Call Number:

039

Repository:

Science History Institute Archives

Extent:

109 linear feet (79 boxes)

Preferred Citation:

Papers of John D. Roberts, Science History Institute Archives Philadelphia, Pennsylvania..

Date:

1940-1992 (inclusive) and 1960-2000 (bulk)

Form:

Archival materials

Abstract:

The collection gives a good overview of the arc of Roberts career as a chemist and educator. It is however weighted slightly more toward his accomplishments as a university administrator and board member of various organizations.

John D. Roberts was born in Los Angeles, CA on June 8, 1918. He received his AB degree from the University of California at Los Angeles and returned there for his PhD in 1944. He taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1946 to 1950, progressing from Instructor in Chemistry to Associate Professor. He was a visiting professor at Ohio State University before taking a position as Professor of Organic Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) where he has remained, teaching and serving the institute in various administrative capacities, including Vice President, Provost and Dean of the Faculty. Roberts has also served on various boards and committees for American Chemical Society, the National Academy of the Sciences, the National Science Foundation, the American Philosophical Society, the Lewis S.B. Leakey Foundation and the Huntington Medical Research Institute. He has been a Director of Organic Syntheses since 1977 and has served on numerous editorial boards. Among the awards given to Roberts during his long career are the the National Medal of Science, the Priestley Medal, the Roger Adams Medal, the Welsch Award, the Linus Pauling Award, the Nichols Award and the Michelson-Morley Award.

For a more detailed inventory, please view this record in our library catalog: https://othmerlib.sciencehistory.org/record=b1065587~S6

The collection covers Roberts' years at Caltech (1953 to the present) with important concentrations of material concerning his associations with the National Academy of the Sciences, the Huntington Medical Research Institute and the Lewis S.B. Leakey Foundation.

Organized into 14 series. I. Biographical; II.Correspondance; III.Research Associates; IV. Lectures, Papers& Research; V.Books; VI. Caltech; VII. Huntington Medical Research Institute (HMRI) VIII. Organic Synthesis - 1939, 1955-2009; IX. Legal Matters; X. Consultances; XI. Organizations; XII. Conferences, Seminars & Symposia; XIII. The Lewis B. Leakey Foundation; XIV. Other memberships.