Finding Aid for George L. Clark Papers, 1914-68 | University of Illinois Archives

Title: George L. Clark Papers, 1914-68

ID: 15/5/31

Primary Creator: Clark, George L. (George Lindenberg) (1892-1969)

Extent: 3.6 cubic feet

Arrangement: By type of material and chronologically or alphabetically thereunder.

Subjects: Aircraft Metals, Chemical Corps, Crystallography, Delco-Remy, Encyclopedias, Faculty Papers, General Electric Company, Graduate Study, Microscopy, Ohio Oil Company, Oil Companies, Ordinance Corps, Parker Pen Company, Rubber, Schlitz Brewing Company, Signal Corps, Spectroscopy, X-Ray Studies

Formats/Genres: Papers

Languages: English

Papers of George Lindenberg Clark (1892-1969), professor of chemistry (1927-53), including correspondence, reprints, manuscripts, research data and biographical material concerning editing encyclopedias on microscopy, spectroscopy and X-Rays; consulting work for Delco-Remy Division, the Ohio Oil Company, the Signal Corps, the Chemical Corps, the Ordinance Corps, General Electric, Parker Pen and Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company; crystallography; spectroscopy; X-Ray diffraction research; University and Analytical Chemistry Division administrative matters; doctoral candidates and teaching; professional societies and fraternities; awards and honors; lectures and symposia; sabbaticals; job offers and the scientific interests of colleagues.

The series includes an October 17, 1956 taped interview of Prof. Clark by Josef Wright concerning X-Ray studies, laboratories and courses and rubber and aircraft metals research.

George ("G. L.") Lindenberg Clark (1892-1969) was professor of chemistry (1927-53), head of the Division of Analytical Chemistry (1927-53), and professor emeritus (1953-69) at the University of Illinois (UI). He was a renowned analytical chemist and X-ray scientist best known for his pioneering development of X-ray technologies and instrumentation methods for use in scientific research and analysis.

Clark was born on September 6, 1892, in Anderson, Indiana, to Olive Burnett and Ralph B. Clark. He earned a BA from DePauw University (1914) as well as a MS (1914) and PhD (1918) from the University of Chicago, where he studied chemistry and physics. After completing his formal education, Clark was associate professor at Vanderbilt University (1919-21); national research fellow at Harvard (1922-24); and assistant professor of applied chemical research at  Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (1924-27), where he established the first analytical X-ray laboratory in the United States. He joined the faculty at UI in 1927 as professor and head of analytical chemistry. His research and work explored the applications of "X-ray analyses to a wide variety of materials, including metals and minerals, natural and synthetic fibers, natural and synthetic rubber, clays, carbon black, storage battery plates, corks and waxes" (Sch. of Chem. Sci.).

Over the course of his career, Clark oversaw the research of more than 85 doctoral candidates. He also wrote over 360 research papers in addition to publishing Applied X-Rays (1927); A Basic Course in Theory and Practice of Quantitative Chemical Analysis (1949); and (as editor) the Encyclopedia of Chemistry (1956). Clark was active in his field, including as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); honorary member of the Radiological Society of North America; and founder and chairman of the Electron Microscope Society (1942). Clark was widely recognized, including with the Grasselli Medal from the Society of Chemical Industry (1932); an honorary doctorate from DePauw University (1937); and the Mehl Medal from the Congress of Metals (1944). The UI's first dedicated X-ray laboratory (the George L. Clark X-Ray Facility) was named in his honor in 1952. He retired as professor emeritus in 1953.

Clark was married to Mary Mason Johnson, and they had five children. He died in 1969.

Sources:

"Professor Clark, UI Emeritus, Dies at 76," News Gazette, January, 8, 1969.

"George L. Clark," School of Chemical Sciences (UIUC), accessed May 15, 2020, https://scs.illinois.edu/resources/facilities/x-ray-laboratory/george-l-clark.

Aircraft Metals
Chemical Corps
Crystallography
Delco-Remy
Encyclopedias
Faculty Papers
General Electric Company
Graduate Study
Microscopy
Ohio Oil Company
Oil Companies
Ordinance Corps
Parker Pen Company
Rubber
Schlitz Brewing Company
Signal Corps
Spectroscopy
X-Ray Studies

Repository: University of Illinois Archives

Accruals: 4/29/1969; 6/15/1970

Other Note: 5 Pages

URL: https://files.archon.library.illinois.edu/uasfa/1505031.pdf

PDF finding aid for George L. Clark Papers (15/5/31)