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History:

History of Technology and Science:

Primary Sources

Below are some primary sources that can be found at Hunt Library, Carnegie Mellon; Hillman Library, the University of Pittsburgh; the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh; and on the Web. Repositories of other primary sources can be found using the resources at History: Databases and Indexes: Archival Resources. If you need help finding primary sources, ask at the Hunt Library reference desk.

• Audio Materials
• Books
• Collections, Papers, and Diaries
• Government Documents
• Magazines and Journals

Primary Sources:

Audio Materials

See also the resources in History: Audio Resources: General.

• Celebrating NASAs Fortieth Anniversary 1958-1998: Fortieth Anniversary Audio and Video Clips (NASA History Office)

• Speeches and Video: Science and Technology (HistoryChannel.com)
  Click on Science & Technology tab

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Primary Sources:

Books

• Appleton's Cyclopaedia of Applied Mechanics (Roger Corrie)

• Core Historical Literature of Agriculture (Cornell University)
  Scanned images of core agricultural books from the 19th and 20th century.

• Cornell Historical Math Book Monographs (Cornell University)
  Scanned images of over 500 math books, browse by author or title.

• Gallica (The Bibliothèque Nationale de France)
  Digitized collections (books, periodicals, etc.) from the National Library of France and other libraries, covering all subject areas, including technology and science, from the Middle Ages to the beginning of the 20th century. Most of the collection is in French, though some English language resources are included.

• Making of America.
  A collaborative effort between the University of Michigan and Cornell University, to use digital technology to preserve primary sources, and to make them accessible. The collections are especially strong the areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology.
  • Making of America (Cornell University Library)
    Browse or search journals and books from the antebellum period through reconstruction.
  • Making of America. (University of Michigan)
    Browse or search books and journals materials from the antebellum period through reconstruction, 1850-1877.

• The Nineteenth Century in Print: The Making of America in Books and Periodicals (American Memory, Library of Congress)
  Search, browse and display books and periodicals published in the United States during the nineteenth century, primarily during the second half of the century. Most of the materials were digitized through the Making of America project, a collaboration of Cornell University and the University of Michigan.

• Posner Memorial Collection of the History of Science
  Collection of books in the Fine and Rare Book Room, Hunt Library, Carnegie Mellon University, focusing on the physical sciences.

• Steam Engine Library (Department of History, University of Rochester)
  Historic books relating to the steam engine.

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Primary Sources:

Collections, Papers, and Diaries

• A-Bomb WWW Museum
  Interviews with A-bomb survivors, recollections, photos, etc.

• Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers at the Library of Congress (American Memory, Library of Congress)
  Includes correspondence, scientific notebooks, journals, blueprints, articles, and photographs documenting Bell's personal life, inventions, and other scientific interests.

• Alexander Graham Bell Notebooks Project (Charles Twardy, Indiana University)
  Scanned images of Bell's notebooks.

• Allen Newell Collection (University Archives, Carnegie Mellon University)
  Full-text digital archive of Allen Newell's pioneering work in artificial intelligence and cognitive science, including publications, project reports, teaching materials, correspondence, and eventually audio and video.

• Atom Bomb Decision (Gene Dannen)
  Full text documents on the decision to use the atomic bomb.

• Cameras: The Technology of Photographic Imaging (Museum of the History of Science, Oxford)
  Pictures of early cameras, with information on how they worked.

• Classic Papers from the History of Chemistry (and Some Physics, too) (John L. Park)

• Cold War International History Project (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars)
  Historical documents on the Cold War including the arms race, etc.

• Asher, Robert. Connecticut Workers and Technological Change: Connecticut Workers and a Half Century of Technological Change, 1930-1980, Project. Storrs: Center for Oral History, University of Connecticut, c1983. Microfiche.
  HUNT MFICHE-3 306.3 W926
  Over 150 interviews from workers, union leaders, engineers, and management which offer insight into the impact of technological change on work skills, job satisfaction, relationships between workers, etc. The printed guide, arranged by name of the individual interviewed, gives a brief summary of the interview. An index by occupation is also included. A printed supplement provides overviews of technological changes within the industries included in the study.

