Max Mason papers,1877-1961
Repository
American Institute of Physics. Niels Bohr Library & Archives.
Papers created by
Mason, Max
Size of collection
2 linear feet
4 manuscript box(s)
1 oversize folder(s)
Short description of collection
The papers of Max Mason consist of professional and business correspondence, research notebooks, manuscripts, lantern slides and memorabilia.
Language(s) of collection
English
Collection number:
AR185
Max Mason was born on October 26, 1877 in Madison, Wisconsin. He graduated with an undergraduate and Master's degree from the University of Wisconsin, and a PhD in mathematics and physics from the University of Gottingen in 1903.
Mason was an instructor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1903, then an assistant professor from 1904 to 1908 at Yale University. Mason left Yale to become a professor at the University of Wisconsin, where he taught Mathematical Physics and later attained research professor status.
Mason interrupted his university teaching in 1917 for war research at the Naval Experimental Station, New London, Connecticut. He was the inventor of the Mason Hydrophone, a submarine detection device which isolated the noise of U-boat motors running underwater. He supervised his invention's manufacture and installation on American and British ships during the war.
After World War I, Mason returned to academic research and in 1925, became the President of the University of Chicago. He resigned in 1928 to become Director of Natural Sciences at the Rockefeller Foundation, then President of the Foundation in 1929.
During these years, he formed a business partnership with several research associates, Mason, Slichter and Hay, to process engineering patents and research. The firm dissolved in 1928. Mason formed another new company with both original and additional partners, Mason, Slichter and Gauld. The new firm, which operated from 1929 to 1936 also handled consulting on engineering patents and business.
Mason left the Rockefeller Foundation in 1936 for a place on Caltech's Observatory council; he supervised the Palomar Observatory 200-inch telescope building and installation. He replaced George Ellery Hale as chairman of the council in 1938, where he served until 1948.
Mason engaged in submarine research again for the Navy during World War II. His accomplishments were awarded by a citation from the Naval Ordnance. He also received the U.S. Medal for Merit from President Truman in 1948. A Caltech executive council member and trustee until his retirement in 1951, Mason ended his career as a research associate in astrophysics.
Mason was a member of committees on the National Research Council, the American Mathematical Society, American Physical Society and several foreign professional organizations, including the Deutsche Mathematiker Vereinigung.
Mason died after a long illness in Claremont, California on March 23, 1961.
The Max Mason papers consist of four boxes of professional and business correspondence, research notebooks, manuscripts, lantern slides and memorabilia.
Mason's professional correspondence ranges from 1927 to 1938. Most of the letters are from the years he was President of the Rockefeller Foundation. Mason's correspondence with colleagues primarily concerns avenues of research, committee investigations and job changes. The nature of Mason's professional relationships with Robert Millikan, Louis Slichter, Karl Taylor Compton and John D. Rockefeller Jr. are exemplified in these letters. Certain folders hold correspondence with members of committees; the letters of the Chicago's World's Fair centennial Committee and two National Academy of Science Award committees indicate the depths of Mason's involvement in professional organization activities. A National Academy of Science folder contains a short but interesting autobiographical outline.
The business correspondence of Mason, Slichter and Hay comprises correspondence between Mason, his partners and clients who had major business contracts with the firm. Firm letters and reports concern consulting work to engineering businesses and patent developers. Most of the letters are between the partners and describe internal company decisions about patents, business deals and financial transactions. The later Mason, Slichter and Gauld company correspondence is predominantly internal, including business reports and letters on patent royalties, company and personal income taxes.
The notebooks indicate the type of mathematical study Mason pursued. A marble-bound student notebook from 1900 contains notes for a mathematics course with David Hilbert while Mason was a doctoral student at Gottingen University. Two loose-leaf notebooks from 1942 and 1943, while Mason was at Caltech, hold mathematical computations with loose sheets of figures and diagrams.
The manuscript materials include typewritten drafts of Mason's work from different periods. These draft are prime examples of Mason's research and administrative writing ability. A number of address written by Mason for formal occasions also tell much about his professional attitudes toward scientific and everyday life. The addresses reveal a combination of personal anecdote and philosophical discussion; his topics emphasize rationality in the intellectual processes of scientific research.
