This series consists of primarily professional correspondence of Alexander Smith before and during his time at Columbia University. Among the topics that appear with frequency are: personnel issues, recommendation requests and letters, inquiries regarding positions (both teaching and studying) within Columbia and at other institutions, information about appointments and changes at other universities around the country, updates on various people within the profession, speeches or lectures Smith was asked to make or attend, professional organization matters, advice for companies involved in patenting a product, requests for chemical analyses, invitations to meetings/conferences, and chemistry curriculum issues. Many of the files in this series are titled by personal names of professors from other institutions as well as those within the Columbia University community. Following are some of the more significant items of interest found within this series.
Smith was very involved with the American Chemical Society and these files consist of correspondence to and from Smith regarding those activities (especially when he was president of the organization in 1911), most of the time with Charles L. Parsons, secretary of the organization. Issues such as appointments, delegations of members to events, meetings and conferences, changes to the society's governing documents, monetary issues concerning the journal Chemical Abstracts, and the relationship to the International Association of Chemical Societies are addressed at various times. Correspondents also include William A. Noyes of University of Illinois at Urbana and Julius Steiglitz at University of Chicago. In addition to correspondence, there are meeting minutes, nomination letters, copies of governing documents, and a handwritten address by Smith at the opening of the Chemists Club in New York (1911 March 18) within these files.
The "Stieglitz, Julius" folder addresses a variety of topics including laboratory space, Ph.D. students, obtaining positions for former students, publications, American Chemical Society issues (he was president of the organization starting in 1917), curriculum issues and research. Steiglitz was a chemistry professor at University of Chicago and he and Smith had a very frequent correspondence between 1911 and 1919.
Smith was also actively involved in revising college entrance examinations. In fact, Smith was asked and accepted the chairmanship of a commission to revise the admission requirement in Chemistry (1912 May 1 letter from Professor Morgan to Professor Smith). The folders "College Entrance Examination Board" and "Examinations, College Entrance" both include correspondence, reports and notes concerning these particular exams.
The Columbia University Chemistry Department's organization is clearly described in a letter dated 1916 March 27 from Smith to George B. Frankforter and can be found in the folder "Frankforter, George B." A letter dated 1911 March 14 within the "Echlin, Henry M." folder specifically describes the politics of Columbia and the Chemistry department just before Smith came to New York. The "Haesler, Paul C." file deals exclusively with departmental matters, especially Haeseler's position in the department, departmental activities (e.g., 1917 August 21 report on the just ended summer session) as well as Haeseler's side of a dispute with another individual within the department.
In 1913 and 1914 Smith considered leaving Columbia for an equivalent position at Princeton University. Within the files "Princeton" and "Inquiries" (June, 1913), there is correspondence about Smith's reasons for considering the position (he wanted his children to have more space than the city could afford), his housing search in the Princeton area, and why he eventually withdrew his acceptance.
The "Inquiries" files are very thick and the correspondence in them directed towards Smith address the variety of topics found throughout this series (e.g., applications for positions, recommendations, invitations, comments on books and articles, meetings, conferences, subscriptions, memberships, requests for chemical analyses, applications to the Columbia Chemistry program, etc.) but instead of being divided into separate files, they are housed together and organized chronologically under this general heading. His responses to the various queries are usually included with the original request.
The effects of World War I on Smith's colleagues and his department are also discussed in some of these files. Among the most notable examples are within the "Kendall, James ", "Smith, Anne", and "Walker, James" files. James Kendall was a chemist from Scotland who was part of the Columbia department of Chemistry. He discusses departmental and general chemistry ideas, but more significantly he vividly describes his experiences during WWI, especially his time on a ship targeted by a torpedo shortly after the Lusitania was sunk by German submarines. Anne Smith was Alexander Smith's assistant whose file consists mostly of relayed information from his NY office to his country home in Pulaski, VA during the summer months. In addition to the office matters she often comments on her own situation particularly her 1914 dilemma about returning to Scotland just as WWI is beginning and whether to marry her "friend" or not.
James Walker worked in the chemistry department at the University of Edinburgh and he also appears to have owned a factory which was engaged in war work during WWI. His correspondence discusses the effects of the war on his classes (e.g., girls in his chemistry classes) and life, as well as the activities of their mutual friend James Kendall. A discussion of wartime coursework and the possibilities of military service/training substituting for course credit can be found in the "Mayer, R.E." folder. Within the "Scratchard, George" file most of the 1917 correspondence is about this Columbia professor trying to get out of the initial draft on the grounds of participating in government research. The "Cattell, James M." folder includes discussions of details for the National Academy of Sciences meeting at Columbia University in 1915 November but also includes correspondence concerning Cattell's dismissal from the University in 1917 due to his views on the war.
