Inventor Wars: The Feud of Benjamin Miessner and John Hays Hammond, Jr.

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In the last installment on the Benjamin F. Miessner papers, we explored the life cycle of an invention, from conception to testing, patenting, and sale. We also touched on the legal troubles that an inventor could find themselves embroiled in, both as the prosecutor and the defendant in infringement suits. The legal suits discussed last time were professional in nature and not highly publicized, as was the case with most of Miessner’s court cases. This was not always true, however, as Miessner also had a deeply personal feud with a fellow inventor, John Hays Hammond, Jr., which led to repeated legal action and public debate.

Miessner (right) with John Hay Hammond, Jr. in June 1912

From 1911-1912, Miessner was in the employ of John Hays Hammond, Jr., with whom he worked on the development of wireless radio-controlled torpedoes for submarines – a study Miessner referred to as “radiodynamics.” Although the two men got along well at the start, they parted on bitter terms, with Miessner accusing Hammond of denying him credit for his inventions, which Hammond had been patenting in his own name, as well as reneging on a promise to finance Miessner’s college education.

While attending Purdue University after leaving Hammond’s employ, 1913-1916, Miessner was involved in a series of legal and personal battles with Hammond. In 1913, Hammond sought to obtain a written promise from Miessner that he would not patent or disclose any of the ideas he had developed while working for Hammond; a request which Miessner refused. Going a step further, Miessner gave several lectures on devices he developed with Hammond throughout 1913, and published an article in the Purdue Engineering Review on Hammond’s radio-controlled torpedoes in 1915.

Letter from Flexner on blocking the sale of Hammond’s torpedo patents

During this same period (1913-1916), Hammond sought to sell the patents he made from his and Miessner’s work to the United States (U.S.) Government, which Miessner among others sought to block legally. Miessner, tied up with schoolwork and lacking financial means, utilized Simon Flexner, the uncle of one of his fraternity brothers and head of the Rockefeller Foundation for Medical Research, to hamper Hammond’s efforts. This was ultimately futile for Miessner, as Hammond had immured his patents in the archives of the Patent Office, where they were immune to interference proceedings.

From about 1914 to 1919, Hammond attempted on multiple occasions to acquire Miessner’s notebooks from his time working under Hammond; either for use in his negotiations with the U.S. government, and/or to prevent Miessner from using them against him. After some cordial requests, Hammond became increasingly frustrated with Miessner’s lack of cooperation, threatening legal action if Miessner did not comply. Miessner, for his part, ignored or outright refused all of Hammond’s requests, holding his notebooks close to his chest.

Miessner’s laboratory notebooks from his employment under Hammond

In 1915, Miessner attempted to publish a book, “Radiodynamics, the wireless control of torpedoes and other mechanisms,” detailing among other things his work with Hammond on radio-controlled torpedoes. Although Hammond initially gave permission to describe work Miessner completed for him, he later interfered with the book, threatening both the publishers and Miessner with legal action should they make his private work public. After being permitted to review a draft for the book, Hammond let up on his efforts to prevent publication, but again threatened legal action if any of his more recent work were to make its way into the book. This interference delayed publication until 1916.

Letter to Brigadier General E.M. Weaver regarding Hammond’s interference in the publication of “Radiodynamics”

After several rounds of threatened legal action, Miessner and Hammond first came to actual legal blows, albeit indirectly, throughout the mid-1920s, when the Radio Corporation of American (RCA) sued the George Walker Company for patent infringement. Although various patents were used by RCA in the suit to support their claims, two of them belonged to Hammond Jr., who was a director of RCA at the time. This decision brought Miessner into the case, leading him to testify in 1927 on behalf of the George Walker Company, where he asserted that he was the true inventor of the claims in Hammond’s patents, and Hammond had appropriated his work. By August 1927, RCA had dropped the Hammond patents from the suit, and the case as a whole was dropped in June 1929. Although Hammond never took part personally in the case, he did have two men, Edward H. Loftin and E.S. Purington, offer affidavits disputing Miessner’s testimonies in the George Walker case and an earlier case between RCA and Splitdorf. Interestingly, these affidavits weren’t made until 1938, 11 years after Miessner’s 1927 testimonies in the above cases. Even more interesting, Loftin had been Miessner’s patent lawyer from 1925-1930, and had represented Miessner in both cases!

In 1939, Miessner and Hammond Jr. were again entangled in a legal dispute, when Hammond brought charges against several electronic piano companies utilizing Miessner’s patents, for infringing upon his own patents. Unlike the previous instance, a suit was not levied against the companies, with many of the companies choosing instead to enter formal discussions with the lawyers for both inventors. Miessner’s papers do not provide insight into how this case ultimately ended, although it indicates that several of the companies chose to license Hammond’s patents in addition to Miessner’s, in order to avoid a potentially more costly legal suit. Other companies seemed more inclined to believe that Hammond patents weren’t relevant to their products, although it’s unclear if they ultimately yielded to Hammond’s demands.

Letter from Lee de Forest on Hammond’s article and Miessner’s rebuttal

The final dispute between Miessner and Hammond took place between 1957 and 1964. It was initiated when Hammond, along with the previously mentioned E.S. Purington, published an article in the September 1957 Proceedings of the IRE (Institute for Radio Engineers), in which they patted themselves on the back for their “pioneering” role in the development of modern radio-electronic technology. This upset a number of inventors, who were quick to respond. Lloyd Espenschied, a member of IRE’s History Committee and friend of Miessner’s, wrote a lengthy critique of the paper’s claims in December of 1957, to be published in the IRE’s proceedings in July 1959. This led to a series of back-and-forth articles between the duo of Hammond and Purington and Espenschied, continuing until 1962. Lee de Forest, a prominent inventor in the same field as Miessner and Hammond, chose not to write a formal response, but in a letter to Miessner described the Hammond-Purington article as “evidently grotesque and arrogantly conceited,” and hoped “Hammond’s grotesque designs and claims be torn to tatters by the letters of Espenschied and yourself.”

Miessner’s original 110-page rebuttal to Hammond’s IRE article

For his part, Miessner wrote a 110-page rebuttal to the Hammond-Purington article in January 1958, but found that its length prevented the IRE from accepting it for their proceedings. After some discussions with members of the IRE, including Lloyd Espenschied and fellow IRE History Committee member Haraden Pratt, Miessner chose to drop the subject, as he did not wish to edit the manuscript down to a length befitting the IRE’s proceedings. The matter then lay dormant until 1962, when the IRE awarded Hammond its Medal of Honor, reigniting Miessner’s indignation. In response, Miessner once again dug up his 1958 rebuttal and tried to have the IRE (during this time merged with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers to form the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE) publish it. Espenschied and Pratt both maintained their stances on its ineligibility for the proceedings, but suggested it might suit a book format.

