Robeson, Frank L., Papers Frank L. Robeson Papers, 1899-1954, undated Ms.2015.014

Frank L. Robeson Papers, 1899-1954, undated Ms.2015.014


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Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech

Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
Business Number: 540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu
URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu

Jacob Todd, Student Assistant, and Kira A. Dietz, Archivist

Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Identification
Ms.2015.014
Title
Frank L. Robeson Papers 1899-1954, undated
Quantity
7.6 Cubic Feet, 6 boxes
Creator
Robeson, Frank Leigh, 1884-1974
Language
The materials in the collection are in English.
Abstract
The collection includes papers from Frank L. Robeson's tenure as a student at Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute, Columbia University, and Johns Hopkins University, as well as subject and research files from his nearly 50 years as an instructor and professor at VPI, dating from 1899 to 1954.

Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives ( specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Frank L. Robeson Papers, Ms2015-014, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Frank L. Robeson Papers were acquired by Special Collections and University Archives prior to 2008. They are believed to have been donated to the library, probably after Dr. Robeson's death in 1974.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Frank L. Robeson Papers was completed in July 2015.


Biographical Note

Frank Leigh Robeson was born on August 31, 1884, in Farmville, Virginia, to George M. and Anna M. Robeson. In 1912, he married Mary Anna Matthews (1888-1975). They had 5 children: Helen (b. 1913), Mary (b. 1915), Martha (b. 1921), Amenta (b. 1922), and Andrew (b. 1927). Robeson died in September 1974 in Blacksburg, Montgomery County, Virginia. He is buried in Westview Cemetery.

Robeson graduated from Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute with a B. S. in 1904. Between 1904 and 1907, he served as an instructor in Mathematics and Drawing and later in Mathematics and Graphics. From 1910-1913, he was an instructor in Mathematics and Experimental Engineering. In 1913, he received an M. A. from Columbia University. From 1913-1917, he served as an Associate Professor of Physics and from 1917-1955 (except for a leave in 1922/1923) as a Professor of Physics. He completed a Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins in 1923 before returning to teach at VPI. Between 1036 and 1941, he was the head of the Physics Department. After retiring in September 1954, he was granted emeritus status. In honor of his long career at VPI as a student and teacher, the Department of Physics building, completed in 1960, was dedicated "Robeson Hall" in 1969. A portrait of him hangs in the building.

More on Robeson Hall:

http://www.phys.vt.edu/where/Robeson.shtml
https://vt.edu/about/locations/buildings/robeson-hall.html

Sources:

An Historical and Genealogical Account of Andrew Robeson of Scotland New Jersey and Pennsylvania and of His Descendants from 1653 to 1916 .
"Dr Frank Leigh Robeson" entry, Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74335550/frank-leigh-robeson

Scope and Content

The collection includes papers from Robeson's tenure as a student at Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute, Columbia University, and Johns Hopkins University, as well as subject and research files from his nearly 50 years as an instructor and professor at VPI, dating from 1899 to 1954. The papers contain notebooks and students sketch/composition books; personal correspondence; research on topics relating to math, physics, and drawing; notes and lectures from classes taught; Virginia Academy of Science documents; papers; and publications; and a few photographs and negatives.

Arrangement

The original file names were retained when the collection was processed. Some related folders were consolidated and duplicates removed. The collection is arranged in chronological order with the undated materials in the last box.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

  • Faculty
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Robeson, Frank Leigh, 1884-1974
  • Students and alumni
  • University Archives
  • University History
  • Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (1896-1944)
  • Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1944-1970)

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Frank L. Robeson Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-lwork/public-domain/cc0/ ).

