Papers of Faculty and Presidents

Margaret Burri
Curator of Manuscripts

Presidential Materials

All presidents of The Johns Hopkins University are documented in Special Collections and Archives, from Daniel Coit Gilman through our current president. In some cases, materials pertaining to a president may be located in two different units of the department. Personal papers for Daniel Coit Gilman (Ms. 1), Ira Remsen (Ms. 39), Frank Johnson Goodnow (Ms. 3), Joseph Sweetman Ames (Ms. 61), and Isaiah Bowman (Ms. 58) are part of the Manuscripts unit of Special Collections. Gilman's personal papers and presidential records are combined into one manuscript collection, but Remsen, Goodnow, Ames and Bowman have presidential records in the Archives in addition to their manuscript collections. Later presidents (Detlev Wulf Bronk, Lowell Jacob Reed, Milton Stover Eisenhower, Lincoln Gordon, Steven Muller, William Chase Richardson, and Daniel Nathans) are also documented in the Archives. A list of Johns Hopkins University presidents and brief biographical sketches is available on the Web.

The Gilman and the Bowman Papers are fairly extensive, comprising 42 and 113 linear feet, respectively. The Remsen and Goodnow Papers comprise approximately 10 linear feet each, while the Ames Papers are just 0.5 linear foot. As mentioned above, all presidents since Gilman are represented in the Archives. Records dating from 1901 to 1963 (encompassing the administrations of Remsen, Goodnow, Ames, Bowman, Bronk, Reed, and part of Eisenhower's) are filed together in series one of the Records of the Office of the President (Record Group 02.001), comprising approximately 81 linear feet. The remainder of Eisenhower's records, along with those of Lincoln Gordon and Steven Muller, are spread over four series comprising approximately 153 linear feet. Records pertaining to Richardson and Nathans, as well as our current president, William R. Brody, are not yet processed and are unavailable for research. All administrative records in the Archives created within the past twenty-five years are restricted and require special approval before they may be viewed.

Faculty Records

As with presidential records, records and papers of Hopkins' faculty members may be divided between archival record groups and manuscript collections. Of Hopkins' original six faculty members, three are documented by manuscript collections: Ira Remsen (who served as Hopkins' first professor of chemistry prior to becoming its second president), is described above; Henry A. Rowland, professor of physics, is documented in manuscript collection Ms. 6 (30 linear feet); and Basil L. Gildersleeve's papers comprise manuscript collection Ms. 5 (15 linear feet). Other prominent faculty members documented by manuscript collections include Herbert B. Adams (Ms. 4, 35 linear feet), Sidney Lanier (Ms. 7, 22 linear feet), George Boas (Ms. 10, 10 linear feet), Arthur O. Lovejoy (Ms. 38, 35 linear feet), Abel Wolman (Ms. 105, 173 linear feet), and Hugh L. Dryden (Ms. 147, 52 linear feet). Many other faculty are represented by manuscript collections of various sizes.

Many faculty are also documented in archival records. Especially in Hopkins' early years, individual faculty members often wrote to the president to describe their research and that of their department. This material can be found in the appropriate departmental file in the Records of the Office of the President. In addition, most academic departments have their own record groups in the Archives, and these records often include materials on faculty research, teaching, and other departmental responsibilities. The departments of History, Physics, Chemistry, Economics, and Earth and Planetary Sciences are especially well represented by archival records.

Finding Aids

All archival record groups or manuscript collections available to the public have a finding aid to accompany them. These finding aids enable researchers to locate records applicable to their research. All archival finding aids are available on the Web. Most, but not all manuscript collections have finding aids available on the Web. Some manuscript finding aids are only available in a typescript; contact Margaret Burri at (410) 516-5492 for more information. If you locate online catalog records for archival or manuscript materials, you should find links to the appropriate finding aid for the record group or manuscript collection. Since most archival and manuscript materials are stored off-site, please allow twenty-four hours to have them brought to the library for use.

If the topic of your research isn't mentioned above, please contact the appropriate staff member in Special Collections, by phone, e-mail or regular mail, and we will be happy to discuss your research interests and assist in any way we can.