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Biography
AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjectsRelationships
PeopleInstitutionsResources
Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as AuthorPublished as SubjectJames Bryant Conant
Dates
March 26, 1893 – February 11, 1978
Authorized Form of Name
Conant, James Bryant, 1893-1978
Biography
Abstract
James Conant was a chemist and President of Harvard University (1933-1953). He was also the first United States Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany (1955-1957). His research interests included chlorophyll, the biochemistry of oxyhemoglobin, and acid-base chemistry.
Important Dates
March 26, 1893Birth, Boston (Mass.).
1913Obtained AB, Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).
1916Obtained PhD in Chemistry, Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).
1916 – 1978Professor of Chemistry (1916-1929); Emory Professor of Organic Chemistry (1929-1933); President (1933-1953); and Emeritus President (1953-1978), Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).
1929Member, National Academy of Sciences.
1930 – 1949Member, Board of Science Directors, Rockefeller Institute.
1941 – 1946Chair, National Defense Research Committee.
1946President, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
1947 – 1952Member, General Advisory Committee, United States Atomic Energy Commission.
1950 – 1953Member, National Science Board.
1951 – 1953Member, Science Advisory Committee, United States Office of Defense Mobilization.
1955 – 1957United States Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, United States Department of State.
February 11, 1978Death, Hanover (N.H.).
Occupation
Organic chemist.
Places
Birth
Undergraduate Education
Graduate Education
Employment
Death
Subjects
Relationships
People
Family
Conant, Grace Thayer
Wife.
Conant, James Richards
Son.
Conant, James Scott
Father.
Conant, Jennet Orr
Mother.
Conant, Theodore Richards
Son.
Advisors & Collaborators
Loeb, Robert F. (Robert Frederick), 1895-1973
Both worked at United States Office of Defense Mobilization.
Thomson, G. P. (George Paget), 1892-1975
Thomson reported atomic bomb findings of MAUD committee to Conant and Bush.
Colleagues
Bainbridge, Kenneth T. (Kenneth Tompkins), 1904-1996
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Bridgman, P. W. (Percy Williams), 1882-1961
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Dryden, Hugh L. (Hugh Latimer), 1898-1965
Both worked at United States Office of Defense Mobilization.
DuBridge, Lee A. (Lee Alvin), 1901-1994
Both worked at United States Office of Defense Mobilization.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Fisk, James B. (James Brown), 1910-1981
Both employed at Harvard University.
Fletcher, James Chipman, 1919-1991
Both employed at Harvard University.
Furry, W. H. (Wendell Hinkle), 1907-
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Gross, David J. (David Jonathan)
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Kemble, Edwin C. (Edwin Crawford), 1889-
Both employed at Harvard University.
Kistiakowsky, George B. (George Bogdan), 1900-1982
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Menzel, Donald H. (Donald Howard), 1901-1976
Both employed at Harvard University.
Nier, Alfred O. (Alfred Otto), 1911-1994
Both employed at Harvard University.
Pierce, George Washington, 1872-1956
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Rice, Oscar Knefler, 1903-1978
Both employed at Harvard University.
Saunders, Frederick A. (Frederick Albert), 1875-1963
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Van Vleck, J. H. (John Hasbrouck), 1899-1980
Both employed at Harvard University.
Waterman, Alan Tower, 1892-1967
Both worked at United States Office of Defense Mobilization.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Zacharias, Jerrold Reinach, 1905-1986
Both worked at United States Office of Defense Mobilization.
Additional
Adams, Roger, 1889-1971
Arnold, Richard Thomas, 1913-
Bartlett, Paul D.
Bok, Bart J. (Bart Jan), 1906-1983
Buck, Paul Herman, 1899-1978
Carmichael, Leonard, 1898-1973
Clark, W. Mansfield (William Mansfield), 1884-1964
Clarke, Hans Thacher, 1887-1972
Fajans, Kasimir, 1887-1975
Frank, Philipp, 1884-1966
Groueff, Stephane
Hammett, Louis P. (Louis Plack), 1894-1987
Hunt, Frederick V.
Kerst, Donald William, 1911-1993
Loeb, Jacques, 1859-1924
Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967
Rabi, I. I. (Isidor Isaac), 1898-1988
Smyth, Henry De Wolf, 1898-1986
Wilson, Edwin Bidwell, 1879-1964
Institutions
Major Positions
Harvard University
President and Emeritus President.