The final box holds lantern slides (which might be illustrations for a lecture on Mason's submarine detection work) and memorabilia, including degree diplomas and citations.
Mason's contributions were primarily in mathematical physics, submarine detection development and scientific organization committee research. He published a number of articles and reports relating to his inventions and research. Mason was also an active administrator during his years at the University of Chicago, Rockefeller Foundation and California Institute of Technology. The Max Mason papers represent an important cross-section of his accomplishments.
Researchers must have an approved access application on file in order to access archival materials. https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/item-request.
These papers have been indexed in the
International Catalog of Sources for History of Physics and Allied Sciences (ICOS)
using the following terms. Those seeking related materials should search under these terms.
Persons
Burgess, George K.
Gauld, Brownlee B.
Mason, Max, 1877-1961
Rockefeller, John D. (John Davison), 1874-1960.
Slichter, Donald.
Slichter, Louis Byrne, 1896-1978-
Trowbridge, Augustus, 1870-1934.
Institutions
California Institute of Technology.
Mason, Slichter and Gauld (Firm)
Mason, Slichter and Hay (Firm)
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Palomar Observatory.
Rockefeller Foundation.
Universität Göttingen.
Subject terms
Geophysics. Research.
Mathematics.
Sound.
Underwater acoustics.
This collection is organized into six series:
- Series I: Correspondence
- Series II: Research notebooks
- Series III: Manuscripts
- Series IV: Latern slides
- Series V: Memorabilia
- Series VI: Diplomas
Series I is arranged first alphabetically by correspondent name in Subseries A, then chronologically in Subseries B and C; all other series are arranged chronologically.
Received from Maxwell and William Mason and Mrs. W. T. Jones, 1963.
This collection was originally processed between 1963 when the donation was received and 1993, when the American Center for Physics moved from its previous location in New York to its current location in College Park, MD. It was reprocessed by Benjamin Henry in 2024.
Box [number], Folder [number], Max Mason papers. American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, College Park, MD 20740, USA.
Title
Finding Aid to the Max Mason papers, 1877-1961
Publisher
American Institute of Physics Niels Bohr Library & Archives
One Physics Ellipse
College Park, MD 20740
USA
nbl@aip.org
2009
Encoding Information
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Melanie J. Brown in 2009. Further edits made by Benjamin Henry in 2024. Any revisions made to this finding aid occurred as part of the editing and encoding process.
Subseries A: General correspondence
| Box 1 |
Folder 1 |
Article: Bubble Formation in Animals., 1944 |
|
Folder 2 |
Chicago World's Fair Centennial., 1928-1933 |
|
Folder 3 |
Collis P. and Howard Huntington Memorial Hospital & California Institute of Technology., 1944-1948 |
|
Folder 4 |
Correspondence: M., 1929-1936 |
|
Folder 5 |
Correspondence: N (inc. U.S. Navy)., 1930-1933; undated |
|
Folder 6 |
National Academy of Sciences., undated |
|
Folder 7 |
National Academy of Sciences committee on Cyrus B. Comstock fund., 1935 |
|
Folder 8 |
National Academy of Sciences committee on Marcellus Hartley fund., 1929-1936 |
|
Folder 9 |
Correspondence: P, inc. correspondence on Mason's exemption from jury duty because of physical incapacity., 1931-1936 |
|
Folder 10 |
Pierce, Mason & Hays., 1925-1934 |
|
Folder 11 |
Rockefeller Foundation; David Rines re: patent., 1928-1936 |
|
Folder 12 |
Mason and H. Swift on research in animal growth and hormones., 1936; undated |
|
Folder 13 |
Slichter, Louis B.1929-1936 |
|
Folder 14 |
Mason and A. Trowbridge 1930-1933 |
|
Folder 15 |
U.S. Senior's Golf Association., 1934 |
|
Folder 16 |
Draft from "W.W." to Mason on philosophical dilemma within the progress of science., undated |