Container List

box-folder 1 folder: 1
Machine Drawing Sketch Book
1899
box-folder 1 folder: 2
Workshop Composition Book
1902
box-folder 1 folder: 3
Notes and Papers
1903-1921
box-folder 1 folder: 4
Personal Papers
1904-1923
box-folder 1 folder: 5
Lettering for Engineering Students
1904
box-folder 1 folder: 6
Notes
1904-1915
box-folder 1 folder: 7
Electrical Laboratory Notes
1904
box-folder 1 folder: 8
Notes
1906-1913
box-folder 1 folder: 9
Transfer Notes from Loose Leaf Notes
1907-1925
box-folder 1 folder: 10
Applied Mechanics
1907
box-folder 1 folder: 11
M.I.T. - November
1907
box-folder 1 folder: 12
Research and Reference Material
1909-1926
box-folder 1 folder: 13
Relating to House Construction
1910-1918
box-folder 1 folder: 14
Examples in Differential Equations
1908
box-folder 1 folder: 15
Notes on Dynamics Text
1910
box-folder 1 folder: 16
Technic of Mechanical Drafting with Notes
1910
box-folder 1 folder: 17
Problems in Mechanics, Heat, Optics
1911
box-folder 1 folder: 18
Notes on Osbourne's Differential and Internal Calculus, July and August
1911
box-folder 2 folder: 1
Correspondence
1911-1920
box-folder 2 folder: 2
Columbia University Class Registration Book
1912
box-folder 2 folder: 3
Modern Theories in Geometry
1912
box-folder 2 folder: 4
Geodesy and Practical Astronomy, Columbia University
1912
box-folder 2 folder: 5
Physics Laboratory- Freshman and Sophomore Instruction Sheets
1913
box-folder 2 folder: 6
Partial Differential Equations
1913
box-folder 2 folder: 7
Lecture Notes and Exams - 1st Physics
1913-1916
box-folder 2 folder: 8
Notes on Astronomy, Heat, Differential Equations
1913
box-folder 2 folder: 9
Notes, Articles, and Sketches on Homes and Homebuilding
1913-1928
box-folder 2 folder: 10
Two-Story Apt. Building Guidelines
1914-1921
box-folder 2 folder: 11
Relating to House Construction
1914-1921
box-folder 2 folder: 12
W.F. Meggers - Electricity and Magnetism
1915
box-folder 2 folder: 13
Physics 2 Exercises in Mechanics and Temperature Determination
1916
box-folder 2 folder: 14
Clippings, Brochures, and Advertisements
1916-1944
box-folder 2 folder: 15
Theoretical Mechanics - Notes from Lectures of Dr. J.S. Ames
1917
box-folder 2 folder: 16
Experiments in Optics
1917
box-folder 2 folder: 17
Physical Apparatus - to be Bought, to be Constructed, and where to get it
1917
box-folder 2 folder: 18
Notes - Data for Text
1917
box-folder 3 folder: 1
Physics Lab Equipment and Notes
1917
box-folder 3 folder: 2
Notes and Exam Notes on Optics
1917
box-folder 3 folder: 3
Exam on Optics and Experiment on Calibration of a Thermocouple
1917
box-folder 3 folder: 4
Infinite Series Notes Theory of Function - Cohen,
1920
box-folder 3 folder: 5
Notes
1920
box-folder 3 folder: 6
Residence Specifications
1920
box-folder 3 folder: 7
Correspondence
1920-1929
box-folder 3 folder: 8
Research and Reference Pamphlets
1920-1946
box-folder 3 folder: 9
Notes
1920
box-folder 3 folder: 10
Einstein's Theory - Lectures of Dr. F.D. Miconaghan, Johns Hopkins University, June-July
1920
box-folder 3 folder: 11
Moment in Inertia
1921
box-folder 3 folder: 12
Lecture Notes and Exams - 2nd Physics
1921-1922
box-folder 3 folder: 13
Lectures on Electricity and Magnetism
1922
box-folder 3 folder: 14
Electron Theory
1922
box-folder 4 folder: 1
Vector Analysis - U. Chicago
