1943 College of Letters and Science; Foreign Language Requirement College of Letters and Science; Natural Science Committee College of Letters and Science; Proposed Revision of Curriculum College of Letters and Science; Reorganization 1954-August 1957 College of Letters and Science; Reorganization September 1957-1960 Commencement Conference on Post-War Problems of the University, November 3-5, 1944 Custodian's Strike, 1950 Dean of College of Engineering and Mining, Committee for Recommendations Dept. of Mathematics Dept. of Mathematics; Statistical Laboratory Distinguished Teaching Awards Distribution of New Undergraduates Editorial Committee Educational Policy, Committee on (Northern Section) Educational Policy, Committee on (Southern Section) Examinations, Conduct of Faculty Bulletin Index Faculty Club Faculty Research Lecture Guide to the Raymond Thayer BANC MSS 73/79 c 4 Birge Papers, 1909-1969 Material relating to the University of California The General Library 1930-1962 (2 folders) Ctn. 2 The General Library; Physics Branch Library Graduate Council; Administrative Committee Graduate Council; Funds for Fellowships Committee Graduate Division Graduate Fellowships, Committee on Graduate Students Association Gugenheim Foundation Fellowships Honorary Degrees, Committee on Hospitalization (Group Insurance) Institute for Basic Research in Science Laboratory Safety Committee Lawrence