• Cook, James. The Journals of Captain James Cook on his Voyages of Discovery. Edited by J. C. Beaglehole. 4 vols. Cambridge: Published for the Hakluyt Society at the University Press, 1955-1974.
  HIBD MB C771J 955

• Critical Mass [computer file]: America's Race to Build the Atomic Bomb. Bellevue, WA: Corbis, c1996.
  ENGR&SCI CIRCDESK 623.45109 C934
  Multimedia presentation of the development of the atomic bomb at Los Alamos. Includes information on the Manhattan Project and the Trinity Site nuclear explosion; biographies of leading scientists working at Los Alamos; time line correlating developments in science, politics, and popular culture; and source materials including documents, photographs, and film clips.

• Darwin, Charles. The Collected Papers of Charles Darwin. Edited by Paul H. Barrett 2 vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977.
  HIBD DE1 D228C

• Darwin, Charles. The Correspondence of Charles Darwin. 11 vols. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985-1999.
  ENGR&SCI STACKS QH31 .D2 A33 1985

• Edison Papers (Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey)

• Edison, Thomas A. The Papers of Thomas A. Edison. Edited by Reese V. Jenkins, et al. 5 vols. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, c1989-present.
  ENGR&SCI TK140 .E3 A2 1989

• Ezra Cornell Papers (Cornell University)
  Scanned images of correspondence and diaries of Ezra Cornell, active pioneer in the establishment of telegraph lines throughout the country, founder of Western Union Telegraph and Cornell University.

• Faraday, Michael. The Correspondence of Michael Faraday. Edited by Frank A.J.L. James. 3 vols. London: Institution of Electrical Engineers, c1991-<1996>.
  Request from OFFSITE

• Franklin, Benjamin. The Papers of Benjamin Franklin. Edited by Leonard W. Labaree. 35 vols. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1959-present.
  HUNT STACKS-2 E302 .F82 1959

• The Galileo Project (Rice University)
  Full text resource on the life and work of Galileo. Includes translated letters from Galileo's Daughter, Maria Celeste.

• The Genius of Edison [interactive multimedia]. Cambridge, MA: Compton's NewMedia, c1996.
  ENGR&SCI CIRCDESK 621.3092 E23G
  1 computer laser optical disk: sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 ready reference card. Explores the life, inventions, and times, of Thomas Edison using 3D animation, historic film footage, narrated passages, original photographs, period music, hyperlinks and more.

• Goldie, Peter. Darwin [computer file]. San Francisco, CA: Lightbinders, Inc., c1997.
  HIBD CD-ROM BM1 D228D 997
  Includes complete texts and illustrations from Charles Darwin's works. Contains a timeline of events in Darwin's life, a biographical dictionary, and a bibliography of 1,500 primary and secondary sources. Natural sounds for some of the species discussed and a 7-minute video, "Down House Appeal," narrated by Sir David Attenborough are also included.

• History of Computing (Department of Computer Science, Virginia Tech)
  Overviews of the history of computing, biographies, histories of programming languages and software, emulators of historical systems, etc.

• The Industrial Revolution in America [interactive multimedia]. Fairfield, CT: Queue, c1996.
  HUNT MUS-OFC-4 338.0973 I42
  Presents a multimedia view of the United States as a center of industry through three main video-based presentations which are enhanced by a gallery of black-and-white stills, index, glossary, quiz, and interactive timeline. The gallery includes sketches of various inventions, innovations, and scenes from the 19th century.

• Internet History of Science Sourcebook (Paul Halsall)
  Links to documents, web sites, etc.

• Newton, Isaac, Sir. Correspondence. 7 vols. Cambridge: Published for the Royal Society at the University Press, 1959-77.
  Request from OFFSITE

• Oral History Online (Library, University of California, Berkeley)
  • Medicine, Science, Biotechnology, & Public Health

• Papers of Sir Joseph Banks (State Library of New South Wales)

• RussianSpace.com (Anatoly Zak)
  Biographies, technical information on Russian spacecraft.

• Selected Papers from the History of Chemistry (Carmen Giunta)
  Historical papers arranged by subject or alphabetically, in all areas of chemistry.

