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: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm80016998
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 Frederick Gardner Cottrell, chemist and inventor, were given to the Library of Congress in 1966 by the Research Corporation.
The papers of Frederick Gardner Cottrell were arranged and described in 1981. The finding aid was revised in 2011.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Frederick Gardner Cottrell is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The papers of Frederick Gardner Cottrell 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.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Frederick Gardner Cottrell Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Frederick Gardner Cottrell (1877-1948) span the years 1896-1951, with the period 1907-1940 being particularly well represented. Cottrell, inventor of the electrostatic precipitator that removes pollutants from smoke, was a successful applied scientist whose support of scientific research led to the founding in 1912 of the Research Corporation, an organization designed to benefit the advancement of science through the distribution of grants. The papers are organized into the following series: Diaries and Personal Notebooks , Miscellaneous Personal Papers , Scientific Papers , Miscellany , and Oversize .
Most prominent in bulk as well as in importance are the diaries in the Diaries and Personal Notebooks series that were used mainly to keep records of names, places, and dates. The diaries complement Cottrell's daily schedules that are found throughout the papers and were kept from 1907 to about 1940. Diaries were assembled as well for other years, but they are fragmentary.
The Miscellaneous Personal Papers series dates from 1900 to 1948 during which Cottrell retained many of his notes, jottings, and doodles. Although items from Cottrell's early years are present, most of this material falls in the period 1931-1948 while a chemist at the Department of Agriculture. The distinction Cottrell made between diary entries and miscellaneous jottings becomes increasingly tenuous after 1940 and during the last years of his life until his death in 1948.
The Scientific Papers contain patent papers for his process of producing nitric oxide and for the inventions of Cottrell's associates P. H. Royster and Farrington Daniels. The series includes several holograph documents, graphs, short notes, and three drafts of miscellaneous scientific writings. An essay titled "Inside Doctor Cottrell," by Royster, gives a brief account of certain aspects of Cottrell's life. The series further contains correspondence between several of Cottrell's close associates and Frank Thomas Cameron, apparently preparatory to the latter's writing of
The Miscellany series contains Cottrell's passports, postcards, and memorabilia, while diplomas and certificates of appointment to government posts are located in Oversize.
This collection is arranged in five series:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm80016998
Diaries, diary notes, and personal notebooks.
Arranged chronologically.
Notes and miscellaneous jottings and doodles.
Arranged chronologically.
Correspondence concerning Cottrell, patents, graphs, notes, drafts, writings, and miscellaneous scientific papers.
Arranged by type of material.
Passports, clippings, postcards, diplomas and certificates of appointment, and memorabilia.
Arranged by type of material.
Diplomas and certificates of appointment.
Arranged and described according to the series, containers, and folders from which the items were removed.