Catalogue description Supplementary catalogue of the papers and correspondence of CECIL FRANK POWELL, FRS (1903-1969)

SECTION A BIOGRAPHICAL AND PERSONAL A.1-A.143

SECTION B BALLOON FLIGHTS B.1-B.18

SECTION C LECTURES, BROADCASTS, PUBLICATIONS C.1-C.25

SECTION D PUGWASH CONFERENCES D.1-D.19

SECTION E CORRESPONDENCE E.1-E.76

INTRODUCTION

The material came to light at Powell's home in Bristol in February 1985 and was received by courtesy of Professor P.H. Fowler FRS of the H.W. Wills Physics Laborotary, University of Bristol.

PRESENTATION

The 'new' 1985 material includes biographical records, correspondence, photographs and press-cuttings which were largely absent from the original collection received in 1973; there is in consequence almost no overlap or duplication of content or of archival class. For this reason, and in view of the considerable lapse of time, no attempt has been made to consolidate the two catalogues. The 1985 material has been treated essentially as a separate collection, presented and indexed as shown in the list of contents.

DESCRIPTION

The biographical material in Section A, through still not a full record, contains an interesting span of Powell's career from the meagre provision of the State Scholarship (A.4) to the worldwide renown of the Nobel Prize (A.6-A.32). The sad coincidence in 1969 of his retirement (June) and death (August) is also marked. Of interest are the family letters (A.101-A.106), with their endearing spontaneity. Powell's unassuming friendliness, so often invoked by others in letters of congratulation or condolence becomes visible, so to say, in many of the delightful photographs (A.107-A.142).

Powell's research is represented chiefly by the contemporary records of the 1952 and 1953 high altitude balloon flights in Sardinia (B.1-B.9). The earlier research on cosmic rays, recorded in the notebooks of Powell and his team, is to be found in the 1973 collection.

Powell's public life in national and international affairs, and service for many scientific associations, remains very scantily documented, only a few records of the Pugwash conferences surviving (Section D) what was thought to be the wholesale destruction of his papers and correspondence after his death. Tantalisingly, a small proportion of the correspondence has now come to light and is preserved in Section E, though it can be no more than a tiny fraction of the original.

References to the Memoir of Powell by F.C. Frank and D.H. Perkins (Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, 17, 1971) are given in the form (Memoir, p. ...)

Compiled by Jeannine Alton, Peter Harper and Margaret Erskine

The work of the Contemporary Scientific Archives Centre, and the production of this catalogue, are made possible by the support of the following societies and institutions:

The Biochemical Society

The Charles Babbage Foundation for the History of Information Processing

The Institute of Physics

The Institution of Electrical Engineers

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers

The Nuffield Foundation

The Rhodes Trustees

The Royal Society of London

The Wolfson Foundation

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are grateful to Mrs. Powell for making the material available, and to Professor P.H. Fowler and Mr. N. Higham (Librarian, University of Bristol) for assembling it, and for information.

LOCATIONS OF FURTHER MATERIAL

Mrs. Powell retains medals and citations of Powell's honours, family photographs (some going back to 1900), press-cuttings, Nobel Prize and other souvenirs.

Powell, Cecil Frank, 1903-1969, scientist and physicist

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