Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm82038471
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of William Walden Rubey, geologist and educator, were given to the Library in 1974 by Mrs. Susan M. Rubey. A small addition was received by bequest of the Rubey estate in 1976.
The papers of William Walden Rubey were arranged and described in 1992 by Kathleen M. Dondanville with the assistance of Sherralyn F. McCoy. The finding aid was revised by Michael W. Giese in 2004.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of William Walden Rubey is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, William Walden Rubey Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of William Walden Rubey (1898-1974) span the years 1915-1974, with the bulk of the items concentrated in the period 1951-1971. The collection primarily documents Rubey's career with the United States Geological Survey, his consultant work on various geological projects, and his activities as a member of professional, scientific and educational organizations. Also included are materials relating to Rubey's technical speeches and writings in the earth sciences field. The collection is divided into the following series: General Correspondence , Speeches and Writings , Subject File , and Oversize .
The General Correspondence series, 1921-1974, primarily contains incoming and outgoing correspondence between Rubey and associates involved in the earth science fields. Much of the earlier correspondence relates to his work as a geologist for the United States Geological Survey and includes letters written and received while Rubey was performing geological field work in areas of the Midwest, Southwest, the northern Great Plains, and the northern Rocky Mountains. Later correspondence primarily pertains to his involvement with numerous scientific and educational associations and his interest in the research and writings of colleagues.
The Speeches and Writings series, 1923-1974, is mostly comprised of research notes, drafts, correspondence, final copies, printed versions, and other related materials pertaining to Rubey's articles, book reviews and introductions, speeches, and reports. Research notes in this series are highly technical and often contain complex mathematical and scientific formulations. The series features many of Rubey's ground-breaking articles, along with related correspondence, illustrative materials, and research notes. Included are materials pertaining to such seminal works as “The Geologic History of Sea Water,” “The Development of the Hydrosphere and Atmosphere,” and the controversial “Role of Fluid Pressure in the Mechanics of Overthrust Faulting.” Co-authored with M. King Hubbert, the latter article was the cause of much dissension in the geological field. Letters from colleagues in this file primarily pertain to the validity of Rubey and Hubbert's fluid pressure hypothesis. The authors' replies to published discussions and critiques of their theory are also found in this series.
The Subject File , 1915-1974, is comprised of correspondence, memoranda, reports, newspaper clippings, press releases, printed matter, geological maps, research notes, and other materials relating to Rubey's professional activities as a geologist. Although the series contains extensive files pertaining to projects Rubey conducted for the United States Geological Survey, complete documentation of his Survey career as a whole is lacking. Notable files include records documenting his work in standardizing the nomenclature and symbols used for defining carbonaceous and stratigraphic materials, several projects that took place in the western states, and various geological mapping projects. Other significant files relate to Rubey's work with the Survey's Strategic Minerals Program, in which he was charged with supervising surveys for vanadium, an important ore used by steel manufacturers during World War II as a steel hardener.
Also contained in the Subject File are correspondence, memoranda, and reports pertaining to Rubey's work as a member of many professional, educational, and scientific organizations. Included are correspondence, memoranda, and reports documenting his efforts in the Mohole project, a joint effort in the 1960s between the National Science Foundation and the United States government to obtain a complete core record of the layers of the earth's crust and the upper part of the underlying mantle. The project was later discontinued by Congress due to dissension between scientists and government representatives over the administration of the project, congressional charges of political influence and irregularities in the awarding of the engineering contract, and other factors. Correspondence in this file contains Rubey's candid impressions of what he felt were the root causes of the project's failure.
Other significant files pertain to Rubey's role in establishing the Lunar Science Institute, his work as a member of the Geological Society of America's Committee on the War Effort, which made recommendations to the army on the strategic employment of geologists in the battlefield during World War II, and his efforts in conjunction with the United States Army Corps of Engineers to determine the cause of a series of earthquakes plaguing the Denver, Colorado, area.
Frequent correspondents include Henry R. Aldrich, M. King Hubbert, Chester R. Longwell, and Steven S. Oriel.
The collection is arranged in four series:
Incoming and outgoing correspondence with attachments between Rubey and friends, colleagues, and organizations.
Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent or organization and therein chronologically.
Manuscripts in various stages of preparation, including notes, correspondence, illustrative materials, drafts, final copies, and printed versions of articles, book reviews, book introductions, miscellaneous writings, critiques of manuscripts written by colleagues, reports, and speeches.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and therein chronologically.
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, notes, press releases, minutes of meetings, newspaper clippings, maps, photographs, and printed matter pertaining to Rubey's activities as a geologist for the United States Geological Survey and as a member of various scientific, professional, and educational organizations.
Arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material and therein chronologically.
Graphs concerning earthquakes and well-head pressure in Colorado.
Organized and described according to the series, containers, and folders from which the items were removed.