Edward Goodrich Acheson Papers
Catalog Record: http://lccn.loc.gov/mm74049684
General International Standard for Archival Description
Manuscript Division Library of Congress Washington, D.C.
Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division, 2011
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Edward Goodrich Acheson Papers 1872-1968 (bulk 1899-1930)
Acheson, Edward Goodrich, 1856-1931
Biographical History for: Edward Goodrich Acheson Papers 1872-1968 (bulk 1899-1930)
Biographical Note Date Event 1856, Mar. 9 Born, Washington, Pa. 1872 Left school to make livelihood 1873 Invented and secured patent for rock-boring machine to be used in coal mines 1880 Moved to New York to find work in electrical industry 1880-1881 Assistant to Thomas A. Edison, Menlo Park, N.J. 1884 Married Margaret Maher 1885 Conducted unsatisfactory experiments on reduction of iron ore by natural gas 1894-1895 Invented carborundum Established Carborundum Co., and moved it to Niagara Falls, N.Y. 1894 Awarded the John Scott Medal by the Franklin Institute, for discovery of carborundum 1899 Incorporated Acheson Graphite Co. 1901 Awarded John Scott Medal for production of artificial graphite 1908 Invented and secured patent for siloxicon Awarded Rumford Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1910 Published A Pathfinder: Discovery, Invention and Industry. New York: The Press Scrap Book 1928 Established Edward G. Acheson fund at Electrochemical Society 1929 Awarded Acheson Medal by Electrochemical Society 1931, July 6 Died, New York, N.Y.
Scope and Content Note The papers of Edward Goodrich Acheson (1856-1931) cover the period 1872-1968 with the bulk of the material falling between 1899 and 1930. They consist of diaries, letterbooks, laboratory notebooks, business and general correspondence, and miscellaneous material relating to Acheson's scientific career and his companies. The collection is arranged in Diaries, Letterbooks, Business Correspondence, General Correspondence, Miscellany, and Oversize series. The diaries date from 1884 to 1931 and record Acheson's everyday activities and appointments. A typescript of his diaries, 1906-1926, is also included. Letterbooks date from 1889 to 1915 and relate primarily to his businesses. The majority of the collection is included in the two correspondence series that reflect the organization of the files when they arrived at the Library. Business Correspondence consists of Acheson's communications with a relatively few people including his sons, Edward Goodrich Acheson (1887-1962), George Wilson Acheson, John Huyler Acheson, and Raymond Mahler Acheson; John P. Deringer; Thomas A. Edison; William Acheson Smith; and Edmund C. Sprague. Material in the General Correspondence series generally reflects Acheson's work and connections with firms that were founded by him and carry his name, including those established in Europe to commercialize the products and processes he had originated. Correspondents include Alfred E. Hunt, John Seys Huyler, Andrew W. Mellon, E. L. Nichols, and Walther Rathenau, and organizations such as Bakewell & Bakewell (patent attorneys), the Cowles Electric Smelting and Aluminum Company, and the Electrochemical Society. Included at the end of the General Correspondence are papers generated by Acheson's biographer, Raymond Szymanowitz, in collecting data relating to his study. The Miscellany series includes financial notebooks, newspaper clippings, biographical sketches, a typescript of Acheson's autobiography, A Pathfinder, printed matter, scrapbooks, and scientific notebooks of his experiments and inventions. Oversize consists of two volumes of court proceedings relating to a case in which the Carborundum Company was involved in 1894.
series
Diaries, 1884-1931
Diaries, address books, and appointment books.
file
Address book, undated
Transcript of diaries, 1906-1926
Letterbooks, 1889-1915
Bound volumes of copies of letters sent.
1895, Sept.-1896, June
1896, June-1897, Nov.
Business Correspondence, 1910-1934
Letters received, copies of letters sent, memoranda, and printed matter.
Acheson, Edward G., Jr, Feb. 1910-Sept. 1926
Acheson, George W., Apr. 1913-Dec. 1922
Acheson, John Huyler, June 1910-Sept. 1926
Acheson, Raymond M., 1915
Coe, Frank N., Nov. 1912-Feb. 1930
Deringer, John P.
Mar. 1910-Dec. 1917
Edison, Thomas A., 1881-1920
Edison Pioneers, 1918-1931
Scott, L. G., 1916-17
Smith, William Acheson
June 1916-Dec. 1922
Sprague, Edmund C.
Sept. 1915-Dec. 1917
General Correspondence, 1873-1968
Correspondence, speeches, addresses, legal documents, agreements, and photostats.
General
Nichols, Edward L.
Adams, Milton F.
Cowles Electric Smelting and Aluminum Co.
Huyler
Marks, Louis B.
Hunt, Alfred E.
Tesla, Nikola
Osterreichische Länderbank
Holloway, James
Österreichische Länderbank
Bölling, F.