In addition to professional matters, sometimes personal issues appear within these correspondence files. The "Menzies, Alan W.C." file is a good example of correspondence which mixes both professional and personal correspondence. Alan Menzies was in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Chicago, then Oberlin and finally at Princeton. His folder contains Smith's recommendations for Menzies for a position at Birmingham University (1919). The "Van Cott, Dr. James" and "Webster, George W." files concern Smith's attempts to find answers and remedies for the illness suffered by Mr. William Bowles, his father-in-law, by contacting the two doctors to discuss and trade ideas and possible solutions.
Box 1 Folder 1
Allen, Harry L., 1912-1914
Box 1 Folder 2
Altaffer, L.B., 1915
Box 1 Folder 3
Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1915-1916
Box 1 Folder 4
American Association of University Professors, 1914-1916
Box 1 Folder 5
American Associations for the Advancement of Science, 1916, 1918, 1916, 1918
American Chemical Society
Box 1 Folder 6 to 14
Jan, 1911-1919, (9 Folders)
Box 1 Folder 15
Governance, 1905-1912
Box 1 Folder 16
Delaware Section, 1918-1919
Box 1 Folder 17
Rochester Section, 1915-1917
Box 1 Folder 18
American Medical Association, 1912-1914
Box 1 Folder 19
American Yearbook, 1911-1919
Box 1 Folder 20
Antropoff, A. von, 1912-1913
Box 1 Folder 21 to 22
Applications for Positions, 1912-1918, (2 Folders)
Box 1 Folder 23
Armstrong, Henry E., 1914-1916
Box 1 Folder 24
Arny, Harry V., 1916
Box 1 Folder 25
Bacon, Raymond F., 1916
Box 1 Folder 26 to 27
Badische Company, 1912-1918, (2 Folders)
Box 1 Folder 28
Badishce Company, 1913-1914
Box 1 Folder 29
Baekland, Leo H., 1916-1917
Box 1 Folder 30
Barker, Llewellyn, 1912
Box 1 Folder 31
Barnard College, 1912
Box 1 Folder 32
Barry, Frederick, 1912-1918
Box 2 Folder 1
Baskerville, Charles, 1911-1918
Box 2 Folder 2
Bates, John S., 1912, 1914, 1912, 1914
Box 2 Folder 3
Baxter, Gregory P., 1912
Box 2 Folder 4
Beans, Hal T., 1916-1919
Box 2 Folder 5
Bender, Andrew, 1913-1914
Box 2 Folder 6
Bern, Sidney, 1912-1913
Box 2 Folder 7
Biddle, H.C., 1916
Box 2 Folder 8
Bigelow, S. Lawrence, 1911-1915
Box 2 Folder 9
Bigelow, M.A., 1917
Box 2 Folder 10
Bio-Chemical Association, 1916
Box 2 Folder 11
Birnbaum, Simon, 1913-1915
Box 2 Folder 12
Birse, W.M., 1912
Box 2 Folder 13
Black, N. Henry, 1912-1915
Box 2 Folder 14
Booge, James Eliot, 1916-1918
Box 2 Folder 15
Bogert, Marston T., 1916-1918
Box 2 Folder 16
Books for Courses, 1910-1912
Box 2 Folder 17
Books Reviewed, 1911-1915
Box 2 Folder 18
Bowles, Potter, 1914
Box 2 Folder 19
Brannock, N.F., 1916
Box 2 Folder 20
Burks, Jesse D., 1911, 1914, 1911, 1914
Box 2 Folder 21
Burgess, George K., 1912
Box 2 Folder 22
Buswell, A.M., 1912-1917
Box 2 Folder 23
Butler, Nathaniel, 1914-1915
Box 2 Folder 24
Byers, Horace G., 1911-1918
Box 2 Folder 25
Caldwell, Otis W., 1917
Box 2 Folder 26
Calvert, Robert P., 1913-1919
Box 2 Folder 27
Carpenter, Clifford D., 1912-1918
Box 2 Folder 28
Carson, C.M., 1911-1915
