Collection Summary
Edward L. Thorndike Papers
1900-1938
1900-1938
MSS42879
Thorndike, Edward L. (Edward Lee), 1874-1949
100 items
7 containers
2.4 linear feet
English
Collection material in English
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
Educator. Articles, lectures, speeches,
and research notes relating to Thorndike's studies in educational psychology.
Selected Search Terms
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.
People
Lorge, Irving, 1905-1961. Semantic count of English words. 1938.
Thorndike, Edward L. (Edward Lee), 1874-1949.
Thorndike, Edward L. (Edward Lee), 1874-1949. Semantic count of English words.
1938.
Subjects
Educational psychology.
English language--Semantics.
English language--Word frequency.
Titles
Edward Lee Thorndike papers
Occupations
Educators.
Acquisition Information
The papers of Edward L. Thorndike, educator, were given to the Library of Congress by
his daughter, Frances Cope (Mrs. Thomas Cope), in 1966 and 1968.
Processing History
The papers of Edward L. Thorndike were arranged and described in 1970. The finding aid
was revised in 2012 by Marilyn Weissman. The finding aid was updated in 2023 by Maria
Farmer as part of a division-wide remediation project by the Inclusive Description
Working Group.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Edward L. Thorndike is governed
by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Edward L. Thorndike are open to research. Researchers are advised to
contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored
off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information:
Container number, Edward L. Thorndike Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1874, Aug. 31
Born, Williamsburg, Mass.
1895
A.B.,Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn.
1897
M.A., Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
1898
Ph.D., Columbia University, New York, N.Y.
1899
1940
Professor of educational psychology, Institute of Educational Research,
Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, N.Y.
1900
Married Elizabeth Moulton
1912
President, American Psychological Association
circa 1917
1918
Helped develop Alpha-Beta tests for the U.S. Army during World War I
1922
1940
Director, Division of Psychology, Institute of Educational Research, Columbia
University, New York, N.Y.
1934
Elected president, American Association for the Advancement of Science
1937
Became president of Psychometric Society
1949, Aug. 9
Died, Montrose, N.Y.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Edward Lee Thorndike (1874-1949) span the years 1900-1938. The collection
includes a word list entitled
A Semantic Count of English Words,
a collaborative work with main author Irving Lorge, as well as articles,
lectures, speeches, some research notes, and a few items of correspondence.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is organized by type of material and by title or topic therein.
Catalog Record: [https://lccn.loc.gov/mm78042879]
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Book,
A Semantic Count of English Words
, main author, Irving Lorge (missing the letters F, J, and K), 1938
1938
2
Correspondence, 1907, 1909, 1938
1907, 1909, 1938
2
Article file
2
"Association of Certain Combinations of Sounds
with Pleasant and Unpleasant Meanings"
2
"The Careers of Scholarly Men in
America"
2
"Descartes' Psychology"
2
"Education for Initiative and Originality"
2
"Estimates of the Relative Frequencies of
Different Meanings of English Words"
2
"An Experimental Market"
2
"Failure of the Ministry to Attract Men of
Scholarship"
2
"The Feminization of American
Education"
2
"Good and Bad Laws"
2
"Influence of the Study of Latin upon English
vocabulary"
2
"Measuring Reading Availability" "Morality"
2
"Psychological Notes on the Motives for
Thrift"
2
"Psychology: What Is It?"
2
"The Relative Frequency of English Noun and
Verb Forms"
2
"Schoolteacher in the War"
2
"Scientific Personnel Work in the Army"
2
"The Teaching Staff of Secondary Schools in the
United States"
2
"University and the War"
2
"Value of Research to Education"
2
"Vocational Guidance"
3
Research notes
3
Children's books
3
An early experiment with tests for the selection
of clerical workers
3
Eisner on German laws
3
Elimination, causes of
3
Of Elizabeth Gilboy
3
Engineering school students
3
Eugenics
3
Human reasoning about quantities and numbers
3
Intelligence
3
Income and fecundity in German cities
3
Language monograph
3
Machine guidance clerical test
3
Needed research in education
3
New methods in arithmetic
3
Notes for
Encyclopedia Britannica
articles
3
Practice series notebooks
4
Relative frequency of English words and verb
forms
4
Slang
4
Word lists
4
Word Study
4
Unidentified
(5 folders)
5
Lecture and speech file
5
"The Careers of College Women"
5
"Factor Analysis"
5
"How Fast Can You Read?"
5
"Increasing Knowledge about Economics and
Business"
5
"Individual Differences"
5
"Measurement of Intelligence"
5
"Mental Fatigue"
5
"Mental Work and Fatigue"
5
"Need for Educational Guidance"
5
"The New Associationism in
Psychology"
5
"Plan for the Study of the Human
Individual"
5
"The Psychology of Alcohol"
5
"The Psychology of Reading"
5
"The Psychology of the Self-Educated Man"
5
"Reading as Reasoning"
6
"Recent Developments in Educational
Measurements"
6
"Scales for Measurements in
Education"
6
"School Dictionary"
6
"Science Teaching"
6
"The Standardization of Instruments of
Instruction"
6
"The Teacher and the Great War"
6
"The Unconscious"
6
Unidentified
6
Reprints and clippings
6
"Diversity of Vocabulary and the Harmonic Series
Law of Word-Frequency Distribution"
6
"Education for Initiative and
Originality"
6
"Eugenics"
6
"The Failure of College Women to Marry"
6
"Fatigue in a Complex Function"
6
"Mental Fatigue"
6
"The Original Nature of Man"
6
"The Permanence of Interests and Their Relation
to Abilities"
6
"The psychology of Thinking in the Case of
Reading"
6
"The Resemblance of Young Twins in Handwriting"
6
"The Use of Original Tendencies"
6
"Valuations of Certain Pains, Deprivations, and
Frustrations"
7
Printed matter
7
Workbooks
(4 vols.)