A Guide to the Papers of Richard Scott Mitchell 1937-1980 Mitchell, Richard Scott, Papers of 12786

A Guide to the Papers of Richard Scott Mitchell 1937-1980

A Collection in the
Special Collections
The University of Virginia Library
Accession Number 12786


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Processed by: Kimberly Marie Johnson and John Evan Foster

Repository
Special Collections, University of Virginia Library
Accession number
12786
Title
Papers of Richard Scott Mitchell 1937-1988
Physical Characteristics
ca. 1500 items (8.5 Hollinger boxes, ca. 3.5 shelf feet).
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Papers of Richard Scott Mitchell, Accession #12786, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This collection was received on January 16, 1989 from Hugh M. Leavell, Trust Officer at Jefferson National Bank and bears no restrictions.

Biographical/Historical Information

Richard Scott Mitchell was born on January 28, 1929 in Longmont, Colorado. Trained as a geologist, Mitchell was an expert in mineralogy and crystallography. After earning a B.S. in 1950 and M.S. in 1951 from the University of Michigan, Mitchell became an assistant professor of environmental science at the University of Virginia in 1953. In 1956, Michigan awarded Mitchell his doctorate. His dissertation, Polytypism of Cadmium Iodide and Its Relationship to Screw Dislocations, discussed the numerous structural types of cadmium iodide that Mitchell had discovered and the growth of these structures as evidence for the screw dislocation theory of crystal growth. Mitchell stayed at the University of Virginia for the rest of his career, becoming full professor in 1963, and was acting chairman of the department from 1964 to 1969. He was appointed executive editor of Rocks & Minerals magazine in 1976 and elected to membership in various professional organizations and honorary societies, including the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Mineral Society of America, the Geological Society of America, Sigma Xi, and Sigma Gamma Epsilon. Mitchell died at the age of 59 on August 2, 1988. For a more complete chronology of Mitchell's career, see the entry from American Men and Women of Science (Physical and Biological Sciences, 14th edition, 1979). For an abstract of his dissertation, see the entry from Dissertation Abstracts International (Vol. 17, 1957).

Scope and Content Information

This collection consists of ca. 1500 items (8.5 Hollinger boxes, ca. 3.5 shelf feet) and dates from 1937 to 1988. The collection is mostly personal in nature, including correspondence, receipts, invoices, adn photographs. The collection also contains the diaries of Mitchell and his parents, Margaret May Hartman Mitchell and Clarence Floyd Mitchell.

Contents List

Christmas Card List 1952-1987
Box One
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Correspondence List 1976-1988
Box One
13 folders
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Correspondence 1964-1975
Box Two
12 folders
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Correspondence 1949-1963, n.d.
Box Three
12 folders
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"Dear Diary "--Jesse and Bertha Hartman 1971
Box: Three
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Invoices and Receipts
Box Three
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Diaries--Richard Scott Mitchell 1979-1988
Box Four
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Diaries--Richard Scott Mitchell 1967-1978
Box Five
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Diaries--Richard Scott Mitchell 1955-1966
Box Six
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Diaries--Richard Scott Mitchell 1937-1954
Box Seven
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Diaries--Margaret May (Hartman) Mitchell (mother of R.S.M.) 1943-1970
Box Eight
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Diaries--Clarence Floyd Mitchell (father R.S.M.) 1937-1943
Box Nine
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Photographs
Box Nine
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UVA Group Photograph
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