Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- William O. Baker collection on John R. Pierce
- Dates:
- 1959-2002
- Creators:
- Baker, William O. (William Oliver), 1915-2005
- Abstract:
- Materials related to engineer and writer John R. Pierce collected by scientist and former president of Bell Labs William O. Baker.
- Extent:
- 0.01 Linear Feet (1 folder)
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. William O. Baker collection on John R. Pierce, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Items collected by William O. Baker related to John R. Pierce, including an original typescript of Pierce's titled "Life in a Laboratory"; a handwritten note by Pierce regarding Bell Labs' ESS machine dated 1959; collected remembrances from Pierce's memorial service in 2002; and an announcement of Pierce's death.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Engineer and writer John Robinson Pierce was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1910. Known for his work with radio communication, microwave technology, computer music, and psychoacoustics, Pierce earned his bachelor's, master's, and PhD degrees at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the 1930s. After finishing his PhD, Pierce worked at Bell Telephone Laboratories from 1936 to 1971, then joined the faculty at Caltech where he taught until 1980. Pierce was also a chief engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 1979 to 1982. In 1983 he accepted a position as Visiting Professor of Music, Emeritus, at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics at Stanford University. Pierce also wrote science fiction under the names John Pierce, John R. Pierce, and J. J. Coupling. He died in 2002 in Sunnyvale, California, from complications of Parkinson's Disease.
William O. Baker (1915-2005) was a research chemist and a frequent advisor to the United States government on scientific affairs and technology. Baker was president of Bell Labs from 1973 to 1979, and was previously Vice President for Research since 1955.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of William O. Baker, January 2006.
- Processing information:
-
Processed at the time of accessioning by Kelly Kress in June 2023.
- Arrangement:
-
Arranged by format.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-06-21 12:04:09 -0700 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
- Terms of access:
-
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. William O. Baker collection on John R. Pierce, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191