Miessner’s book “On the Early History of Radio Guidance,” published in 1964

Towards this end, Miessner partnered with Dr. Charles Süsskind of the University of California, Berkley, who recommended Miessner to a publisher, and agreed to work as his editor. The pair worked together throughout 1963, with Süsskind rearranging Miessner’s 1958 manuscript to be chronological and trimming the fat from it, while Miessner provided references and additional information to clarify certain points and place emphasis on the aspects of his original manuscript that he felt were most important. The resulting book, “On the Early History of Radio Guidance,” was published in 1964, with complimentary copies sent to all 1,112 U.S. members of the IEEE, at Miessner’s expense. It received a minor rebuttal from Hammond, in the form of a 1964 reprinting of “The History of the Intermediate Frequency,” consisting primarily of Loftin and Purington’s 1938 affidavits against Miessner.

This marked the end of the pair’s long-running rivalry, as Hammond passed away on February 12, 1965, before any further debate between the two men could commence. It was Miessner’s desire that a historian would one day review the record and set straight, once and for all, who was responsible for the developments of the radio and electronics fields. To date, it is believed that this work has not yet been undertaken. Perhaps someone amongst you, dear readers, might be able to give this rivalry the conclusion Miessner desired?

Miessner may never have met Hammond, nor gained the skills to become an inventor, had he not decided to join the United States Navy right out of high school. It was through the Navy that he gained his first formal education in electricity, and brushed shoulders with engineers and inventors who would have a great impact on Miessner and his trajectory in life. Tune in next week for the final installment in this three-part spotlight on the Benjamin F. Miessner papers, where we will explore Miessner’s formative years in the Navy.

The Benjamin F. Miessner papers are available for research in the Purdue University Archives and Special Collections reading room.

MSP 2, Benjamin F. Miessner papers, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries.

Inventing – From Idea to Patent and Beyond

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What does it take to be an inventor? What kind of work goes into patenting something, how do you gain recognition for your work, and what kinds of challenges could impede progress? Answers to questions like these and more lie buried between the pages of the Benjamin F. Miessner papers.

Introducing Miessner

Named after one of America’s most successful inventors, Benjamin Franklin Miessner was a radio engineer and inventor from Huntingburg, Indiana. Growing up, he watched his father and two uncles bring electricity to Huntingburg, through the founding of the Huntingburg Electric Light Company. With this formative upbringing, Miessner became enamored with electricity, and chose to pursue a career in it. Upon finishing high school, Miessner enrolled in the United States (U.S.) Navy, where he studied to be a wireless radio operator at the United States Navy Electrical School in Brooklyn, New York.

Miessner demonstrating his “electric dog” at Purdue University, circa 1914

After three years in the Navy and two years working with Dr. Fritz Lowenstein and fellow inventor John Hays Hammond, Jr., Miessner continued his studies at Purdue University (1913-1916), where he pursued an electrical engineering degree. By the time he enrolled at Purdue, Miessner had already been credited with inventing a “cat whisker” detector for crystal radios, and had helped develop radio-controlled torpedoes and an “electric dog” device which could be powered and moved using light.

After leaving Purdue, Miessner returned to the U.S. Navy and served as an Expert Radio Aid for Aviation for two years, where he helped develop the first radio communications equipment for aircraft in the U.S. Leaving the Navy in 1918, Miessner spent the next 41 years working as an inventor and radio engineer for various companies, including 32 years as president of his own company, Miessner Inventions, Inc. During this time, Miessner pioneered developments in Alternating Current (A.C.) radios, directional microphones for aircraft and submarines, electronic musical instruments, phonography, and radio dynamics.

Miessner’s notebooks include sketches and descriptions for his concepts, as well as the results of experiments he conducted.

Inventing Process

The inventing process is recorded throughout the Miessner papers. Early in his career, through the suggestion of his part-time employer Fritz Lowenstein, Miessner began documenting his work in laboratory notebooks. These notebooks, which Miessner continued to use throughout his life, contain everything from initial ideas and early design sketches, to the specifications for and results of experiments that he conducted. They provide a detailed glimpse into the work that went into testing and refining Miessner’s concepts, and give a timeline for how long the process could take. Miessner’s notebooks also served a very important function of providing evidence to protect his patents from infringement suits.

Letter from Miessner’s patent lawyers regarding a preliminary search of patents

One of the most informative types of primary source documents for conducting historical research is correspondence. It provides invaluable glimpses into the thoughts of the individuals who write them, and is sometimes the only source for events that they were involved in. Miessner’s papers are no exception, with a large bulk of the collection dedicated to his business correspondence. These include discussions with fellow engineers and inventors, in which Miessner and his recipients suggest to each other new avenues to explore, discuss whether an idea has already been developed by someone else, and debate whether the science behind their theories is sound. A more formal version of this process documented in the collection, and one necessary for patenting inventions, involved patent searches. With a patent search, lawyers specialized in patent law work with would-be inventors to find existing patents and relevant literature on the subject being worked on. This entailed the lawyers consulting with the inventor on the technical details of their idea, then scouring libraries and reaching out to patenting offices across the world, gathering as many patents and as much literature related to the subject as possible. Once all the relevant material had been gathered, the inventor and their lawyers would compare their patent ideas against it, determining whether they were likely to succeed in the patenting process, if revisions were necessary, or if the idea had to be scrapped entirely.

Although most of Miessner’s patents come from the U.S., he also filed patents in other countries, including Canada and France

After completing a thorough patent search and any necessary revisions, Miessner and his patent lawyers could begin a patent application. Here, Miessner’s patent ideas were submitted to a patent office for review and approval; usually in the United States, but also in some foreign countries, including Canada and France. This could be a long and drawn out process, and one that didn’t guarantee success, as Miessner’s papers demonstrate. Miessner’s U.S. application No. 255,383, for example, was first submitted to the Patent Office on November 8, 1951. It was reviewed by the Commissioner of Patents, who sent back a list of claims in the application that he felt were unclear, not novel, or unsupported. Miessner and his patent lawyers filed amendments to his application in response, to clarify or overturn the claims and put the application back on track for approval. This back-and-forth continued until late 1957, when a final rejection was given for Miessner’s application. Miessner and his lawyers appealed the decision in 1958, as a last ditch effort, putting the claims before a Board of Appeals. In this case, the Board confirmed the examiner’s decision in December 1958, killing the application.

Selling Patents

Miessner’s 1945 Patent License Agreement with the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company

For patents that have been awarded for an invention, the next problem facing any inventor is how to make money from them. When Miessner was an engineer working for companies, his salary served as a reward for inventing things that benefited the company. As a solo inventor, Miessner had to convince companies that his patents were beneficial to them and worth investing in. Like a telemarketer, Miessner solicited every company he could think of with examples of his patents and how they could make or save the company money. Many times, a company would decline these offers, either because they weren’t interested in the venture, or because they felt the patents weren’t novel enough to replace those they already owned. Sometimes, however, a company would express interest in one of Miessner’s patents. From here, the company and its lawyers would work with Miessner and his lawyers to reach an agreement that both sides were satisfied with. For Miessner, this often took the form of a licensing agreement. This license allowed a company to use Miessner’s patents in one or more of their products. In return, the company paid Miessner royalties based on how well the product sold, usually in the form of a percentage of the company’s profit. Companies with which Miessner had licensing agreements included the Zenith Radio Corporation, Splitdorf Radio Corporation, Everett Piano Company, and The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company. By 1930, Miessner estimated that he had earned roughly $200,000 in royalties from his radio-manufacturer licensees – approximately $3.7 million adjusted for inflation.

