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/mm78054197
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 Alan Tower Waterman, physicist and science administrator, were given to the Library of Congress during the years 1968-1975 by his widow, Mary Mallon Waterman, and by Lee Anna Embrey Blick, an assistant at the National Science Foundation. Some items were transferred from the Prints and Photographs Division to the Manuscript Division in 2009.
The papers of Alan Tower Waterman were arranged and described in 1975 by Grover Batts and Thelma Queen. The collection was expanded and revised from 1996 to 1997 by Nan Thompson Ernst and Brian McGuire. The finding aid was revised in 2010. Material transferred to the Manuscript Division was processed as an addition in 2022 by Pang H. Xiong.
Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions of the Library. Some photographs have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division. Sound recordings have been transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division. All transfers are identified in these divisions as part of the Alan Tower Waterman Papers. Patrons are encouraged to contact these divisions in advance of a research visit.
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Alan Tower Waterman in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public.
Restrictions apply governing the use, photoduplication, or publication of items in this collection. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division for information concerning these restrictions. In addition, many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Government regulations control the use of security classified items in this collection. Manuscript Division staff can furnish information concerning access to and use of classified material.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Alan Tower Waterman Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Alan Tower Waterman (1892-1967) cover the years from 1912 to 1967, with the greater part concentrated in the period 1940-1963. The collection includes diary notes, correspondence, memoranda, reports, speeches and articles, and miscellaneous biographical material documenting Waterman's career as an administrator of scientific research organizations. The papers are in English and arranged into eight series: Diary Notes, Family Correspondence, General Correspondence, Subject File, Speech and Article File, Miscellany, Additions, and Classified.
Waterman was trained as a physicist and devoted the early years of his career, 1919-1942, to teaching physics at Yale University. During World War II, Waterman headed the Office of Field Services for the Office of Scientific Research and Development, coordinating the work of civilian scientists on weaponry and other military applications, particularly in the Pacific theater. After World War II, the navy initiated a series of grants to universities for fundamental scientific research, and Waterman was placed in charge of the program as chief scientist and deputy chief of the Office of Naval Research. The success of this program led to congressional legislation in 1950 creating the National Science Foundation and to the appointment of Waterman as its director by President Harry S. Truman. The great majority of Waterman's papers details his administrative work for these organizations.
As chief scientist with the Office of Naval Research, Waterman assured universities that the government was not attempting to control academic research but did need to advance scientific knowledge in the technological age. His views on the role of government-sponsored research are stated in his speeches and articles. In addition to the General Correspondence series, a group of papers designated by Waterman as "Diary Notes" provides summaries of conversations relating to his management of the Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation. Highlights of the National Science Foundation records concern the International Geophysical Year, 1957-1958, and the nation's early satellite program.
Among the prominent scientists appearing in the corrrespondence are Detlev W. Bronk, Vannevar Bush, K. T. Compton, James Bryant Conant, Lee A. Dubridge, George Gamow, Willard Frank Libby, Bernard Lovell, Margaret Mead, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Harlow Shapley, Norbert Wiener, and Jerrold Zacharias. The General Correspondence also contains papers relating to many organizations in which Waterman was active, particularly the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and the Cosmos Club of Washington, D.C.
A Subject File contains papers relating to Waterman's years as a reader and chief examiner in physics for the College Entrance Examination Board and a collection of his travel itineraries and vouchers for the years 1940-1965.
Additions to the collection include the 1997 Addition and the 2022 Addition. The 1997 Addition includes declassified documents from World War II, a collection of Waterman's speeches and statements, articles by Waterman and others, and miscellaneous correspondence. The 2022 Addition includes administrative paperwork related to Waterman’s service with the United States Army Signal Corps, 1917-1919.
This collection is arranged in eight series:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm78054197
Mainly summaries of conversations in person or by telephone concerning professional matters.
Chronologically arranged.
Letters exchanged by members of the Waterman family.
Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent.
Correspondence with individuals and organizations mostly concerning professional matters.
Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent.
College Entrance Examination Board records, presidential medal, and travel records.
Arranged alphabetically by subject and chronologically thereunder.
Speech and article texts with indexes and lists.
Arranged alphabetically by title.
Includes biographical material, personnel records, appointment books, financial records, and printed matter.
Arranged by document type.
Articles, correspondence, memoranda, military records, a caption, speeches and statements, and other papers.
Arranged alphabetically by subject or document type and chronologically thereunder.
Material containing security classified information.
Organized and described according to the series, container, and folder from which the items were removed.