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The Paul C. Aebersold Papers, 1924-1970, consist of
twenty boxes occupying more than eight feet of shelf space and containing
biographical materials, correspondence, programs of conferences attended and/or
participated in, notes, photographs, memos, reports, proposals, itineraries,
lists of contacts,
minutes of committee meetings, news releases,
newspaper clippings, articles, and other writings by Dr. Aebersold, articles and
speeches by other scientists collected by Dr. Aebersold, and notes, outlines,
slide lists, abstracts, and texts of speeches given by Dr. Aebersold. These
papers document Dr. Aebersold's career fairly well from graduate student days to
Atomic Energy Commission officials. A considerable amount of additional
information should be available in the files of the Manhattan Project and the
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.Among the most important items in the papers are the 294 speeches and 100 articles and other writings by Dr. Aebersold, the 37 speeches and 180 articles he collected, and the 1200 newspaper clippings. The speeches and articles reflect the latest thinking and reveal the most recent developments in the peaceful uses of atomic energy. Since they were collected from areas throughout the world, they give a fairly broad picture of developments even though they represent only a minute portion of the literature available on the subject. Realizing the historical significance of the early activities of the Isotopes Branch and the use of isotopes in the immediate post war period, Dr. Aebersold began to collect clippings about isotopes in earnest in 1946. Unfortunately this extensive collecting lasted only until 1949. During these three years, however, there certainly are very few aspects of isotope production, distribution and use which are not mentioned in the clippings. Although most of the correspondence deals with commitments to speak before various groups or with attendance at numerous conferences, some of the early  letters prior to 1940 do record some of the thoughts and activities of Dr. Aebersold's early associates at the Radiation Laboratory at Berkeley. A large number of congratulatory letters in 1957, when Dr. Aebersold moved from Oak Ridge to Washington, serve as a measure of his stature in the atomic energy field throughout the United States as well as South America and parts of Europe.From time to time aspects of Dr. Aebersold's character and philosophy are revealed in rather unexpected areas. That he enjoyed a good story is shown in numerous handwritten notes and a few typed introductory remarks to speeches. Unfortunately, only in a few cases did he write out the whole story. Usually he only jotted a brief note to remind himself of a particular story. In speaking before the Knife and Fork Clubs of McAllen and Dallas, Texas on March 23 and November 16, 1948, Dr. Aebersold recalled his experiences in and reactions to the first atomic bomb test in New Mexico. These are about the only personal references to his wartime activities. The papers have been divided into the following seven categories: (1) General correspondence, (2) Speeches by Dr. Aebersold, (3) Speeches by other scientists, (4) Articles and other writings by Dr. Aebersold, (5) Articles by other scientists, (6) Newspaper clippings, and (7) Photographs. In each section, the materials have been arranged in chronological order. Since most of the speeches and articles describe recent discoveries or tell of recent developments in the peaceful use of atomic energy, we felt that arranging them in chronological order would give the papers a better historical perspective than would have been achieved by putting them in alphabetical order by author and/or title. |
ŠTHE CUSHING MEMORIAL LIBRARY OF TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