1922
box-folder 4 folder: 2
Lectures on Optics
1922-1923
box-folder 4 folder: 3
The Infrared Spectrum of Helium in Long Discharge Tubes
1923
box-folder 4 folder: 4
Notes on Thermodynamics
1923
box-folder 4 folder: 5
Introduction to Quantum Theory
1923
box-folder 4 folder: 6
Sketching Book - Tables
1923
box-folder 4 folder: 7
Atomic Theory
1923
box-folder 4 folder: 8
Radiofax - Lefax Looseleaf Handbooks
1923-1924
box-folder 4 folder: 9
Noteson Physics Laboratory - M.I.T.
1924
box-folder 4 folder: 10
Junior Physics
1926-1937
box-folder 4 folder: 11
The ABC of Hydrogen Ion Control
1926
box-folder 4 folder: 12
Junior Laboratory
1926
box-folder 4 folder: 13
Constructed in Shop
1926-1927
box-folder 4 folder: 14
Electricity and Magnetism
1928
box-folder 4 folder: 15
Advertisements
1929-1945
box-folder 4 folder: 16
Radio Talk
1930-1946
box-folder 4 folder: 17
Correspondence
1930-1939
box-folder 4 folder: 18
Notes on Physics: Part 1, Mechanics
1932
box-folder 4 folder: 19
Manuscript of Notes on Physics - Part II- Electricity and Magnetism
1932
box-folder 4 folder: 20
Manuscript of Notes on Physics - Part I - Mechanics
1932
box-folder 4 folder: 21
Notes on Physics Part II: Electricity and Magnetism
1933
box-folder 4 folder: 22
Household Meteorology and Physics
1934-1939
box-folder 5 folder: 1
E&M- Electromagnetics
1935-1940
box-folder 5 folder: 2
Spectrophotometric Materials
1935-1936
box-folder 5 folder: 3
Lecture Notes - Physics 312
1935
box-folder 5 folder: 4
X-rays and Radioactivity
1936
box-folder 5 folder: 5
Virginia Academy of Science
1937-1938
box-folder 5 folder: 6
Notes on Physics Part III: Wave Motion, Sound, Heat, and Light
1937
box-folder 5 folder: 7
Biophysics
1938-1939
box-folder 5 folder: 8
Advanced Physics
1938
box-folder 5 folder: 9
Biophysics
1938
box-folder 5 folder: 10
E&M - Electrostatics
1938
box-folder 5 folder: 11
E&M Laboratory Manual
1939
box-folder 5 folder: 12
The Bent of Tau Beta, July
1940
box-folder 5 folder: 13
Precision of Measure
1940
box-folder 5 folder: 14
Correspondence
1940-1949
box-folder 5 folder: 15
X-rays, Spring Quarter
1941
box-folder 5 folder: 16
Lectures and Notes
1942-1944
box-folder 5 folder: 17
Physics 312 (Chemistry)
1942
box-folder 5 folder: 18
Notes on Mechanics and Wave Motion
1943-1954
box-folder 5 folder: 19
Klystron Manual
1945
box-folder 5 folder: 20
Schaum's Outline of Theory and Problems for Students of College Physics
1946
box-folder 5 folder: 21
Paper: A Simple Method for Adapting on Ordinary Wall Galvanometer for use in Large Classrooms
1946
box-folder 5 folder: 22
Electricity and Magnetism
1946
box-folder 5 folder: 23
Electricity and Magnetism
1947
box-folder 6 folder: 1
Correspondence
box-folder 6 folder: 2
An Exercise on the Sphere of Geom. of Space
box-folder 6 folder: 3
Electrostatics
box-folder 6 folder: 4
Electricity and Magnetism
box-folder 6 folder: 5
Illustrations of Stem Engines, Steam Turbines, Pumping Engines
box-folder 6 folder: 6
Manuscript Index to Notes on Physics
box-folder 6 folder: 7
Negatives
box-folder 6 folder: 8
Notes for a course in Thermodynamics
box-folder 6 folder: 9
Photographs
box-folder 6 folder: 10
Physics 3 - Experiments in Electricity and Magnetism
box-folder 6 folder: 11
Radiation
box-folder 6 folder: 12
Thermodynamics, Second term