Check for $6000 from RCA, 1936

Another option for Miessner was to sell his patents to a company outright. This method could yield a greater monetary settlement in the short term, but didn’t provide long-term financial stability for the inventor. Furthermore, selling a patent took away the inventor’s rights to their inventions, taking from them the ability to control how their patents are used. As a result, Miessner often chose to license his patents over sell them, but he did still sell his patents on occasion. One example was in 1930, when he sold the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) approximately 50 patents for a total of $750,000 ($14.1 million in 2024). Miessner sold another 14 patents and a single patent application to RCA in 1936 for a more modest $6,000; approximately $135,772 in 2024.

Legal Troubles

While there lay great potential for Miessner to make money with his patents, he also ran the risk of losing money. Even after a thorough review of the existing patent landscape, and passing the Patent Office’s inspection, there was always a chance that two patents would have overlapping claims. There was also the possibility that a company would produce a product that utilized patent techniques or parts without acquiring the rights to the patent, whether intentionally or by accident. As a result, an inventor and the companies that had stakes in their patents had to remain vigilant for possible legal suits. This reality also encouraged inventors to keep detailed records of their inventing process, including when they first conceived their invention, how they created it, as well as which individuals and companies they disclosed their inventions to and when, in order to support their claims in legal suits.

One of Miessner’s scrapbooks, dedicated to infringements on his inventions

As an independent inventor financially dependent on companies acquiring and using his patents, Miessner kept an active eye out for any products he felt infringed on his patents. He maintained a detailed scrapbook of advertisements and articles that might have infringed on his work, as well as files organized by company, which he used to pursue the companies and individuals involved. Rather than start with legal action, which could be lengthy and very costly, Miessner often chose diplomacy. He would reach out to a company by letter, lay out the areas where he felt his patents had been infringed, then offered to sell a licensing agreement to them. In some cases, the company would accept the offer, and Miessner could both avoid a lengthy legal battle, and acquire another licensing agreement. At other times, the company would refute Miessner’s claims, and legal action became necessary.

Royalties paid by Story and Clark Piano Company after Miessner’s successful legal suit

Such was the case in 1940, when Story and Clark Piano Company, despite having licensing agreements with Miessner Inventions, Inc., produced and sold an electronic piano in conjunction with the Radio Corporation of America instead. They denied any use of Miessner’s patents in the piano, and thus refused to pay Miessner royalties, forcing Miessner to take the issue to court. Luckily for Miessner, this case proved to be relatively short, with Story and Clark folding in March 1941 and paying him royalties for all pianos sold up until that point. They would pay Miessner one more time, for royalties on pianos produced up until June 30, 1941, before terminating their agreement with Miessner.[1] In total, Miessner received $8,192.95 (approximately $181,918.69 adjusted for inflation) in royalties from Story and Clark for 1939-1941. The suit cost Miessner $435.04 (approximately $8,681.55) in legal fees to his lawyers, and another $351.15 (approximately $7,007.46) to the judge presiding the case.

Of course, Miessner was not immune from facing such infringement charges himself. In the mid-1950s, Miessner faced an interference suit from Frank H. Slaymaker and Willard F. Meeker, who claimed that a patent application made by Miessner in August 1955 infringed upon a patent awarded to them in September 1954. The case was settled in 1958, when the courts ruled that Slaymaker and Meeker’s patents had priority over Miessner’s.

Most of Miessner’s legal troubles with individuals and companies were one or two-off affairs. This was not always the case, however, as Miessner also had a long-running feud with former employer John Hay Hammond, Jr., which spanned several decades and led to repeated debates and legal disputes. Tune in next week for the next installment in this three-part spotlight on the Benjamin F. Miessner papers, where we will explore Miessner’s feud in greater detail.

The Benjamin F. Miessner papers are available for research in the Purdue University Archives and Special Collections reading room.

MSP 2, Benjamin F. Miessner papers, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries.

[1] After their royalty payment, they would have to pay Miessner again for the number of pianos in production on July 1, 1941, as part of the licensing agreement’s stipulation for terminating the contract.

Enhancing the Research Experience: the Exponent Newspaper Text Correction Project

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Purdue University Archives and Special Collections supports the discovery, learning, and engagement goals of Purdue University by identifying, collecting, preserving, and making available for research records and papers of enduring value.

illustrated cover titled The Purdue Exponent

Cover of the first Purdue Exponent, December 1889

In March 2020, most staff and student employees within Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies transitioned to remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A majority of the student employees in LSIS work with physical materials and assist with day-to-day operational tasks. And so, the move to remote work created a conundrum: how can LSIS continue to employ our valued student employees during a time that on-site operations are no longer available? Purdue University Archives and Special Collections offered a solution.

As part of its mission to preserve and make accessible the history of Purdue University, Archives and Special Collections and Libraries and School of Information Studies previously digitized and placed online issues of the student newspaper, the Purdue Exponent. Issues are available at https://exponent.lib.purdue.edu. Available issues are no longer under copyright and are therefore in the public domain. The newspaper, which began in 1889, provides insights into the news, events, and even advertisements of their era. Placing the Exponent online included digitization of print issue and creation of computer-generated text for each article. This text allows visitors to the site to keyword search available issues. While the generated text was correct well over 97% of the time, slight errors in the text did occur. These errors sometimes impact search results. As such, text reviews and updates improve primary source research and scholarly activity.

Let’s return to March of this year. Archives and Special Collections proposed a solution to keep our LSIS student employees working and improve the digitized Exponent. Students would transition to the role of text correction experts, reviewing and editing text as errors were located. The proposal was accepted, and soon students were contributing improvements to the text. This endeavor benefitted the students by continuing their employment and providing a unique opportunity learn more about Purdue. The work also benefitted Archives and Special Collections by improving the online Exponent text, and thereby aiding researchers and the worldwide Purdue University community.

How to Correct Text

The text enhancement work involves registering a free user account. Once registered, LSIS students were asked to sign up for a year and month of the newspaper. Instructions and guidance were provided by archivists within Archives and Special Collections.

Examples

Here a list of Exponent newspaper editors in 1896. The left side of the screen, or text block, is the place where text may be corrected. Note that in some cases letters are in place of numbers and in other cases the connections between groups are hard to understand.

screenshot of Exponent newspaper with transcription text correction pane

This text has not been corrected.

screenshot of Exponent newspaper with transcription text correction pane

This text has been corrected.

In other cases, symbols, line spacing, and ink dots created mistakes in the transcript. This block of text from 1916 illustrates the need for text correction. The text block on the left shows the highlighted article before and after correction.

screenshot of Exponent newspaper with transcription text correction pane

This text has not been corrected.

screenshot of Exponent newspaper with transcription text correction pane

This text has been corrected.

Outcomes

Between late March and mid-summer, nearly 60 people worked as part of the Exponent project. Here are the final numbers:

Text blocks corrected: 73,531

Articles completely corrected: 23,957

Pages completely corrected: 8,235

Issues completely corrected: 341

Archives and Special Collections is thankful to everyone who worked on the Exponent project during a time of immense change. These contributions provide lasting research assistance. Future researchers, from families seeking more information about a relative, to scholars studying past events, to Purdue students using the newspaper for their own research will benefit from the 2020 Exponent project. Archives and Special Collections is also proud to have been able to help our LSIS student employees keep working during an uncertain time.

