http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8xp784j No online items Charles Houston Papers Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Copyright 2014 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla 92093-0175 [email protected] URL: http://libraries.ucsd.edu/collections/sca/index.html Charles Houston Papers MSS 0716 1 Descriptive Summary Languages: English Contributing Institution: Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla 92093-0175 Title: Charles Houston Papers Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0716 Physical Description: 37 Linear feet(72 archives boxes, 6 record cartons, 2 card file boxes, and 1 flat box) Date (inclusive): 1906 - 2009 Abstract: The papers of Charles Houston, high altitude researcher and mountaineer, document his medical and high altitude expedition career from 1945-2009. The materials include correspondence, research from the Operation Everest I and II, high altitude medical research investigations, Peace Corps materials, writings, photographs and audiovisual materials. Biography Charles Snead Houston, born in 1913 in New York, was an American physician, mountaineer, high-altitude investigator, and former Peace Corps administrator. He was educated at Harvard University and earned a Doctor of Medicine from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Houston practiced internal medicine in Exeter, New Hampshire and Aspen, Colorado. Later, he joined the faculty at the University of Vermont as Professor of Medicine. He retired from the faculty in 1979. In 1936, Houston was a member of an expedition led by the British climber H.W. Tilman to the top of Nanda Devi in India, the highest mountain climbed at that time. In 1938, he led the first American Karakoram expedition to K2. In 1953, he organized an expedition return to K2 and although he did not reach the summit, his party mapped a route to the summit that was accomplished by the Italian team in 1954. Houston published K2, the Savage Mountain (1954) about the expedition. Houston began his study of the effects of high altitude as a naval flight surgeon in World War II. He was in charge of Operation Everest (1947) in which four subjects were taken to a simulated altitude of 8850 m over 34 days in a compression chamber. The studies demonstrated that acclimatization would allow pilots to fly unpressurized planes to altitudes of 15,000 feet and higher. Houston continued similar studies of human biological responses at extreme simulated altitudes in the high altitude chamber during Operation Everest II in 1985. From 1962 to 1965, Houston served as the first Country Director of the Peace Corps for India under the directorship of Robert Sargent Shriver. He was instrumental in developing the medical doctors' division within the Corps. Additionally during the 1960s, Houston was involved with early attempts to construct an artificial heart. Consequently his designs influenced the design of the Jarvik artificial heart. Even after his mountaineering days of climbing discontinued, Houston continued the investigation of altitude sickness and was the first to document high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). The culmination of his work was executed on the grant funded research study on Mount Logan in the Yukon territory in Canada. Houston was the director of the Arctic Institute on Mount Logan in 1968. Additionally, Houston was a major benefactor for establishing the Colorado Altitude Research Institute (CARI), now known as the Altitude Research Center. Under the leadership of Dr. Houston, the institute studied how hypoxia affects health and performance and included the largest survey performed in the United States into incidences of acute mountain sickness. Charles Houston died on September 27, 2009 in Burlington, Vermont. Scope and Content of Collection The papers of Charles Houston, high altitude physiology researcher and mountaineer, relate to the medical research and investigation of high altitude climates and illnesses. Notable portions of the collection are Houston's studies of high altitude simulated environments: Operation Everest I and II, Mount Logan High Altitude Physiology Study, and the Mount Washington study. Houston's research resulted in numerous published books, mountaineering accounts, and writings. The papers also include correspondence, materials related to other significant mountain expeditions, professional affiliations documents, additional grant and research projects, and biographical materials. A modest portion of the collection represents Houston's tenure as the first Country Director for Peace Corps for India, as lead medical teaching doctor. The collection also includes audio and visual recordings, and digital media. The papers are arranged in ten series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 3) PEACE CORPS OF INDIA, 4) HIGH ALTITUDE RESEARCH, 5) WRITINGS, 6) GRANTS AND RESEARCH, 7) LECTURES AND CONFERENCES, 8) PROFESSIONAL Charles Houston Papers MSS 0716 2 AFFILIATIONS, 9) IMAGES AND RECORDINGS, and 10) DIGITAL MEDIA. Publication Rights Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection. Acquisition Information Acquired 2009. Preferred Citation Charles Houston Papers, MSS 716. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego. OFF-SITE STORAGE COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. ALLOW ONE WEEK FOR RETRIEVAL OF MATERIALS. Restrictions Original audiovisual and digital media formats are restricted. Researchers may request user copies. Correspondence containing medical information in Boxes 19-20 and 71 is restricted until 2095. Processing Information A small selection of materials in the Charles Houston papers had significant water damage, therefore photocopy reproductions replace the originals in portions of the papers. Subjects and Indexing Terms Mountaineering -- Physiological aspects Altitude, Influence of Acclimatization Adaptation (Physiology) Houston, Charles S. -- Archives CORRESPONDENCE Scope and Content of Series Series 1) CORRESPONDENCE. Arranged in two subseries: A) General Correspondence and B) Altitude Illness Case Records. A) General Correspondence: Houston's incoming and outgoing correspondence with researchers in the fields of high altitude medicine and cardiology, family members, colleagues, and researchers. Arranged alphabetically by correspondent. B) Altitude Illness Case Records: Correspondence related to various studies in which Houston either participated or consulted. These letters contain medical information and are restricted until 2095. General Correspondence Box 1, Folder 1 Aarseth, Sverre 1980-1982 Box 1, Folder 2 Abrams, Herbert 1972-1973 Box 1, Folder 3 Adams, Connie 2005 Box 1, Folder 4 Ader, Robert 2001-2006 Box 1, Folder 5 Ahmed, Durie 2004-2005 Box 1, Folder 6 Alda, Alan 1977-1979 Box 1, Folder 7 Allman, William 1983 Box 1, Folder 8 Altman, Peter 1987 Box 1, Folder 9 Ament, Pat 1987-1989 Box 1, American Alpine Club 1973-2002 Folder 10-12 Box 1, Folder 13 Anantharamakrishnan, S. 1963-1964 Box 1, Folder 14 Anderson, Eric 1979-1984 Box 1, Folder 15 Anderson, J.R.L. 1979-1981 Box 1, Folder 16 Anderson, Lester 1980 Charles Houston Papers MSS 0716 3 CORRESPONDENCE General Correspondence Box 1, Folder 17 Anderson, Maxie 1981-1982 Box 1, Folder 18 Anholm, James 1979-1982 Box 1, Folder 19 Armstrong, E. (Army) 1983-2002 Box 1, Folder 20 Armstrong, Victoria 1983-1989 Box 1, Folder 21 Axelrod, Shirli 1979 Box 1, Folder 22 A - Miscellaneous Box 2, Folder 1 Babcock, Henry H. 1978-2002 Box 2, Folder 2 Backus, Verne 1988-1989 Box 2, Folder 3 Baekeland, Brooks 1988 Box 2, Folder 4 Bakewell, Anderson 1985-1986 Box 2, Folder 5 Bangs, Cameron 1976-1983 Box 2, Folder 6-7 Barry Family (Em, Anne, Helen) 1981-2002 Box 2, Folder 8 Bates, Robert 1995-2008 Box 2, Folder 9 Baume, Louis 1980-1984 Box 2, Folder 10 Beal, Chris 2004-2006 Box 2, Folder 11 Beal, Janet 2003-2006 Box 2, Folder 12 Becker, E. Lovell (Stretch) 1979-1981 Box 2, Folder 13 Belle, Aimee 1984-1989 Box 2, Folder 14 Benedict, Fabienne 1984-1988 Box 2, Folder 15 Berle, Beatrice 1988 Box 2, Folder 16 Bezruchka, Stephen 1983-2002 Box 2, Folder 17 Bishop, Barry 1988 Box 2, Folder 18 Bland, John 1962-1997 Box 2, Folder 19 Bligh, John 1981-1985 Box 2, Folder 20 Blount, Gilbert 1962-1975 Box 2, Folder 21 Blount, Rick 2003-2004 Box 2, Folder 22 Bogan, B.P. 1981-1983 Box 2, Folder 23 Bortz, Walter 1984 Box 69, Folder 1 Bourne, Chris 1979 Box 2, Folder 24 Bowman, Warren D. 1982-1988 Box 2, Folder 25 Boyle, John 1982-1988 Box 3, Folder 1 Bragdon, Pete 1961-2006 Box 3, Folder 2 Brandes, Gertrud 1999 Box 3, Folder 3 Britton, John 1989 Box 69, Folder 2 Brown, Thomas Graham 1935-1936 Box 3, Folder 4 Bruce, Jeanette 1976-1977 Box 3, Folder 5 Buhler, Carlos 1983-2002 Box 3, Folder 6 Buick, Fred 1982 Box 3, Folder 7 Burack, Nelson 1986 Box 3, Folder 8 Burchell, Howard B. 1981-1984 Box 3, Folder 9 Burki, Dius 1993 Box 3, Folder 10 Burlington Free Press 1977-2003 Box 3, Folder 11 Burns, Barry 1980-1983 Box 3, B - Miscellaneous Folder 12-14 Box 69, Folder 3-4 B - Miscellaneous Box 4, Folder 1 Carroll, Steve 1983 Box 4, Folder 2 Carter, H. Adams 1970-1980 Box 4, Folder 3 Castle, Frank 1988 Box 4, Folder 4 Child, Marilyn 1976-2002 Box 4, Folder 5 Clarke, Charles 1975-1983 Box 4, Folder 6 Clinch, Nicholas B. 1981-2002 Box 69, Folder 5 Coburn, Broughton 1997 Box 69, Folder 6 Colorado Rocky Mountain School 1973-1975 Box 4, Folder 7 Comlay, Bob 2001-2002 Box 4, Folder 8 Conrad, Richard J. 2000-2001 Box 4, Folder 9 Costelle, Daniel 1979-1981 Box 4, Folder 10 Cowles, Elizabeth 1950 Charles Houston Papers MSS 0716 4 CORRESPONDENCE General Correspondence Box 4, Folder 11 Crawford, Ian 1972 Box 4, Folder 12 Cross, Leroy 1974-1975 Box 4, Folder 13 Crouch, Dee 1963-1980 Box 4, Folder 14 Cudabeck, David 1982-1983 Box 69, Folder 7 Cummings, Peter 1979-1981 Box 4, Folder 15 Cummings, Peter 1981-1989 Box 4, Folder 16 Cummings, Stanley 1979-1986 Box 4, Folder 17 Cuttler, Clive 1984-1988 Box 4, Folder 18 C - Miscellaneous Box 5, Folder 1 C - Miscellaneous Box 69, Folder 8 C - Miscellaneous Box 5, Folder 2 Darvill, Fred 1987-1988 Box 5, Folder 3 Daugen, Fred 1974-1975 Box 5, Folder 4 Davis, Deane 1972-1973 Box 5, Folder 5 Davis, H.E.