Call Number:

022

Repository:

Science History Institute Archives

Extent:

1 linear feet (1 box; ca. 67 print photographs)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Collection or item title, Othmer Library of Chemical History, Science History Institute..

Date:

1949-1952 (inclusive)

Form:

Photographs, Photograph collections, and Archival materials

Abstract:

Photographs documenting the informal activities of Louis Fieser, his wife Mary, and select students in the early 1950s while Fieser was a professor of organic chemistry at Harvard University.

Louis Fieser (1899-1977) was born in Columbus, Ohio and received his B.S. in Chemistry from Williams College in Massachusetts. He did his graduate work in chemistry at Harvard and had a traveling scholarship that took him to Germany and England. When he arrived back in America, he took an assistant professor position at Bryn Mawr College. He met Mary Peters, a student in his chemistry class, whom he later married in 1932. They went on to conduct research together and write thirteen chemistry textbooks. Fieser became a professor at Harvard University in 1930 and during this time did important research in Quinone chemistry. While Fieser was a successful professor for many years, his work was also significant for leading the team that created Napalm and he was a member of the U.S. Surgeon General's committee that linked cigarette smoke with cancer.

For a more detailed inventory, please view this record in our library catalog: https://othmerlib.sciencehistory.org/record=b1071726~S6

This collection consists of photographs of Louis and Mary Fieser, colleagues, and some of his students at Harvard University from 1949 to 1952. Included are some group portraits and candid shots from outings to the beach, canoeing, and at the Fiesers' home. While Louis Fieser's career was distinguished by many discoveries and awards, these photos are of a more casual nature, providing a glimpse of his life with his wife and students while at Harvard.