Box 2 Folder 29
Cattel, James M., 1911-1918
Box 2 Folder 30
Century Association, 1915-1918
Box 2 Folder 31
Chambliss, Hardee, 1914-1915
Box 2 Folder 32
Chandler, Charles F., 1900, 1912-1915, 1900, 1912-1915
Box 2 Folder 33
Chemistry Department - Apparatus, 1911-1912
Box 2 Folder 34
Chemistry Department - Positions, 1913-1914
Box 2 Folder 35
Chemists – Applications, 1911-1914
Box 2 Folder 36
Chemists - Positions, 1915-1919
Box 2 Folder 37
Chemists Club, 1912-1918
Box 2 Folder 38
Chicago, University of, 1911-1915
Box 2 Folder 39
Clark, Willis N., 1917-1918
Box 2 Folder 40
Clubs, 1907-1915
Box 2 Folder 41
Cohen, Ernest, 1911
Box 2 Folder 42
College Entrance Exam Board, 1913-1914
Box 2 Folder 43
Commerical Use of University Facilities, 1913
Box 2 Folder 44 to 45
Correspondence-Misc, 1911-1919, (2 Folders)
Box 2 Folder 46
Curriculum, 1911-1913
Box 2 Folder 47
Dains, F.B., 1911, 1915, 1911, 1915
Box 2 Folder 48
Davies, Milton J., 1916-1918
Box 2 Folder 49
De Beukelaer, F.L, 1914
Box 2 Folder 50
Dewey, John, 1915-1917
Box 2 Folder 51
Donnan, F.G., 1916
Box 2 Folder 52
Doughty, Howard W., 1910
Box 2 Folder 53
Dumm, William J., 1918-1919
Box 2 Folder 54
Eastlack, Herbert E., 1916-1919
Box 2 Folder 55
Eastman, Earl, 1914-1916
Box 2 Folder 56
Echlin, Henry M., 1911
Box 2 Folder 57
Egloff, Gustav, 1916
Box 2 Folder 58
Ehrhardt, Ernest F., 1911-1917
Box 2 Folder 59
Englemann, Wilhelm, 1911
Box 2 Folder 60
Eschenbach Printing Co., 1916-1917
Box 2 Folder 61
Estabrooke, W.L., 1916
Folder 62
Examinations, 1911-1912
Box 2 Folder 65
Falls, Harold A., 1913-1918
Box 3 Folder 1
Fisher, Harry L., 1916-1917
Box 3 Folder 2
Flynn, Oscar R., 1917-1918
Box 3 Folder 3
Frankfurter, George B., 1916
Box 3 Folder 4
Frasch, Hans A., 1915
Box 3 Folder 5
Frerichs, F.W., 1915-1916
Box 3 Folder 6
Fry, H. Shipley, 1916
Box 3 Folder 7
Garginer, Edward, 1918
Box 3 Folder 8
Garner, James B., 1918
Box 3 Folder 9
General Electric, 1915, 1917, 1915, 1917
Box 3 Folder 10
Gildersleeve, Virginia C., 1916
Box 3 Folder 11
Graduates, 1913
Box 3 Folder 12
Graduate Students, 1912, 1915, 1912, 1915
Box 3 Folder 13
Gray, Thomas, 1912
Box 3 Folder 14
H. reeve Angel & Co., 1917
Box 3 Folder 15
Howard, Robert L., 1918
Box 3 Folder 16
Haber, Fritz, 1912
Box 3 Folder 17
Haeseler, Paul C., 1913-1918
Box 3 Folder 18
Hale, William J., 1911-1918
Box 3 Folder 19
Hall, Elliot S., 1910-1912
Box 3 Folder 20
Hallock, William, 1910, 1913, 1910, 1913
Box 3 Folder 21
Harlow, Ralhp F., 1916-1918
Box 3 Folder 22
Harrington, Thomas H., 1914
Box 3 Folder 23
Hendrixson, W.S., 1912
Box 3 Folder 24
Herty (Dr.)Incident, 1917
Box 3 Folder 25
Hildebrand, Joel H., 1916
Box 3 Folder 26
Hildebrand, William F., 1912-1918
Box 3 Folder 27
Hoke, Calm M., 1912, 1918, 1912, 1918
Box 3 Folder 28
Holter, Paul C., 1914-1915
Box 3 Folder 29
Hulett, George A., 1915
Box 3 Folder 30
Hulings, H.C., 1912-1914
Box 3 Folder 31 to 36
Inquiries, 1911-1919 (6 Folders), 1911-1919
Box 3 Folder 37
Instruction, Weekly Hours of, 1911
Box 3 Folder 38
International Association of Chemical sciences, 1911-1913
Folder 39