Fitzgerald, Francis A. J.
Kunz, George F.
Mellon, Andrew W.
Mott, Samuel D.
Tone, Frank J.
Huyler, John S.
Rathenau, Walther
Arison, William H.
Bakewell & Bakewell
Brydges & Co.
Chandler, C. F.
Foster & Freeman
Hipple, James
Lüders, Richard
Lürmann, F.
Ursell, B.
Castner-Kellner Alkali Co., Ltd.
Diechmann (Gustav) & Sohn
Graphitization of carbons
Talbot, Benjamin
Voss, Georeg and Co.
Acheson Graphite Co.
National Carbon Co.
New York Central & Hudson River Railroad Co.
Obermayer (S.) Co.
Laureau, L. G.
Lundy's Lane house
National Graphite Co.
Adams, Edward D.
Bellefonte Academy, Bellefonte, Pa.
Electrochemical Society
International Acheson Graphite Co.
Pan American Exposition, Buffalo, N.Y.
Siloxicon; Egyptianized clay
Day, David T.
Thomson, Elihu
Ward (Fred) & Son
Oatka Gypsum Co.
Packard Motor Car Co.
St. Louis Exposition, St. Louis, Mo.
Silixocon; Egyptianized clay
Acheson Co.
American Ceramic Society
Ries, Heinrich
Cohn, Morris
Brashear, John A.
Byrnes, & Townsend
Perkin, William H.
Williamson, Arthur M.
Mabery, Charles F.
Banbury, Fernley H.
Autobiography
Perkin Medal
Crookes, William
Farnsworth, Alfred W.
Maury, Paul
Robinson, William V.
Ubbelohde, Leo
Wolcott, Clifton E.
Kovalevsky, W. I.
McAllister, David C.
Pfohl, Peter P.
Russia, visit to
Russian Importing Co.
Schumacher, Willy
Takamine, Jokichi
Williamson, Arthur J.
Arrhenius, Svante
Bertolini, Mario
Bills
Etzel, E.
Laurento, Bruto
Ostwald, Wolfgang
Correspondence with Mrs. Edward Goodrich Acheson
Speeches
Sweden, visit to
Vickery, James Harris
Armstrong, Henry E.
Dunlap, Orrin E.
Hadfield, Robert A.
Rose, Frederick C.
Acheson, Edward Goodrich, passport renewal
Freeland, A. A.
Seaton, William Murray
Water power legislation
Baekeland, Leo Hendrik
British Ministry of Munitions of War
Heralds' College, London, England
Martin, T. Commerford
Vibe, J. C.
Wayte (W. J.) Inc.
Liberty motor tests of "Oildag"
Marsh, Joseph W.
Tryon, C. A.
Carson, E. F.
Harrell, C. E.
Herschel, Clemens
Kelly, James F.
Texas Co.
Conservation
Edwards, Elisha Jay
Archbutt, Leonard
Miner-Edgar Co.
Kuhn, Kuno
McDonald, John F.
Federal Oil Conservation Board
Acheson Graphite Co., sale of
Electrochemical Society, Edward G. Acheson Fund
Jehl, Francis
Smithsonian exhibit
Niagara Falls, N.Y., exhibit
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., exhibit
American Philosophical Society
Socony-Vacuum Oil Co.
Fink, Colin G.
Biographer's papers (Raymond Szymanowitz)
1953, Russia, visit to
1954, Carborundum Co.
1957-1960, Banbury, Fernley H.
1963, Banbury, Fernley H.
1964, Carborundum Co.
1965-1966, Cowles Electric Smelting and Aluminum Co.
Carborundum Co.
Undated, Bowman, Francis, "History of the Carborundum Co."
Miscellany, 1872-1956
Financial notebooks, newspaper clippings, biographical material, printed matter, calling cards, commissions, memorabilia, scrapbooks, scientific notebooks, and court proceedings.
Acheson family history
Biographical sketch of Acheson
"Birth certificate" of the Carborundum Co.
Calling cards, visits to Russia and Sweden, 1913
Commissions See Oversize
Court proceedings, Electric Smelting & Aluminum Co. v. the Carborundum Co., 1894
Data regarding Acheson companies
Financial books, 1876-90
"Index to Acheson files" (partial card file)
Invitation to life membership in the Congressional Country Club, Bethesda, Md.
Newspaper clippings
Newspaper clippings, including visits to Russia and Sweden in 1913>
Printed matter, 1910-1956, undated
Printed matter
Edison Pioneers
Articles and speeches by Acheson
Publicity
Scientific notebooks
1897-1910, undated
Scrapbook See Oversize
Scrapbook of clippings, 1899
Typescript of A Pathfinder, 1910
Oversize
Commissions and scrapbook.
Miscellany
Commissions (Container 35)
Scrapbook (Container 48)
Notes and sketches