 

(Dis)Content in the Heartland: Protest and Peace at Purdue by Devan Lindey

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The traditional narrative of college life in the 1960s seen through journalistic coverage blurred the narrative by painting it as the “summer of love” and “days of rage.”[1] This image continued into the 1970s as the United States became more entangled in Vietnam. Protests riddled campuses across the country in retaliation to escalation in Vietnam and funding of military research at universities. John Thelin in Going to College in the Sixties argues we need to consider the tameness of college in the Sixties with fraternities, athletics, and admissions processes. I intend to examine a Purdue student tradition, the “Senior Cords,” to juxtapose the on-campus protests with the more mundane side of student life to give a more nuanced picture of student life in higher education.

More extreme attacks did occur at Purdue. In response to a flag desecration a “Student Affairs Committee of the Faculty Senate” was assembled to investigate. Personal intimidation as well as threats ensued while a member of the Committee was chased in their car and nearly ran off the road. Additionally, “a dean’s home was splattered by shotgun pellets.”[2] However, most of the protests in response to on campus issues or international events were far more tame than outright threats on lives. When President Nixon announced the invasion of Cambodia, students acted. We witness a spontaneous reaction by students in protest when over four hundred students rallied which resulted in some window breaking at the armory.[3] However, this event was followed shortly thereafter by a more peaceful retort to Nixon’s action when students distributed fliers calling for the campus and surrounding community to non-violently protest through the boycott of any store not displaying a particular sign.[4]

Handbill calling for a boycott

Despite promotion of peaceful methods of protest and boycott, students did advocate for more hostile methods. The assistant to the then President Hovde announced that some students were urged through handbills to equip themselves with “guns, knives, razors, etc.” in response to arrests.[5] Students did peacefully sit in the Union as a form of non-violent protest. However, the administration saw potential for violent confrontation to develop. While we must keep in mind that this source is officially from the administration and could therefore skew information to support its own actions, other sources corroborate such fears of the administration. Specifically, we can point to a handbill circulated by students titled “Police-State Terror at Purdue,” proclaiming that “Purdue must be destroyed.”[6]

Handbill calling for the destruction of Purdue

Administrative response to threats at the Union

Despite the tumultuous affairs of protests and violence, campus life for many continued unimpeded. Classes and teaching continued while many students either unaware or simply ignoring the dissent of others immersed themselves in campus life.[7] To view this side of student life, one can look to the “Senior Cords” worn by senior students on campus. The students adorned these clothing items with imagery of student organizations, personal interests, and popular culture of the time.

The Purdue Archives contain myriad pairs of pants and skirts worn by students that all contain elements revealing the more mundane and non-radical nature of student life, a contrast with the dominant narrative of the time. As an example, we can consider Richard Gehlbach’s “Senior Cords.” When we analyze the iconography of his pants, we witness a student engaged with on campus activities such as Collegiate 4H. Additionally, Gehlbach adorned his pants with popular culture images of Yogi Bear and the spies from Spy vs. Spy of the “Mad” magazine.[8]

His pants contain various other images showing the other side of student life that we need to take into consideration to grasp a more thorough picture of student culture in the protest era.

Gehlbach cords, front

Gehlbach senior cords, back

Purdue was no stranger to discontent though the protests at the campus were less volatile than others at Berkeley and Kent State. However, in contrast to this traditional narrative, student life often remained unbothered. An observance of student culture through campus traditions reveals a much more complex image of the protest era on college campuses. The “Senior Cords” are one such source through which we as scholars can engage with Thelin’s idea of the normalcy of student life. Some students truly remained content with having the typical college experience as exhibited through the “Senior Cords.”

References

[1] John R. Thelin, Going to College in the Sixties (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018), xiii.

[2] Robert Topping, A Century and Beyond: The History of Purdue University (Purdue University Press, 1988), 329.

[3] Skip Wollenberg, “Nixon sends G.I.’s to Cambodia.” Purdue Exponent, 1 May 1970. Accessed via https://exponent.lib.purdue.edu/.

[4] Student Protest Materials, 1967-1984, B1F3, MSF 495, William Buffington Collection of Student Protest Papers, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries and Special Collections, West Lafayette, IN.

[5] Student Protest Materials, 1967-1984, B1F4, MSF 495, William Buffington Collection of Student Protest Papers, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries and Special Collections, West Lafayette, IN.

[6] Student Protest Materials, 1967-1984, B1F3, MSF 495, William Buffington Collection of Student Protest Papers, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries and Special Collections, West Lafayette, IN.

[7] Robert Topping, A Century and Beyond: The History of Purdue University (Purdue University Press, 1988), 333.

[8] Senior Cords, 1965, Box 1, 20180212.3, Richard A. Gehlbach senior cords, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries and Special Collections, West Lafayette, IN.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Purdue University Exponent student newspaper. Accessed via https://exponent.lib.purdue.edu/.

Student Protest Materials, 1967-1984, Box 1, MSF 495, William Buffington Collection
of Student Protest Papers, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections,
Purdue University Libraries and Special Collections, West Lafayette, IN.

Senior Cords, 1965, Box 1, 20180212.3, Richard A. Gehlbach senior cords, Purdue University
Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries and Special Collections, West
Lafayette, IN.

Secondary Sources

Thelin, John. Going to College in the Sixties. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018.

Topping, Robert. A Century and Beyond: The History of Purdue University. Purdue University
Press, 1988.

Blog post by guest blogger Devan Lindey. 

This blog post is by Devan Lindey, a third year PhD Candidate in the History Department at Purdue University. The blog post reflects Devan’s archival research in the course ILS 695, Digital and Analog Archives. Devan studies the history of higher education and legal history.

Note: In Spring 2020, students of the Digital and Analog Archives course (ILS 695) conducted research into hidden or lesser known aspects of student life in Purdue history. Each student conducted original archival research on their individual topics and selected source materials from the archives to digitize. Originally, the plan was for students in the course to create an online exhibit using the digital humanities tool, Omeka. Due to the interruption of COVID-19 in March, the course was partially reworked. Rather than creating a group online exhibit in Omeka, each student was given the option to translate their individual research papers into a different form of digital scholarship: published blog posts.  We are excited to share shortened versions of these research papers on the Purdue Archives and Special Collections blog!

What’s in a Box? Processing the Neil A. Armstrong papers

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People often wonder what archival processing means. In this blog post we explore some of the aspects associated with processing personal papers and archives. The Neil A. Armstrong papers are an excellent example to use for demonstrating a team approach to processing.

The term “processing” conjures all kinds of images in a person’s mind. According to the Society of American Archivists, archival processing is defined as:

Archival Processing, n. ~ 1. The arrangement, description, and housing of archival materials for storage and use by patrons.

– Society of American Archivists, A Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology 

On the surface, this work may seem straightforward. However, it is the act of determining how best to arrange, describe, and preserve archival materials that requires a blend of skills, from knowledge of best practices in how to organize unpublished documents, photos, and artifacts according to provenance and original order, to knowing how to assign descriptions to unidentified items using archival descriptive standards, to assigning appropriate subject headings for discoverability, and how to take the right preservation steps (preventive, such as the right environment, security, and storage) or conservation steps (Item-level treatment, such as mending a torn page or removing adhesive from a photograph).