International Congress of Applied Chemistry, 1910-1912
Box 3 Folder 41
Isham, Robert M., 1916
Box 3 Folder 42
Jackson, D.D., 1914, 1917, 1914, 1917
Box 3 Folder 43
James, J.H., 1916
Box 3 Folder 44
Johlin, J.M., 1911-1915
Box 3 Folder 45
Jones, Lauder W., 1912-1914
Box 3 Folder 46
Johnston, Charles Hughes, 1916
Box 3 Folder 47
Kendell, James, 1913-1918
Box 3 Folder 48
Kirkland, J.H., 1916
Box 3 Folder 49
Knox, Joseph, 1912
Box 3 Folder 50
Kress, Otto, 1912
Box 3 Folder 51
Laby, Thomas H., 1912
Box 3 Folder 52
Lambert, Samuel W., 1916, 1918, 1916, 1918
Box 3 Folder 53
Langmuir, Irving, 1916
Box 3 Folder 54
Lawrence, Benjamin B., 1913-1915
Box 3 Folder 55
Lecture Programs, ca., 1917-1918
Box 3 Folder 56
Lectures, 1913
Box 3 Folder 57
Lee, Frederick S., 1917
Box 3 Folder 58
Leslie, E.H., 1913
Box 3 Folder 59
Lewis, Gilbert, 1911-1916
Box 3 Folder 60
Lewis, W.K., 1916-1917
Box 3 Folder 61
Library, 1914-1917
Box 3 Folder 62
Liebisch, Bern, 1911
Box 3 Folder 63
Lindsay Light Co., 1918
Box 3 Folder 64
Logo, Victor L., 1912-1913
Box 3 Folder 65
Lombard, Robert H., 1911-1915
Box 3 Folder 66
Love, E.G., 1911-1912
Box 3 Folder 67
Lowry, Alexander, 1912-1915
Box 3 Folder 68
Lucke, Charles E., 1916
Box 3 Folder 69
McCormack, Thomas J., 1914-1919
Box 3 Folder 70
McCoy, Herbert N., 1911-1917
Box 3 Folder 71
McCracken, Robert F., 1912
Box 3 Folder 72
McCracken, William, 1912
Box 3 Folder 73
McFarland, Boynton W., 1916
Box 3 Folder 74
McGee, John Merritt, 1913-1916
Box 3 Folder 75
MacGregor, J.G., 1912
Box 3 Folder 76
McIntosh, Douglas, 1912, 1914, 1912, 1914
Box 3 Folder 77
McIntosh, Henry Milne, 1916-1918
Box 3 Folder 78
McPherson, William, 1911-1914
Box 3 Folder 79
Maine, University of – Chemistry, 1914-1915
Box 3 Folder 80
Maloney, William J., 1911-1914
Box 3 Folder 81
Maltby, Margaret E.
Box 3 Folder 82
Marshall, T.R., 1911-1914
Box 3 Folder 83
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1915-1916
Box 3 Folder 84
Mayer, Ralph E, 1916-1917
Box 4 Folder 1
Menzies, Alan W.C., 1911-1919
Box 4 Folder 2
Miller, John J., 1911-1912
Box 4 Folder 3
Miller, W. Lash, 1916
Box 4 Folder 4
Milliken, Edward N., 1911-1912
Box 4 Folder 5
Monroe, Paul, 1916
Box 4 Folder 6
Moody, Herbert R., 1915
Box 4 Folder 7
Moore, Charles J., 1912
Box 4 Folder 8
Moore, Russell W, 1912-1914
Box 4 Folder 9
Moore, William C., 1915-1919
Box 4 Folder 10
Mory, A. V. H., 1916-1918
Box 4 Folder 11
National of Sciences, 1915-1918
Box 4 Folder 12
Nelson, John M., 1916-1917
Box 4 Folder 13
Nevins, Franklin, 1916
Box 4 Folder 14
New England Association of Chemistry Teacher, 1915, 1918, 1915, 1918
Box 4 Folder 15
New Era Printing Co., 1916
Box 4 Folder 16
New Jersey Science Teachers Association, 1916
Box 4 Folder 17
New York Sciences Teachers Association, 1915
Box 4 Folder 18
Noyes, Arthur A., 1914-1915
Box 4 Folder 19 to 20
Noyes, William A., 1911-1919, (2 Folders)
Box 4 Folder 21
Oddo, Guiseppe, 1912
Box 4 Folder 22
Olsen, John C., 1912
Box 4 Folder 23
Opinions rendered, 1911-1915
Box 4 Folder 24
Paradoxes, 1912
Box 4 Folder 25
Parsons, Charles L., 1911-1915
