Paul C. Aebersold Papers
Biography
Collection Guide, Boxes 1-10
The Paul C. Aebersold Papers, 1924-1970, consist of
twenty boxes occupying more than eight feet of shelf space and containing
biographical materials, correspondence, programs of conferences attended and/or
participated in, notes, photographs, memos, reports, proposals, itineraries,
lists of contacts,
minutes of committee meetings, news releases,
newspaper clippings, articles, and other writings by Dr. Aebersold, articles and
speeches by other scientists collected by Dr. Aebersold, and notes, outlines,
slide lists, abstracts, and texts of speeches given by Dr. Aebersold. These
papers document Dr. Aebersold's career fairly well from graduate student days to
Atomic Energy Commission officials. A considerable amount of additional
information should be available in the files of the Manhattan Project and the
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
Among the most important items in the papers are the 294
speeches and 100 articles and other writings by Dr. Aebersold, the 37 speeches
and 180 articles he collected, and the 1200 newspaper clippings. The
speeches and articles reflect the
latest thinking and reveal the most recent developments in the peaceful
uses of atomic energy. Since they were collected from areas throughout
the world, they give a fairly broad picture of developments even though
they represent only a minute portion of the literature available on the
subject. Realizing the historical significance of the early activities
of the Isotopes Branch and the use of isotopes in the immediate post
war period, Dr. Aebersold began to collect clippings about isotopes in
earnest in 1946. Unfortunately this extensive collecting lasted only
until 1949. During these three years, however, there certainly are very
few aspects of isotope production, distribution and use which are not
mentioned in the clippings.
Although most of the correspondence
deals with commitments to speak before various groups or with
attendance at numerous conferences, some of the early
letters prior to 1940 do record some of the thoughts and activities of
Dr. Aebersold's early associates at the Radiation Laboratory at
Berkeley. A large number of congratulatory letters in 1957, when Dr.
Aebersold moved from Oak Ridge to Washington, serve as a measure of his
stature in the atomic energy field throughout the United States as well
as South America and parts of Europe.
From time to time aspects of Dr. Aebersold's character and
philosophy are revealed in rather unexpected areas. That he enjoyed a
good story is shown in numerous handwritten notes and a few typed
introductory remarks to speeches. Unfortunately, only in a few cases
did he write out the whole story. Usually he only jotted a brief note
to remind himself of a particular story. In speaking before the Knife
and Fork Clubs of McAllen and Dallas, Texas on March 23 and November
16, 1948, Dr. Aebersold recalled his experiences in and reactions to
the first atomic bomb test in New Mexico. These are about the only
personal references to his wartime activities.
The papers have been divided into the following seven categories:
(1) General correspondence, (2) Speeches by Dr. Aebersold, (3) Speeches
by other scientists, (4) Articles and other writings by Dr. Aebersold,
(5) Articles by other scientists, (6) Newspaper clippings, and (7)
Photographs. In each section, the materials have been arranged in
chronological order. Since most of the speeches and articles describe
recent discoveries or tell of recent developments in the peaceful use
of atomic energy, we felt that arranging them in chronological order
would give the papers a better historical perspective than would have
been achieved by putting them in alphabetical order by author and/or
title.