Collection Summary
Robert E. Wilson Papers
1920-1964
(bulk 1945-1964)
1920-1964
(bulk 1945-1964)
MSS46011
Wilson, Robert E. (Robert
Erastus), 1893-1964
3,500
items
35 containers
14 linear feet
English
Collection material in
English
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Chemical engineer,
businessman, and public official. Speeches and articles, correspondence,
clippings, printed matter, reports, congressional testimony, and other material
dealing mainly with Wilson's career with the Standard Oil Company of Indiana,
the petroleum industry in general, and the U. S. Atomic Energy
Commission.
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
Compton, K. T. (Karl Taylor), 1887-1954--Correspondence.
Davies, Ralph K. (Ralph Kenneth), 1897-1971--Correspondence.
Holifield, Chet, 1903-1995--Correspondence.
Tremmel, Ernest B., 1916- --Correspondence.
Wilson, Robert E. (Robert Erastus), 1893-1964.
Organizations
Standard Oil Company (Indiana)
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
Subjects
Nuclear energy.
Petroleum industry and trade--Indiana.
Petroleum industry and trade.
Occupations
Businessmen.
Chemical engineers.
Public officials.
Provenance
The papers of Robert E. Wilson, chemical engineer, businessman, and
public official, were given to the Library of Congress by his wife, Pearl M.
Wilson, in 1964.
Processing History
The papers of Robert E. Wilson were arranged and described in 1965.
The finding aid was revised in 2011.
Copyright Status
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Robert E. Wilson in these
papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of
Congress has been dedicated to the public.
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Robert E. Wilson 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, Robert E. Wilson Papers, Manuscript
Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1893, Mar. 19
Born, Beaver Falls, Pa.
1914
Ph.B., College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio
1916
B.S., chemical engineering, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
Research assistant, Research Laboratory, General Electric
Co.
Married Pearl M. Rockfellow
1916
1917
Research associate, Research Laboratory of Applied Chemistry,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
1917
1918
Consulting chemical engineer, Bureau of Mines, Washington,
D.C.
1918
1919
Captain and later major, Chemical Warfare Service, during
World War I
1919
Director, Research Laboratory of Applied Chemistry,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
1919
1922
Associated with Arthur D. Little, Inc.
1922
1958
Worked for Standard Oil Co. of Indiana; chairman of the board
and chief executive officer, 1945-1958
1934
1945
Vice president and president, Pan American Petroleum and
Transport Co., principal subsidiary of Standard Oil Co. of Indiana
1949
1950
Member, Special Advisory Group to the Chairman, Research and
Development Board, National Military Establishment
1960
1964
Commissioner, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
1964, Sept. 1
Died, Geneva, Switzerland
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Robert Erastus Wilson (1893-1964) span the years
1920-1964 with the bulk of the material dated from 1945 to 1964. The papers are
organized into the following series:
[
Speeches and
Articles I
](speei),
[
Speeches and
Articles II
](speeii), and
[
Subject
File
](subj).
Speeches and articles delivered and written by Wilson, mostly during
his employment with Standard Oil Company of Indiana, comprise the bulk of the
papers and are organized under the series
[
Speeches and
Articles I
](speei) and
[
Speeches and
Articles II
](speeii). The correspondence relates to his public speaking
engagements and published articles. Prominent among the articles is "We the
Accused,” his denunciation of the Federal Trade Commission’s inferences of
corruption in big business, published in the January 24, 1953, issue of
The Saturday Evening Post
. Also included in
[
Speeches and
Articles I
](speei) are publications for the stockholders of the Standard Oil
Company of Indiana written by Wilson.
The
[
Subject
File
](subj) consists of files compiled by Wilson relating to the Standard Oil
Company of Indiana, the United States Atomic Energy Commission, the Special
Advisory Group to the Chariman of the Research and Development Board, and the
petroleum industry and atomic energy in general. Correspondents include K. T.
Compton, Ralph K. Davies, Chet Holifield, and Ernest B. Tremmel.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is arranged in three series:
-
[
Speeches and
Articles I, 1926-1957
](speei)
-
[
Speeches and
Articles II, 1945-1964
](speeii)
-
[
Subject File,
1920-1964
](subj)
Catalog Record: [https://lccn.loc.gov/mm79046011]
Container List
Container
Contents
1-2
Speeches and Articles I,
1926-1957
1926-1957
Publications for stockholders of Standard Oil Co. of Indiana,
printed copies of speeches and articles written by Wilson, and related
correspondence.
Publications arranged as received. Speeches and articles arranged
chronologically.
1
Printed copies of speeches and
articles by Wilson,
1926-1944
1926-1944
(36
folders)
2
Publications for stockholders of
Standard Oil Co. of Indiana,
1944-1957
1944-1957
(2
folders)
2-3
Speeches and Articles
II,
1945-1964
1945-1964
Printed copies of speeches and articles written by Wilson and
related correspondence. An index precedes the file.
Arranged chronologically.
