Selected Primary Resources in Science and Technology
Cornell University Library has a rich history of science collection - both print and online. These include both published books and journals as well as the personal correspondence of many scientists and engineers. Much of this material is classified as 'primary source' or 'archival' material: information recorded for the very first time by the author, even written by hand. Most of CUL's history of science collections are administered by the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, housed in the Kroch Library.
Below are links to some of CUL's specific primary-source collections on the history of science and technology, with at least some of their content available online. Note the other tab that links to digital collections available from other institutions.
Other Tools
- Archive FinderDirectory of repositories and archives across the United States and Great Britain.
- Archive GridDirectory of repositories and archives including museums and historical societies.
- Engineering Research VideosShort videos demonstrating how to search various resources, including Knovel, CRC Handbook, high impact papers, and more.
- Engineering VillageComprehensive databases for engineering and physics from 1969 to date.
- History of Science, Technology, and MedicineIndexes publications in history of science, technology, and medicine from 1916 to the present.
- ScopusScopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature: scientific journals, books and conference proceedings.
Selected Resources for Science and Technology Studies with Some Content Digitized
- Liberty Hyde Bailey: A Man for All SeasonsNotable Cornell professor who lived 1858-1954, Liberty Hyde Bailey was an American horticulturist and botanist who was cofounder of the American Society for Horticultural Science. Bailey is credited with being instrumental in starting agricultural extension services, the 4-H movement, the nature study movement, parcel post and rural electrification.
- Hans Bethe PapersHans Albrecht Bethe was Professor of Physics at Cornell from 1935-2005 and Nobel laureate in 1967. The digitized portion is a small fraction of the physical collection.
- Anna Botsford Comstock, 1854-1930Anna Botsford Comstock was an American artist, educator, conservationist, and a leader of the nature study movement. Most of her papers are only in physical form, a noteworthy thesis on her newly discovered journals is available online.
- Louis Agassiz Fuertes collectionA native Ithacan and the nation's most notable ornithological painter since Audubon. Cornell University holds a large collection of his bird illustrations, as well as his personal papers. You will find here a database with 2500 of these illustrations, as well as an exhibit based on the journal he kept during the 1899 Harriman Alaska expedition.
- Charles Darwin ExhibitIn 2009 the Cornell University Library and the Museum of the Earth celebrate the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Origin of Species
- eCommons: Cornell's Digital RepositoryeCommons provides long-term access to a broad range of Cornell-related digital content including theses, research papers, images, data sets, and videos.
- Roald HoffmannRoald Hoffmann, Professor of Chemistry and Nobel laureate. Includes notebooks from when he was at Harvard and Sweden.
- Images from the Cornell Rare and Manuscript CollectionsImages from many subjects, including engineering - study and teaching, and individual names and places.
- KMODDLKMODDL is the Kinematics Models for Design Digital Library developed at Cornell University. It includes open access, multimedia resources for learning and teaching about kinematics – the geometry of pure motion – and the history and theory of machines.
- Antoine Lavoisier collectionThe Lavoisier Collection is the largest collection outside of France on chemist Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794), commonly considered to be the founder of modern chemistry.
- Nature's Garland: Illustrated Botanical Works from Cornell University LibraryCornell University Library's holdings are particularly strong in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century botany, including highlights of the period such as Thornton's Temple of Flora and Redouté's Lilies; but sixteenth-century herbals also make a strong showing in the collection.
- Nobel prize winnersThere are around 60 Nobel laureates affiliated with Cornell University. Subjects include physics, chemistry, physiology, medicine, economics,literature, and peace.
- Shannon Engineering Inc. Records Archival CollectionJack Shannon, a former Boeing employee who ran his own airplane parts company Shannon Engineering for 34 years, donated his collection of 453 original documents and technical reports to Cornell University. Covers 44 different airplanes, 6 helicopters, and 11 engine types plus documentation on hush kits for noise abatement of the Boeing 707 and other planes.
- Carl Sagan, Professor of Astronomy 1968-1996Carl Sagan's papers are at the Library of Congress. Some of his notes have been digitized.
Selective Primary Resources Not Digitized
- Archival Collections in Physical Sciences and EngineeringLists science-related materials that require a visit to Kroch Library's Rare and Manuscript Collections. Archival guides for other subjects are also available.
- Cold Fusion ArchiveMaterials published 1989 and later and collected by Dr. Bruce V. Lewenstein, Dr. Thomas F. Gieryn, and Dr. William Dougan.
- Robert Dalton Harris, Jr. Collection of Telegraph HistoryPrimary sources documenting the history of the telegraph from 1840 to 1940.
- Ernest George Meritt Papers, 1887-1950Founding editor of the Physical Review; first president of the American Physical Society. Collection include Merritt's Cornell student scrapbook, loose photographs of colleagues, laboratory equipment, and Cornell views; Merritt's notes on lectures concerning electricity, magnetism, thermodynamics, and theoretical mechanics.
- Stephen Prigozy Telegraph CollectionIncludes primary and secondary sources on the history of the telegraph and telephone.
- John P Watson PapersWatson worked as a pomologist for the Geneva Experiment Station for 37 years and was involved in developing 17 new grape varieties.