This blend of tasks requires a variety of skill sets, educational background, and training. Archivists, for example, are experts in appraisal, identifying what materials to keep in perpetuity. Archivists are also knowledgeable about privacy and confidentiality issues and donor requirements, both of which will impact which aspects of the collection will be made available immediately for use or require temporary access restrictions. In the Armstrong papers, for example, there are many third-party privacy rights and intellectual property and persona issues that can make providing access to the collection a challenge.

Archivists work with archival assistants to agree upon the right organization as part of the processing plan for a collection. Archival assistants and graduate student employees work under the direction of an archivist to sort and put the entire collection in order, and begin the painstaking process of identifying the contents of each series, or grouping, within the collection. Archival assistants also re-house archival materials into acid-free, lignin-free folders and boxes, perform preservation reformatting, and label materials in the collection.

With a large archival collection, staff may decide to process it as a team, divvying up tasks between archivists, archival assistants, and/or graduate student employees trained in processing. Working with unpublished, unedited personal papers requires a lot of decision making as well as extensive handling of the materials themselves. To cut down on wear and tear, it is important to identify in advance the steps to be taken during processing and who will perform each task.

Because each archival collection is unique, each collection will offer new questions to answer. There are some general questions that archives staff keep in mind when reviewing a collection to be processed. In particular, assessing the condition of a collection when it arrives is essential to avoid possible contamination affecting the rest of the archival collections.

An Armstrong box before processing.

Some of the processing questions to be asked

  • Are there any pests in the box? Evidence of any moisture?
  • Is there evidence of an original order to the collection, showing how the creator used it?
  • How would you group the material into series?
    • By original order?
    • By physical type?
    • By function (correspondence, career activities, volunteer work, etc)?
  • Are there any special housings/boxes needed?
  • Are there items in the collection that pose a threat to its preservation? For example, are there rusty staples or paper clips to be removed? Are there newspaper clippings adjacent to other documents? Are there extra preservation measures needed?

Anniversary publication, Neil A. Armstrong papers

Processing the Neil A. Armstrong papers

Although the bulk of Neil Armstrong’s papers were donated by his wife Carol in 2012, there have been additional donated boxes received periodically since that time. The boxes the materials arrive in can be a variety of sizes, some with materials in an original order, others with a variety of types of items within each. Collection materials range from paper documents to photographic negatives and prints, maps, audio-visual recordings, and 3-dimensional artifacts and memorabilia. Some published materials, such as newspaper clippings and journal articles collected by Armstrong are included.

Wooden model planes, Neil A. Armstrong papers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Items in an original Gemini VIII box of Armstrong papers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were hundreds of decisions to be made, such as…

  • Determine the order to arrange items in.

Or…

  • Decide what to do with a piece of the Berlin Wall!

Piece of Berlin Wall, Neil A. Armstrong papers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once an arrangement scheme is determined, Items are placed in acid-free archival folders and labeled with the collection name, collection number, box and folder number.  Series titles and the contents also go on the folder. Pencil is used, as to not accidentally mark in ink on the contents. Folder labels are avoided, as they can deteriorate over time and fall off and leave adhesive residue on the folders.

 

The folders are placed into archival boxes and await final processing decisions. Sticky notes are often used to temporarily mark the outside of boxes, but are never left on archival material to avoid adhesive damage to the collection.

    After all of the final processing decisions are made, the boxes make their way to the shelves to await the final labeling.   

 

One 2016 addition donated by Carol Armstrong was comprised of  14.2 cubic feet of material.

Here are a few of those items…

 

Items from Armstrong’s childhood.

Mixed materials, Neil A. Armstrong papers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also found among the additions were documents from throughout his career.

Yes, it’s a Purdue postcard…

Purdue University mail, Neil A. Armstrong papers

 

 

 

 

 

 

And these various items…

A letter of thanks from the University of Cincinnati upon Armstrong’s retirement from teaching.

Special membership cards.

 

 

 

A wide assortment of Armstrong’s aviation themed tie tacks.

 

Processing challenges sometimes require a call to outside experts. Neil Armstrong’s Samsonite briefcase accidentally closed and locked during  intake of this 2016 addition to his papers. The Purdue locksmiths were called in.

(The briefcase was full of documents.)              

 

The current tally…

This large and complex collection took two years to process. However, because Neil Armstrong and his office assistants over the years had labeled and maintained his papers in groups, that order eventually became recognized in a large percentage of the collection as boxes and files were examined.  A team of three staff members met weekly to discuss the boxes and make processing decisions to best reflect the original order recognized. When obviously out of original order materials were encountered, the team discussed how to logically arrange that material according to best archival practices.  The careful processing of these papers honor Mr. Armstrong’s legacy.

Neil A. Armstrong papers
221.7 cubic feet (466 manuscript boxes)
364 page Finding Aid

Click on on this cover page from the finding aid for the full inventory.

Neil A. Armstrong papers finding aid

 

The Neil Armstrong papers at work…

 

Supporting Instruction, Learning, & Scholarship

Once the papers were processed and open to researchers, instruction archivists formed partnerships with teaching faculty in the History Department, English Department, American Studies, Honors College, and the Polytechnic School to integrate the Armstrong papers into course instruction. Students are introduced to Purdue Archives and taught how to conduct archival research as part of an information strategy. Since the opening of the papers in 2014, a number of students have explored topics related to the history, technology, international relations, engineering, computer science, and graphic design during the American Space Program. Several students have had their research published or have presented at the annual Purdue Undergraduate Research Conference. The Archives has also been a resource for documentary filmmakers, television news productions, and well-known authors who have used the collection to create films and new scholarly works. In addition, a small exhibit area has held two exhibitions based upon the collection and a partnership with Purdue Galleries in 2019 resulted in the first art exhibition inspired by artists’ use of the Armstrong papers.

All of this generation of new knowledge, scholarship, and creative works was made possible first by the generous donation of Neil Armstrong’s papers by Neil and his wife, Carol Armstrong, and secondly, by the two years worth of hundreds of hours of labor intensive processing by Archives staff to make the papers accessible and to preserve them.

Examples of courses that integrated archival literacy instruction & the Armstrong papers 

  • HIST 302H “Flight Paths: Purdue’s Aerospace Pioneers” (archival research seminar)
  • HIST 495 “Flight and Space Exploration: An Archival Research Seminar” (archival research seminar)
  • HIST 395 “Air and Space: The Technology and Culture of Flight” (archival research seminar)

    HIST 395 student Jaehyeok Kim references documents from the Neil Armstrong papers during his 2019 Apollo in the Archives undergraduate research conference presentation.

