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Professional papers of Davis, including correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, memorabilia, and printed materials. The correspondence consists chiefly of Davis' typescript carbons of his letters to Columbia colleagues, other physicists, and other individuals at various manufacturers of equipment. The topics covered deal with Columbia students, faculty, course and research work, and his life long interest in the study of x-rays. The majority of these files cover the years 1914 to 1921 and 1932 to 1936. The cataloged letters include one each from Michael I. Pupin, Isidor I. Rabi, and Robert Simpson Woodward, one lengthy letter from Davis, and ten letters from Nicholas M. Butler. Also included are letters from Marie Clark Davis relating to the research of Lucy J. Hayner and Harold Webb for Webb's biography of Davis that appeared in the National Academy of Sciences' BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS (v. 34, 1960) along with extensive notes, bibliographies and manuscript and typescript versions of Webb's article. There are also manuscripts, typescripts, and notes by Davis relating to his research and writings, photographs of Davis and of his x-ray spectograph, and clippings and memorabilia of his life and work.

This collection is primarily concerned with Prof. James Renwick and his professional correspondence and papers, both as Professor of Natural Philosophy (Physics) at Columbia College and as a leading engineer. Many certificates of membership in honorary societies are included. There are letters from Washington Irving (1783-1859) to Prof. Renwick and to his mother, Jane Jeffrey Renwick, pertaining to contemporary events and Irving's own activities. The letters to Mrs. Renwick are about the travels and experiences of Irving and Renwick abroad. The collection also covers the affairs of the Prof. Renwick's grandfather, including documents concerning his land grants in New York State, and those of James Armstrong Renwick, including his valedictory address at Columbia College in 1876 and his class reunion in 1916. There are many legal documents, letters, and manuscripts of various members of the Renwick and Brevoort families; among these are Prof. Renwick's notes on his family genealogy and a memoir of Jane Jeffrey Renwick. Correspondents include Clement Clarke Moore, John A. Dix, Martin Van Buren, Secretary of State John Forsyth, and Secretary of the Navy James K. Paulding. There is one letter from Sir Edward Sabine (1788-1883), President of the Royal Society, giving his views on the American Civil War.