Collection Summary
Lawrence E. Glendenin
Papers
1935-2009
(bulk 1945-1975)
1935-2009
(bulk 1945-1975)
MSS85456
Glendenin, Lawrence E.
(Lawrence Elgin), 1918-2008
850 items
3 containers
1.2 linear feet
English
Collection material in
English
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Nuclear chemist and
co-discoverer of Promethium, element 61 on the periodic table of elements.
Subject files, correspondence, writings, speeches, biographical material,
newspaper clippings, printed matter, and awards documenting Glendenin's work on
the Manhattan Project, the Bikini Scientific Resurvey, and his career at
Argonne National Laboratory.
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
Glendenin, Lawrence E. (Lawrence Elgin), 1918-2008.
Marinsky, Jacob A. (Jacob Akiba), 1918-2005.
Smyth, Henry De Wolf, 1898-1986. A general account of the development of methods of using atomic energy for military purposes under the auspices of the United States government, 1940-1945. 1945.
Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972.
Organizations
Argonne National Laboratory.
Bikini Scientific Resurvey.
Manhattan Project (U.S.)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Subjects
Atomic bomb--United States.
Nuclear weapons--Research--United States.
Promethium.
World War, 1939-1945--Japan.
World War, 1939-1945--United States.
Titles
Lawrence Elgin Glendenin papers
Occupations
Nuclear chemists.
Provenance
The papers of Lawrence E. Glendenin, nuclear chemist and
co-discoverer of Promethium, were given to the Library of Congress by Charles
D. Glendenin in 2009-2010.
Copyright Status
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Lawrence E. Glendenin in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 Lawrence E. Glendenin 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, Lawrence E. Glendenin Papers,
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1918, Nov. 8
Born, Bay City, Mich.
1941
S.B. in chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago,
Ill.
1942
Joined the University of Chicago’s Metallurgical Laboratory
(code name for the Manhattan Project) as a member of Charles D. Coryell's team,
Chicago, Ill.
1943
1945
Transferred to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge,
Tenn.
1945
Discovered with Jacob A. Marinsky, Promethium, the 61st
element on the periodic table
One of sixty-seven Oak Ridge Laboratory scientists who
signed the Oak Ridge petition calling for President Harry S. Truman to describe
and demonstrate the atomic bomb's power and give Japan the opportunity to
surrender
Married Ethel Long
1946
1949
Ph.D. in nuclear chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
1947
Patent issued for Brady-Glendenin safety pipette
Member of radio chemistry team, Bikini Scientific Resurvey,
studying effects of atomic bomb testing on the Bikini Atoll (Marshall
Islands)
1949
1985
Senior scientist, Chemistry Division, Argonne National
Laboratory, Argonne, Ill.
1958
Visiting scientist, Metallurgy Division, Harwell Laboratory,
Oxon, United Kingdom
1963
Appointed scientific secretary, United States delegation to
the International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, Geneva
Switzerland
1974
American Chemical Society Award for Nuclear Applications in
Chemistry
2008
Died, Nov. 22, Crystal Lake, Ill.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Lawrence E. Glendenin (1918-2008) span the years
1935-2009, with the bulk concentrated in the period 1945-1975. The papers
consist of correspondence, writings, subject files, and printed matter. The
collection contains material on the Bikini Scientific Resurvey, Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, and Glendenin and Jacob A. Marinsky's discovery of
Promethium, the 61st element on the periodic table. The collection also
contains material on the Oak Ridge petition written by Oak Ridge scientists in
1945 following review and debate of a petition by Leo Szilard calling for
President Harry S. Truman to describe and demonstrate the atomic bomb's power
and then offer Japan the opportunity to surrender. The collection includes the
Smyth report, an administrative history of the Manhattan Project by physicist
Henry DeWolf Smyth. The report was published on August 12, 1945, under its
official name,
A General Account of the Development of Methods of
Using Atomic Energy for Military Purposes.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is grouped into a subject file and a writings file and
arranged alphabetically thereunder by topic, name of person, organization, or
type of material.
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Subject file
1
American Chemical
Society
1
Award for Nuclear
Applications in Chemistry,
1973-1974
[
See also
Awards and honors](Awards)
1973-1974
(3 folders)
1
Coryell, Charles D.,
regarding,
1974-1976
[
See also Container
2, Coryell, Charles D.](Coryell)
1974-1976
1
Symposium on the Commemoration
of the Discovery of Fission,
1978-1979
1978-1979
1
Symposium in memory of Ellis P.
Steinberg,
1992
1992
(3
folders)
1
Argonne National Laboratory,
Argonne, Ill.,
1955-1958, 1977-1981, 1995
1955-1958, 1977-1981, 1995
(2
folders)
1
Awards and honors,
1935-1941, 1949, 1974, 1989-1992
[
See also same
container, Award for Nuclear Applications in Chemistry](ACS1)
1935-1941, 1949, 1974, 1989-1992
(3 folders)
1
Bikini Scientific Resurvey,
Bikini Atoll (Marshall Islands),
1947
1947
(2
folders)
1
Biographical information,
1976, 2000-2001, 2008
1976, 2000-2001, 2008
2
Conferences, various,
1953-1960
1953-1960
2
Coryell, Charles D.,
1954, 1968-1971
[
See also Container
1, same heading](ACS2)
1954, 1968-1971
2
Gest, Howard,
1990
1990
2
International Conference on the
Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, Geneva, Switzerland,
1955
1955
2
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, Mass.,
1946-1949, undated
1946-1949, undated
(3
folders)
2
Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
Oak Ridge, Tenn.
2
Certificates,
1945
1945
2
Smyth report,
1945
1945
2
ORNL Review
,
1976
[
See also same
container, Promethium](Prom)
1976
2
Printed matter,
1945-1946, 1967
1945-1946, 1967
2
Promethium
[
See also same
container,
ORNL Review
](ORNL)
2
Evans, C. H.,
1989-1992
1989-1992
2
Printed matter,
1942-1949, 1981, 1989, 1995
1942-1949, 1981, 1989, 1995
(2
folders)
3
Seaborg, Glenn T.,
1967-1980, 1993
1967-1980, 1993
3
Steinberg, Ellis P.,
1991-1992, undated
1991-1992, undated
3
Szilard petition and Oak Ridge
petition,
1945, 1967, 1995-1997
1945, 1967, 1995-1997
3
Youth outreach, talks and
interviews,
1989-2002
1989-2002
3
Writings file
3
Bibliography,
undated
undated
3
By Glendenin,
1948, 1961
1948, 1961
3
By Glendenin with others,
1946-1955, 1965
1946-1955, 1965
3
By others
3
Griffin, Henry C.,
2003
2003
3
Los Alamos Scientific
Laboratory, Los Alamos, N. Mex.
3
Mouze, Genevieve, Sabet Hachem
and Christian Ythier,
2008-2009
2008-2009
3
Smyth, Henry D.,
1945-1946
1945-1946