  • HONR 299 “Food, Kitchens, and the Politics of Taste”
  • TECH 299 “Seminar in Humanities & Technology”
  • HIST 494 “Science and Technology in American Civilization”
  • ENG 106 (multiple sections)

Student research and scholarship generated by use of the collection:

  • Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly (Volume 23, No 4, 2016)
  • The Exponent The Literary Edition (Spring 2016)
  • The three engineering and science students (Sam Conklin, Alex Crick, and Jaehyeok Kim), in Think, the magazine of the College of Liberal Arts (fall of 2019).  See their full articles in “Man + Machine: Research from Purdue’s Neil A. Armstrong Papers,”

 

Examples of television and film productions using the collection:

  • First Man pre-production researchers (2018 release)
  • Tin Goose Films documentary, “Armstrong”. Directed by David Fairhead, narrator Harrison Ford, by Tin Goose Films (Theatrical release July 12, 2019)
  • CBS This Morning Saturday,  “The Armstrong Letters:  A Look at the Astronaut’s Collection of Correspondence” (Aired July 20, 2019, April 11, 2020.)

 

“Apollo in the Archives” exhibit. 2019

 Apollo in the Archives exhibit, 2019

Purdue student club tour of Apollo in the Archives exhibit. Students worked hard to finish Neil Armstrong’s calculus homework (on display) without calculators atop lunar descent and ascent planning diagrams display.  “Apollo in the Archives” exhibit. 2019.

 

 

 

“Return to Entry” exhibition,Purdue Galleries, 2019.

“Return to Entry” exhibition, Purdue Galleries, 2019.

 

Artist Frances Gallardo talks with Carol Armstrong about the artwork Gallardo created and what in the Armstrong papers inspired her to create the piece. “Return to Entry” exhibition, Purdue Galleries, 2019.

 

 

It has been an honor and a pleasure to process and share the Neil A. Armstrong papers!

 

This blog is by Mary Sego, archives processing assistant. The content is based on a poster presented by Mary Sego and Tracy Grimm, Barron Hilton Archivist for Flight and Space Exploration, at the 2017 Libraries “One Book Higher.” The information has been updated to reflect recent use of the Armstrong papers.

The Search for Miss Webb

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newspaper article

“The Dubois Club,” Purdue Exponent, October 29, 1909

By Adriana Harmeyer, Archivist for University History

On October 29, 1909, the Exponent student newspaper reported on the newly established Dubois Club at Purdue, an organization of African American students inspired by the work of W.E.B. Du Bois.  Listed among the officers of the club was Miss R.G. Webb, Treasurer.  Previously, the earliest female African American student identified by name was 1927 graduate Inez Mason, though earlier group photographs indicated that she may not have been first. This 1909 citation meant we had the opportunity to highlight possibly the first African American female student, a young woman who attended the university nearly twenty years before Mason, but the subsequent research process was difficult.

Several factors complicated the search for Miss Webb, some of which we only learned later in the research process.  We knew that during this period women were often left out of campus-wide activities, which were usually organized by and geared toward male students.  Minority students were often excluded from campus activities and were banned from living in residence halls, so they did not often appear in records of student life.  Both were factors in the case of Miss Webb, whose name appeared in none of our most used resources, such as the Exponent (aside from the single Dubois Club announcement) or Debris Yearbook.  Further, Miss Webb’s name did not appear in the commencement programs or the Board of Trustees minutes recognizing each year’s degree recipients, so it is unclear from university sources whether she graduated.

page from city directory

Polk’s 1909-10 Lafayette Directory

Since Miss Webb did not appear in these Purdue resources, I expanded my search to HeritageQuest, a commonly used genealogy website.  I found no good matches in the census records, which was unlikely with a name as common as Webb and no first name.  However, a search of Lafayette city directories led to my first promising find.  Rhoy G. Webb, student, lived in Lafayette during the 1909-1910 year.

With that first name, I continued my search and found another possible match in FindAGrave.com.  Rhoycnette A. Webb (1893-1922) was buried in Peru, Indiana.  Upon searching for that unusual full first name, I located a digitized student directory from the University of Illinois that included a Rhoygnette Ellison, whose name had been incorrectly transcribed as Rhoycnette.

gravestone

Webb’s gravestone

With this new name in mind, I returned to FindAGrave and viewed the image of Webb’s headstone and found that her name had been written incorrectly and was likely Rhoygnette, not Rhoycnette.

With this first name now seemingly confirmed, I began a new search for Rhoygnette Webb.  This finally led me to sources about the former Purdue student and her life after West Lafayette.  She is mentioned by name in at least two books about black women in Chicago that were keyword searchable in Google Books: The Chicago Black Renaissance and Women’s Activism and Toward a Tenderer Humanity and a Nobler Womanhood: African American Women’s Clubs in Turn-of-the-Century Chicago, which identified her as a graduate of the Purdue University School of Pharmacy.  This finally confirmed that the name of Miss R.G. Webb of the Dubois Club was Rhoygnette.

page of text

Biographical sketch of Rhoygnette Webb in Toward a Tenderer Humanity and a Nobler Womanhood: African American Women’s Clubs in Turn-of-the-Century Chicago by Anne Meis Knupfer

Seeking additional information about her life, I searched the Chicago Defender newspaper database.  Articles in the Defender confirmed her identity and her path to becoming a prominent nurse in Chicago’s black community.  Webb graduated from the Provident Hospital and Training School in 1914, listed as “Rhoygreete” and “Rhoygneette Allegra” in announcements about the graduation. The following year, Webb was featured in a front-page article about her career and appointment as head nurse at Dr. Butler’s Sanitarium in Evanston.

newspaper front page and article excerpt

The Chicago Defender, April 17, 1915

From there, I continued checking other common sources to flesh out any more details about Webb’s life.  Of the three censuses in which she appeared, her first name appeared differently – and never correctly – in each one.  1900 saw Rhoyjnette Webb living with her parents on East 2nd Street, Peru, Indiana, with a birthdate of March 1886.  In 1910, Rhoygnetta Webb, birthdate 1889, lived with her parents Joe and Mattie Webb on East Warren Street, Peru, Indiana, along with her younger brother Joe Webb, an orchestra musician.  By 1920, R. Webb lived in Chicago with her Provident Hospital classmate Edna DePriest in a home located at 210 Rhodes Avenue, with a birthdate of 1893.  With these inconsistencies, it is no wonder that identifying her was a challenge.

entries on census records

Webb’s entries in the 1900, 1910, and 1920 censuses

Webb died in 1922, only in her 30s.  She left land to her friend Edna DePriest and the rest of her estate to her family.

There is a single reference to Miss Webb in the 1924 Purdue Alumni Directory as a former member of the 1911 Pharmacy class.  This final piece of information about her time as a Purdue student provides yet another reason why she did not appear in any of the traditional student sources.  In the earliest years of the university, the School of Pharmacy was often treated as a separate institution from the rest of the university and not active in student life.

There is still so much more to Rhoygnette Webb’s story, some of which may never be known.  Miss Webb’s career aspirations, race, and gender all combined to make her seemingly invisible in the records of the university, and her frequently misspelled name made her difficult to trace in newspapers and vital records.  She likely would have remained unknown to us had she not taken an active role in the leadership of the Dubois Club.  Thanks to that club and its coverage in the Exponent, we can now identify and celebrate Miss Webb as one of Purdue’s groundbreaking students.