Harvard University. Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology
Obtained AB (1913) and PhD in Chemistry (1916). Professor of Chemistry, Emory Professor of Organic Chemistry.
United States. Department of State
United States Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany.
Professional Activities & Affiliations
American Association for the Advancement of Science
President.
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Member.
National Science Board (U.S.)
Member.
Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research
Member, Board of Science Directors.
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
Member, General Advisory Committee.
United States. Council of National Defense. National Defense Research Committee
Chair.
United States. Science Advisory Committee
Member.
Resources
Archival Resources
Author
James B. Conant papers, 1862-1987 (bulk 1914-1978).
Archives. Pusey Library
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Subject
Alan Tower Waterman papers, 1918-1967 (bulk 1940-1963).
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
James Madison Memorial Building, First Street and Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540, USA
Associates of Physical Science of Harvard University records, 1937-1941, undated.
Archives. Pusey Library
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Donald W. Kerst papers, 1937-1959.
University Archives
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
1408 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
Hans Thacher Clarke papers, circa 1903-1973.
Library
American Philosophical Society
105 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
Henry De Wolf Smyth papers, 1885-1987.
Library
American Philosophical Society
105 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
I. I. Rabi papers, 1899-1989 (bulk 1945-1968).
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
James Madison Memorial Building, First Street and Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540, USA
J. Robert Oppenheimer papers, 1921-1980 (bulk 1947-1967).
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
James Madison Memorial Building, First Street and Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540, USA
Jacques Loeb papers, 1889-1924.
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
James Madison Memorial Building, First Street and Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540, USA
Kasimir Fajans papers, 1912-1975.
Bentley Historical Library
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2113, USA
Leonard Carmichael papers, circa 1917-1973.
Library
American Philosophical Society
105 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
Louis Planck Hammett papers, 1921-1986.
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Columbia University
Butler Library, 6th Floor East, New York, NY 10027, USA
MIT Office of the President records of Karl Taylor Compton and James Rhyne Killian, 1930-1959.
Institute Archives and Special Collections
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M.I.T. Libraries, Rm. 14N-118, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
MIT Office of the Vice President records, 1932-1938.
Institute Archives and Special Collections
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M.I.T. Libraries, Rm. 14N-118, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Office of Scientific Research and Development [OSRD], 1939-1950 (bulk 1939-1947).
Office of the National Archives
National Archives and Records Administration
8th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20408, USA
Oral history interview with Bart Jan Bok, 1978 May 15, 17, 19 and 1978 June 14.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Edwin Bidwell Wilson, 1963 June.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Frederick Vinton Hunt, 1964 December 18 and 1965 January 8.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Louis Plack Hammett, 1978 May 1 and 22.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Nicolaas Bloembergen, 1983 June 27.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Paul Buck, 1977 March 2.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Paul Doughty Bartlett, 1978 July 18.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Philipp Frank, 1962 July 16.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Richard Thomas Arnold, 1994 August 10.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Vannevar Bush, 1964.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Vannevar Bush, 1964.
Institute Archives and Special Collections
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M.I.T. Libraries, Rm. 14N-118, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Physical Review records, 1940-1947.
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
James Madison Memorial Building, First Street and Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540, USA
President's Commission on National Goals records, 1959-1961.
Dwight D. Eisenhower Library
Abilene, KS 67410, USA
President's Special Committee to Study the Rubber Situation records, 1942.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Library
Hyde Park, NY, USA
Roger Adams papers, 1900-1971.
University Archives
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
1408 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
Stephane Groueff papers, 1955-1975.
Mugar Library Special Collections
Boston University
771 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA
University Archives
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
1408 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
Vannevar Bush papers, 1901-1974.
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
James Madison Memorial Building, First Street and Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540, USA
Vannevar Bush papers, 1921-1974.
Institute Archives and Special Collections
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M.I.T. Libraries, Rm. 14N-118, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
W. Mansfield Clark papers, 1903-1964.
Library
American Philosophical Society
105 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
Published Resources
Author
Education in a divided world : the function of the public schools in our unique society.
Harvard case histories in experimental science [by] James Bryant Conant, general editor [and others]
Modern science and modern man / by James B. Conant.
My several lives; memoirs of a social inventor, by James B. Conant.
On understanding science; an historical approach, by James B. Conant
Robert Boyle's experiments in pneumatics.
The overthrow of the phlogiston theory; the chemical revolution of 1775-1789.
Subject
James Bryant Conant: 1893-1978, Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Conant Controversy in Teacher Education (New York: Random House, 1969).