Subseries B: Mason, Slichter and Hay correspondence
| Box 1 |
Folder 17 |
Correspondence on expenses and summations of research. Correspondents include: L. Slichter, D. Slichter, I. Reber., 1925 |
|
Folder 18 |
Correspondence on expenses, contract statements and log of research trips. Correspondents include: L. Slichter, R. Talley, C. Leith., 1926 |
|
Folder 19 |
Reports on company research; ore location, mining project and magnetic field method. Correspondents include: L. Slichter, D. Slichter, H. Hayes., 1926 |
|
Folder 20 |
Correspondence on patent reports, ore mining research and business. Correspondents include: L. Slichter, V. Mason, R. Talley., 1927 |
|
Folder 21 |
Reports on partnership in "Physical Exploration Co." Correspondents include: L. Slichter, D. Slichter, W. Collins, H.D. Smith., 1928 |
Subseries C: Mason, Slichter and Gauld correspondence
| Box 2 |
Folder 1 |
Report, "The Chilson Method"; letter from D. Jackson attached to "Acoustic Survey of the Dix Dam Reservoir" (1/2)., undated |
|
Folder 2 |
Report, "The Chilson Method"; letter from D. Jackson attached to "Acoustic Survey of the Dix Dam Reservoir" (2/2)., 1926 |
|
Folder 3 |
Correspondence on publication of paper based on company research and discussion between partners on finances. Correspondents include: L. Slichter, L. Healy, D. Jackson., 1928 |
|
Folder 4 |
Correspondence on mining research contracts. Correspondents include: L. Slichter, D. Jackson, A. Locke, B. Gauld., 1929 |
|
Folder 5 |
Correspondence on geophysics projects. Correspondents include: B. Gauld, C. Berkey, C. Buell., 1930 |
|
Folder 6 |
Correspondence between partners on Mason's personal and company's income taxes., 1931 |
|
Folder 7 |
Correspondence between Mason & B. Gauld on proceedings against contracting company for unpaid bills. Resolution on 1928 tax refund., 1932 |
|
Folder 8 |
Correspondence between Mason and L. Slichter on thermostat and patent business transaction., 1934 |
|
Folder 9 |
Correspondence on partnership agreements, contracts with oil companies and patents. Correspondents include: L. Slichter, D. Rines, H. Butler, R. Munden., 1935 |
|
Folder 10 |
Correspondence on contract negotiations and patent royalties. Correspondents include: L. Slichter, D. Slichter, R. Hoguet., 1935 |
|
Folder 11 |
Correspondence on patents, contract agreements and payment schedules. Correspondents include: L. Slichter, W. Campbell, E. DeGoyler, A. Buchner., 1935 |
|
Folder 12 |
Slichter miscellaneous receipts., 1935; undated |
|
Folder 13 |
Correspondence on partnership profits, payments and income taxes. Correspondents include: L. Slichter, B. Gauld, E. Leonardson, A. Buckner and D. Rines., 1936 |
| Box 3 |
Folder 1 |
Student notebook on David Hilbert's lectures, Göttingen., 1900 |
|
Folder 2 |
Loose-leaf notebook titled "Astrophysics Building"., 1942 |
|
Folder 3 |
MIT computation book, signed by Mason. Contains mathematical computations., 1943-1944 |
| Box 3 |
Folder 4 |
The Plan of the Book, introduction to Europe's Economic Sunrise by Edward Price Bell., 1927 |
|
Folder 5 |
Geophysical Exploration for Ores; letter from E. Kennedy on paper publication plans and Mason reply., 1928 |
|
Folder 6 |
The Relationship of the California Institute of Technology to Industrial and Governmental Research., 1945 |
|
Folder 7 |
Addresses, typewritten drafts, 1927-1939; undated |
|
Folder 8 |
Addresses, typewritten and handwritten, 1945-1957; undated |
| Box 4 |
Slides of submarine outer structure, cross-section diagrams and drawings of equipment., undated |
| Box 4 |
U.S. Medal for Merit and a medal inscribed "W.I.A.A.A. Annual Meet Second Prize Running High Jump"., 1898 |
|
Folder 1 |
The Commercial Club of Chicago testimonial booklet., undated |
|
Folder 2 |
Awards and memberships., 1936-1948; undated |
|
Folder 3 |
Dedication of the Palomar Observatory and the Hale Telescope., 1948 |
| Oversize folder 1 |
Honorary Doctor of Law Degrees, undated |
|
University of Chicago, undated |
|
University of Wisconsin, 1926 |
|
Columbia University, 1926 |