• Telephone History Web Site (Chuck Eby)
  Photos of antique phones, links to other telephone history sites, wiring diagrams, etc.

• Trinity Atomic Web Site (Gregory Walker)
  History of nuclear weapons via documents, photos, and videos. Includes civil defence, nuclear testing, nuclear accidents, etc.

• Wright, Wilbur and Orville. The Papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright, Including the Chanute-Wright Letters and Other Papers of Octave Chanute. Edited by Marvin W. McFarland. New York: McGraw-Hill, [1953].
  HUNT BSMT TL540 .W7 A4

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Primary Sources:

Government Documents

Documents produced by the United States government can be a great source of information. Below are just a few examples of the types of government documents that are relevant to the history of technology and science. To find more, use the databases and indexes listed at History: Databases and Indexes: Government Documents. If you need help locating government documents, ask for assistance at the Hunt Library reference desk.

• Cochrane, Rexmond C. Measures for Progress; A History of the National Bureau of Standards. [Washington, D.C.]: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards, 1966.
  HUNT HUNT REF-1 GOVDOC C13.10:275

• DOE Openness: Human Radiation Experiments (Department of Energy)

• Gray, Gary C. Radio for the Future: A History of Electronic Communication in the Forest Service, 1905-1975. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 1982.
  HUNT HUNT REF-1 GOVDOC A13.27/14:369

• Historical Subject Reference Guide (History Office, Office of Policy and Plans, National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
  Documents, biographies, technical drawings and diagrams, etc.

• Kennedy Space Center (NASA/Kennedy Space Center)
  History of space flights, including text of National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, mission histories, photo archive, news releases back to 1983, technical information and drawings, etc.

• NOAA Heritage Page (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
  Documents on the formation and history of NOAA, surveys, maps and images, etc.

• OTA Legacy (Office of Technology Assessment, Congress of the United States)
  Historical notes on the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), full text archive of reports which can be browsed by title, year of publication, or topic.

• United States. Congress. House. Committee on Science and Astronautics. Subcommittee on NASA Oversight. Space Shuttle--Skylab: Manned Space Flight in the 1970's; Status Report for the Subcommittee on NASA Oversight. Prepared by Prepared by James E. Wilson and Harold A. Gould, et al. 92nd Congress, 2nd sess., 1972, Committee Print.
  HUNT HUNT REF-1 GOVDOC Y4 Sci2:92-2/N

• United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences. Soviet Space Programs, 1971-1975. Report prepared by the Science Policy Research Division, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 94th Congress, 2nd session, 1976, Committee Print.
  HUNT HUNT REF-1 GOVDOC Y 4.Ae 8:So 8/971-75/v.1-2.

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Primary Sources:

Magazines and Journals

Magazines and journals can be considered either primary or secondary sources, depending the way in which they are used. Ask your professor if you have questions about which they might be considered in the context of your paper. Some of the indexes and databases listed at History of Science and Technology: Databases and Indexes cover the magazines and journals listed below, as well as additional titles of interest.

• HarpWeek.
  Contains all the pages of Harper's Weekly from 1857-1912 as scanned images. Users can browse by date or literary genre. Searches can be done by full text, by occupation or role in society, or by searching any combination of four indexes: subject; illustrations; literature and publishing; advertising. Since the scanned images in HarpWeek (11 x 15.5") are too large to print full size on 8.5 x 11" paper, please see Printing from HarpWeek for printing and downloading information.

• Making of America.
  A collaborative effort between the University of Michigan and Cornell University to use digital technology to preserve primary sources, and to make them accessible. The collections are especially strong the areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology.
  • Making of America (Cornell University Library)
    Browse or search journals and books from the antebellum period through reconstruction.
  • Making of America. (University of Michigan)
    Browse or search books and journals materials from the antebellum period through reconstruction, 1850-1877.

• The Nineteenth Century in Print: The Making of America in Books and Periodicals (American Memory, Library of Congress)
  Search, browse and display books and periodicals published in the United States during the nineteenth century, primarily during the second half of the century. Most of the materials were digitized through the Making of America project, a collaboration of Cornell University and the University of Michigan.

• 19th Century Scientific American (Electronic Historical Publications)
  Full text, can be searched or browsed.

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