2
Indexes
2
To articles,
1945-1964
1945-1964
(2
folders)
2
To talks
2
Alphabetical by name of city,
1945-1964
1945-1964
2
A-I
3
J-Z
3
Alphabetical by title of
talk,
1946-1964
1946-1964
(2
folders)
3
To talks and addresses,
1945-1954
1945-1954
(2
folders)
4
Printed copies of speeches and
articles by Wilson
4
1945, Jan. 8-1946, Aug. 7
1945, Jan. 8-1946, Aug. 7
5
1946, Aug. 21-1947, Oct. 15
1946, Aug. 21-1947, Oct. 15
6
1947, Oct. 20-1948, Dec. 15
1947, Oct. 20-1948, Dec. 15
7
1949, Jan. 4-Nov. 7
1949, Jan. 4-Nov. 7
8
1949, Nov. 9-1950, June 12
1949, Nov. 9-1950, June 12
9
1950, June 26-1951, Mar. 2
1950, June 26-1951, Mar. 2
10
1951, Mar. 7-Dec. 29
1951, Mar. 7-Dec. 29
11
1952, Jan. 9-June 24
1952, Jan. 9-June 24
12
1952, July 10-1953, Jan. 24
1952, July 10-1953, Jan. 24
13
1953, Jan. 13-Oct. 16
1953, Jan. 13-Oct. 16
14
1953, Oct. 19-1954, May 6
1953, Oct. 19-1954, May 6
15
1954, May 10-Sept. 23
1954, May 10-Sept. 23
16
1954, Oct. 2-1955, Jan. 29
1954, Oct. 2-1955, Jan. 29
17
1955
1955
17
Feb. 8-July 1
Feb. 8-July 1
18
Aug. 30-Nov. 29
Aug. 30-Nov. 29
19
1955, Dec. 10-1956, Apr. 12
1955, Dec. 10-1956, Apr. 12
20
1956, May 1-Oct. 12
1956, May 1-Oct. 12
21
1956, Oct. 17-1957, Jan. 8
1956, Oct. 17-1957, Jan. 8
22
1957, Jan. 13-June 29
1957, Jan. 13-June 29
23
1957, July 3-1958, Oct. 7
1957, July 3-1958, Oct. 7
24
1958, Jan. 13-Aug. 13
1958, Jan. 13-Aug. 13
25
1958, June 26-1959, Jan. 28
1958, June 26-1959, Jan. 28
26
1959, May 1-Nov. 13
1959, May 1-Nov. 13
27
1960, Feb. 16-Sept. 22
1960, Feb. 16-Sept. 22
28
1960, Oct. 20-1961, Dec. 5
1960, Oct. 20-1961, Dec. 5
29
1961, Jan. 17-Nov. 14
1961, Jan. 17-Nov. 14
30
1961, Dec. 30-1962, Apr. 16
1961, Dec. 30-1962, Apr. 16
31
1962, May 15-Nov. 19
1962, May 15-Nov. 19
32
1962, Nov. 27-1963, June 13
1962, Nov. 27-1963, June 13
33
1963, July 30-1964, June 24
1963, July 30-1964, June 24
34-35
Subject File,
1920-1964
1920-1964
Correspondence, memoranda, printed matter, clippings, fact sheets,
reports, and congressional testimony.
Arranged alphabetically by title of work or topic.
34
Atomic power,
1945-1958
1945-1958
34
Depletion allowance in the
petroleum industry,
1951-1963
1951-1963
34
Energy requirements for the
future,
1958-1961
1958-1961
34
"Evolution of Weather,"
1930-1939, undated
1930-1939, undated
34
"Industry and the Private Liberal
Arts College,"
1953
1953
34
"Letter to an Industrial
Historian,"
1955
1955
34
Letter to W. Averell Harriman on
the importance of concentrating attacks on Axis oil supplies,
1942
1942
34
Letter to Ralph K. Davies on the
increase in movement of petroleum products to the Atlantic Coast area,
1941
1941
34
Letter to Ralph K Davies on
principal functions of Petroleum Unit in Office of Production Managment,
1941
1941
34
Midgley, Thomas, Jr.,
1937, 1947-1953
1937, 1947-1953
34
One-hundred octane gasoline,
correspondence and memoranda,
1940-1941
1940-1941
34
Patents held by Wilson,
1920-1932
1920-1932
35
Private ownership of nuclear
fuels,
1961-1964
1961-1964
35
Single administrator of the
Atomic Energy Commission,
1961-1963
1961-1963
35
Solar and other remote sources of
energy,
1948-1955
1948-1955
35
Special atomic energy material,
1957
1957
35
Stanolindex, 30th anniversary
issue with remarks by Wilson,
1959
1959
35
Trends in the Petroleum Industry, 1918-1944
, Petroleum Industry War Council Committee on Petroleum Economics,
1945-1947
1945-1947
35
U.S. Research and Development
Board and Office of the Secretary of Defense,
1949-1953
1949-1953
35
Weaver, Warren, publications,
1954-1962, undated
1954-1962, undated
35
1925-1950: The Widow's Investment
(1950) and "Science and the Supernatural" (1946),
1946-1950
1946-1950