Herman Murray: Breaking the Color Barrier for Purdue Football

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In 1948, Herman Murray began playing for the freshman football squad at Purdue. According to the student newspaper, Murray stood out as a player in a game between the “frosh” team and the “B eleven,” when he pounced on a fumble and helped turn the tide in favor of his team (Exponent November 13, 1948). Murray joined Purdue’s “B Team” (similar to a junior varsity squad) as a tackle in 1949. Jim Smith, writing for the student newspaper, pointed out the significance of Murray’s place on the team: “Here’s hoping that the plucky Murray can help the varsity and here’s also hat’s off to the athletic department for helping to break down racial prejudice at Purdue” (Exponent, February 23, 1949).

Herman Murray, shown in the center of this photo of residents of the International House at Purdue. Debris 1949.

Murray’s athletic skills were not lost on Purdue coaches or students.  The following year he became the first African American student to play in an official varsity football game when he played in the November 11, 1950 game against Northwestern at Ross-Ade Stadium (Exponent, November 14, 1950). Students in the crowd enthusiastically chanted his name from the stands.  The student newspaper pointed out the hard work and persistence on Murray’s part that led to this important moment in Purdue history, writing that although Murray “played but a few minutes he deserves mention for his long road up. Big Herman Murray finally got his chance to appear in a ball game and he has really worked for that chance. Herm has been plugging away for the past two years serving as bait for the varsity and doing his bit in the “B” games. A good example of what determination can do.” (Exponent, November 14, 1950).

Murray is shown in back row, #99. Debris 1950

Murray was born in Indianapolis on January 2, 1930. He graduated from the Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis (1948), where he served as captain of his football squad and was named most valuable player. Murray entered Purdue University in 1948, graduating in 1952 with a BS degree in Science. For at least some of his years at Purdue he lived in the International House on Salisbury Street.

Herman Murray, Boilermaker tackle, circa 1948-1952.

Following graduation, Murray served for over twenty years with the U.S. Navy as a doctor of dentistry. He also worked for Arco Durethene Plastics and Arco Chemicals. Following retirement, Murray drove a school bus for special needs children in Long Beach, California. He passed away on August 2, 2017 (Source: Obituary, Serenity Funeral Services, 2017).

The archives staff recently learned of Murray’s passing and we wish to respectfully express our condolences to his family. 

Purdue and India, Part 2: The Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur

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Editors Note: This is part 2 of a series about the connections between Purdue and India.  See part 1, about the first Indian students at Purdue, here.

Program booklet, Box 2, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur records

Purdue forged new connections with India in the 1960s, collaborating in the planning and expansion of educational programs at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur. The IIT, a government funded educational institution, was founded in 1959. Starting in 1962, IIT participated in the Kanpur Indo-American Program, which provided technical assistance from nine U.S. institutions (including Purdue) to develop strong engineering programs, enhance instruction, and research.

In a document titled, “The P.K. Kelkar Library: The first ten years and the collaboration with the Purdue University Libraries,” former Purdue Librarian Professor Richard Funkhouser explained the background for the development of the Institute, “…the Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur (IIR/K) was a joint project of the Government of India and the United States Agency for International Development (U.S. A.I.D.). The aim was to build a world-recognized, doctoral degree granting, research university of the highest quality.”

Bulletin, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Course of Study, 1966-1967

In addition to Purdue, eight other United States universities collaborated on this effort: University of California at Berkeley, the California Institute of Technology, the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon), Case Institute of Technology (now Case Western), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Michigan, Ohio State, and Princeton University. All of these universities were, and still are, well known for the excellent science and engineering programs they provide. These universities also provided visiting faculty and support staff to serve as advisors.

According to notes kept by Funkhouser, “The Purdue Libraries had a unique role in the development of the Institute’s library, especially the collection. Four Purdue Librarians had active participation in the project. George Meluch and I each spent two years there and Robert Cain spent 18 months there, Oliver Dunn the Libraries Associate Director, was the Purdue Libraries liaison for the project and spent several weeks each in 1962, 1964, 1966 and 1968 at the Institute gathering data and writing the original development plan, reviewing progress and updating the plan.”

Program Description

A valuable resource on the history of Purdue’s collaboration in this effort is the collection of records on the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, part of the Purdue Archives and Special Collections. The collection was assembled by employees of the Purdue Libraries who helped build the new library at the IIT Kanpur. The records focus primarily on the books that were purchased and new procedures established for library staff. They also include documents on the early years of the IIT Kanpur, such as early reports, course bulletins, newsletters, and brochures. These records provide insight into the development of IIT Kanpur and the roles Purdue University and other university employees from U.S. institutions played in contributing to the developing infrastructure of the new institute.

Although participation in the Kanpur Indo-American Program ended in 1972, Purdue continues to work closely with the Indian Institute of Technology system. In 2015, President Mitch Daniels signed a memo of understanding with Uday B. Desai, director of the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad. The goal of this agreement was to strengthen and expand contacts between the two universities, with Purdue partnering on innovative approaches to course content and delivery. The agreement also included plans for faculty and student exchange and collaborative research and education programs.

Blog post by Mary A. Sego (’82), Processing Assistant, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections.

References

MSP 152, Purdue University International Students collection, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries

MSF 462, Richard L. Funkhouser book chapter, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur records, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections

Vertical File, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries

Purdue, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad to expand educational, research collaborations, Purdue Today, May 5, 2015. https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/purduetoday/releases/2015/Q2/purdue,-indian-institute-of-technology-hyderabad-to-expand-educational,-research-collaborations.html

Purdue and India, Part 1: The First Indian Students at Purdue

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Editors Note: The materials in this post are presented as they were originally created. In some cases, outdated terms and phrases were used that may be offensive today, but they are presented here unedited so that the context of the difficulties faced by international students may be understood.  Please click on images for better view.

In Recognition of the World at Purdue’s Doorstep 1887 – 1955

Students have traveled from India to study at Purdue since the early 1900s. In this post, we highlight those early Purdue students from India.

A university publication titled “In Recognition of the World at Purdue’s Doorstep 1887 – 1955” identifies two students who were likely the first to come from India to study at Purdue. Those men were Amar Nath Bery of Kashmir and Ram Lal Bery of Lahore.

Ram Lal Bery, 1905 Debris

Ram Lal Bery (BSME, 1905) appeared as a senior in the Purdue yearbook, The Debris. After graduation, he returned to Indiana and became Principal of the Hindu Diamond Technical Institute.

Amar Nath Bery (BSEE, 1905) graduated the same year as Ram Lal Bery but does not appear in the Debris. He later became Secretary of the Public Works Department, Jammu and Kashmir. 

 

1905 Debris

The Debris yearbook includes other students from India in subsequent years. The next student from India was Albert Norton. As noted in the necrology, Norton passed away on October 6, 1906.  H.D. Wohra  (Class of 1913) appears in the Debris as a member of the Cosmopolitan Club/Corda Fratres, but he is not pictured with the other seniors in the 1913 yearbook.

Birendra Nath Das Gupta, 1914 Debris

Narendra Nath Sen, 1914 Debris

The next student from India known to graduate from Purdue was Birendra Nath Das Gupta (BSEE, 1914). As stated below his photo, Das Gupta came from India in October 1911, and he spent his first year at Wisconsin. He then came to Purdue and was able to complete his studies in three years.