Box 4 Folder 26
Pearsons, Henry C., 1916, 1918, 1916, 1918
Box 4 Folder 27
Ph.D. – Rules, 1912, 1917, 1912, 1917
Box 4 Folder 28
Phi Lambda Upsilon, 1911-1915
Box 4 Folder 29
Pike, Frank Henry, 1911-1916
Box 4 Folder 30
Pine, John B., 1914-1915
Box 4 Folder 31
Positions, 1910-1915
Box 4 Folder 32
Princeton University, 1913-1914
Box 4 Folder 33
Professors, Exchange of, 1912
Box 4 Folder 34
Punnett, Percy W., 1912-1916
Box 4 Folder 35
Ransom, James H., 1911-1919
Box 4 Folder 36
Regester, S.H., 1912
Box 4 Folder 37
Reid, E. Emmett, 1915-1916
Box 4 Folder 38 to 39
Reprints – Thank You Notes, 1911-1919
Box 4 Folder 40
Research, 1911-1913
Box 4 Folder 41
Richards, T.W., 1918
Box 4 Folder 42
Richardson, Leon B., 1916
Box 4 Folder 43
Roberts, A.E., 1916-1917
Box 4 Folder 44
Roberts, L.D., 1918
Box 4 Folder 45
Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1911-1915
Box 4 Folder 46
Savidge, Robert W., 1914
Box 4 Folder 47
Scratchard, George, 1916-1917
Box 4 Folder 48
Slitchter, W.I., 1916-1918
Box 4 Folder 49
Slosson, Edwin E., 1912-1917
Box 4 Folder 50
Smith, Anne, 1914
Box 4 Folder 51
Societies, Chemical, 1912-1913
Box 4 Folder 52
Societies, Scientific, 1910-1917
Box 4 Folder 53
Statton, S.W., 1911-1912
Box 4 Folder 54
Stenographers, 1911-1914
Box 4 Folder 55
Stern, Ernest, 1912, 1914, 1912, 1914
Box 4 Folder 56
Stieglitz, Julius, 1911-1919
Box 4 Folder 57
Student Grades, 1918 February
Box 4 Folder 58
Students, 1912-1914
Box 4 Folder 59
Summer Session, 1916-1918
Box 4 Folder 60
Talbot, H.P., 1911-1916
Box 4 Folder 61
Tanberg, A.P., 1913-1914
Box 4 Folder 62
Thomas, Arthur W., 1913-1917
Box 4 Folder 63
Thomas, Calvin, 1911-1912
Box 4 Folder 64
Thomas, Annie Davidson (Mrs Mason B.), 1911, 1914, 1911, 1914
Box 4 Folder 65
Timmons, G.D., 1914-1917
Box 4 Folder 66
Tingle, Alfred, 1918
Box 4 Folder 67
Tingle, J. Bishop, 1911-1915
Box 4 Folder 68
Titsworth, Waldo A., 1916
Box 4 Folder 69
Trimble, H.C., 1915-1916
Box 4 Folder 70
Trowbridge, Charles C., 1916-1917
Box 4 Folder 71
Tucker, Samuel A., 1911-1917
Box 5 Folder 1
Universities & Industries, Committee on Cooperation, 1917-1919
Box 5 Folder 2
University Bibliography, 1912-1916
Box 5 Folder 3
University Bookstore, 1911-1912
Box 5 Folder 4
Van Cott, Joshua M., 1917
Box 5 Folder 5
Vincent, George Edgar, 1911-1914
Box 5 Folder 6
Viol, Charles H., 1914
Box 5 Folder 7
Voss, Leopold, 1911
Box 5 Folder 8
Walden, Paul, 1912-1913
Box 5 Folder 9
Walker, Arthur L., 1911-1913
Box 5 Folder 10
Walker, James, 1911-1918
Box 5 Folder 11
Walker, William H., 1914-1916
Box 5 Folder 12
Walker, William Hall, 1916-1917
Box 5 Folder 13
Warland, William, 1914-1919
Box 5 Folder 14
Webster, George W., 1917
Box 5 Folder 15
Wendell, George V., 1912
Box 5 Folder 16
Whitaker, M.C., 1916-1918
Box 5 Folder 17
Whitney, W.R., 1916
Box 5 Folder 18
Whiton, Louis Charles, 1912-1913
Box 5 Folder 19
Whittelsey, T., 1917
Box 5 Folder 20
Williams, H. Ernest, 1912-1913
Box 5 Folder 21
Wirick, C.M., 1912-1915
Box 5 Folder 22
Woodhull, J.F., 1912
Box 5 Folder 23
Worden, Edward C., 1916