Also among the Class of 1914 was Narendra Nath Sen.  Like Gupta, Sen first spent a year at the University of Wisconsin before transferring to Purdue. He planned to continue his education with advanced degrees in engineering after earning his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.

Purdue Exponent, September 24, 1921

1922 Debris, p. 385

The 1920s saw another group of students coming to Purdue from India. Per an Exponent article from 1921, six students from India made their way to Purdue and faced unique challenges. Those students also formed the Purdue Hindusthan Association, a local chapter of a national organization to support students from India as they represent their culture in America.

Three of the men featured in the Exponent article appear in the Debris:

 

 

Kameshwar Nath Kathju, 1922 Debris

 

Kameshwar Nath Kathju (BS, 1922) of Bikaner, who was a Fellow of the Royal Colonial Institute of London

 

 

Syed Habibuddin Ahmed, 1923 Debris

1923 Debris

 

Syed Habibuddin Ahmed (BSEE, 1923) of Burhanpur

 

 

Gyan Chand Sharma, 1924 Debris

1924 Debris

 

Gyan Chand Sharma (BSEE, 1924) of Lahore, who played a key role in organizing the Foreign Students’ Union, a club that provided support for other international students.

Purdue Exponent, October 4, 1923

Many of the students gave presentations on campus, supported other international students, and provided insight into what it meant to travel across the globe to study at a university far from home.

Per statistics gathered for 1941-1942, there were no students from India at Purdue, but by 1946 the Lafayette Journal and Courier reported that there were ten students from India at Purdue that year.

MSP 152, Box 2, Folder 3, Purdue University International Students collection

As the years went by, outreach efforts resulted in increases to the number of International students attending Purdue. As International alumni spread the word about the value of their Purdue educations, the number of international students continued to rise.

A letter home to students in India

Purdue at India, Call # LD4767.2 .I523

In 1963, students published the “India at Purdue” newsletter. This short-lived publication focused on news and events in India for those who were far from home. The quotation on the cover states “In diversity we strive for unity.”

By 1963 there were 120 students from India enrolled at Purdue and that number has continued to grow ever since. Today, more than 2,000 students from India attend Purdue and Purdue Indian students are integral contributors to celebrations of diversity and multiculturalism on campus.

Our next post, Purdue and India, Part 2, focuses on Purdue’s collaborative efforts to establish the Indian Institute of Technology.

 

 

Blog post by Mary A. Sego (’82), Processing Assistant, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections.

References

MSP 152, Purdue University International Students collection, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries

Purdue University. Senior Class. (1889). Debris.

Purdue University. (1961). Alumni directory, 1875-1961, Purdue University. Lafayette, Ind.: Purdue Alumni Association.

Purdue University. India Students Association. (n.d.). India at Purdue.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur records, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections

Vertical File, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries

Kassandra Agee Chandler Broke Barriers as Purdue’s first African American Homecoming Queen

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Kassandra “Katie” Agee Chandler was born to a blue-collar family from Gary, Indiana. She originally aspired to attend an out of state college following high school graduation. This plan was disrupted when she was contacted by Dr. Cornell Bell of Purdue University. Bell discovered Kassandra Agee during her senior year of high school and persisted in efforts to recruit her for the Business Opportunity Program (BOP) at Purdue, despite Kassandra’s initial desire to live out of state.

Business Opportunity Program pamphlets

Through the BOP, Dr. Bell brought bright and promising students to enroll in the Krannert Business School. The initiative was started after Bell observed that Krannert and other business schools were historically lacking in diversity, which contributed to an overall lack of diversity in the profession of business.

Business Opportunity Program group photo

After entering the program, students like Agee received mentorship, tutoring, and a sense of family and belonging at Purdue. Kassandra entered the program in the fall of 1977 and graduated in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Purdue.

Kassandra Agee Chandler at Homecoming

As a sophomore in the fall of 1978, Agee was elected Purdue’s Homecoming Queen, the first and, to date, only African American Homecoming Queen in Purdue’s history. As a representative of Meredith Residence Halls, she competed against 23 other competitors to win her title.

Newspaper clippings

When reflecting later upon the nomination and campaign experience, Kassandra remembered being told, “They’ll never let you win this.” But she drew upon the strength of her faith, family, friends, and dorm-mates, as well as her own tenacity.

She worked tirelessly on her campaign, going door-to-door, speaking with groups across campus, and hanging campaign posters.

Homecoming campaign materials

She remembered, “I didn’t let it get to me. I never let anyone talk me down…. In the end, I was able to make my family and sisterhood proud…I felt like Cinderella…it was all a collective effort of sisterhood, of campus-hood, of brotherhood.”

Congratulations notes

After winning, Agee received local and national press, as well as campus and community wide support. Along with the many press releases, newspaper clippings, and congratulatory notes, she was invited to appear in the Rose Bowl Parade alongside the Homecoming Queens from the other Big 10 Universities. As she later said, “I’m a blue collar daughter but I was queen on the campus of Purdue. In sharing my story of what is possible during the most improbable and seemingly impossible time, I hope [to] inspire.”

Rose Bowl materials

In addition to her role as Homecoming Queen and a leader for African American students on campus, Agee was also active in extracurricular activities. She was a member of Alpha Lambda Delta freshman honor society, Purdue Pals, and the Black Voices of Inspiration Choir. Agee was also a president and founding member of Purdue’s Society of Minority Managers. She served as a social counselor for the Business Opportunity Program and was a member of the Mortar Board senior honors society.

Mortar Board

Her involvement in student activities reflected her leadership role on campus, as well as her excellent academic record.

After graduating from the Krannert School of Management, Agee held positions at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, Exxon, Dow Chemical and Procter & Gamble.

Agee Chandler speaking at podium

In the years since her graduation, she has frequently returned to campus to give presentations on topics ranging from her work in the business world to her experiences as homecoming queen. After years of professional experience working for industry leaders in both the public and private sector, she founded Systematic Design Consultants, where she is the principal consultant. The company is an information technology consulting firm located in Texas.

Cornell Bell letter

Agee is also a founding member of the Business Opportunity Program Alumni Network, which seeks to further the legacy of Dr. Cornell Bell and ensure the continued success of the BOP. The Network engages in fundraising, advising, and seeks to provide a support network for BOP alumni by keeping them connected while providing opportunities that will ensure their continued success in the professional business world.

Kassandra Agee Chandler returns to her alma mater this year to serve as grand marshal of the Boilermaker Night Train Homecoming Parade on September 21. This homecoming is particularly special, as Purdue officially launches the start of its sesquicentennial celebrations from fall 2018 through fall 2019.

The Black Cultural Center is offering a display of historical photographs and related items on Kassandra Agee Chandler, on the 2nd floor near the library, through the end of October. We hope you will join us in celebrating Kassandra’s rich life and legacy — at Purdue, and beyond.

Sources:

MSA 363, Kassandra Agee Chandler papers, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries, West Lafayette, Indiana

Chandler, Kassandra Agee. “My Pieces of History: A Queen’s Journey to Archival Peace (and Release).” 6 February, 2018, Krannert Auditorium, West Lafayette, Indiana.

Written by Virginia Pleasant. All images from the Kassandra Agee Chandler papers.