Guide to the William Shockley and Eugenics Collection
Daniel Hartwig
Stanford University Libraries.
Dept. of Special Collections & University Archives.
October 2010
Copyright © 2013 The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Note
This encoded finding aid is compliant with Stanford EAD Best Practice Guidelines, Version 1.0.
Overview
Call Number: SC0595
Creator:
Saunders, John Bertrand deCusance Morant, 1903-
Title: William Shockley and eugenics collection
Dates: 1966-1978
Physical Description:
2 Linear feet
Summary: This collection pertains to Shockley's work on heredity, I.Q., and race and includes papers and articles by Shockley, including
several presented to the National Academy of Sciences; two issues of the PHI DELTA KAPPAN containing a debate between Shockley
and N. L. Gage (Stanford professor of education) on heredity, environment, race, and I.Q., 1972; and clippings on Shockley's
views as well as reactions to them, particularly in the academic world. Some of the clippings concern the controversy at Stanford
when Shockley's proposed graduate class on dysgenics (1972) was not approved.
Language(s): The materials are in English.
Repository:
Dept. of Special Collections & University Archives.
Stanford University Libraries.
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford, CA 94305
Email: speccollref@stanford.edu
Phone: (650) 725-1022
URL: http://library.stanford.edu/spc
Administrative Information
Provenance
Gift of Eleanor Thompson Wortz, 2000; purchase, 2013.
Information about Access
This collection is open for research.
Ownership & Copyright
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the
Head of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California 94304-6064. Consent
is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission
from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s) or assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/depts/spc/pubserv/permissions.html.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research
and educational purposes.
Cite As
William Shockley and Eugenics Collection (SC0595). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University
Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Description of the Collection
The materials consist of correspondence, news clippings, publications and ephemera related to Shockley's work on heredity,
I.Q., and race.
Accession ARCH-2000-263 includes papers and articles by Shockley, including several presented to the National Academy of Sciences;
two issues of the PHI DELTA KAPPAN containing a debate between Shockley and N. L. Gage (Stanford professor of education) on
heredity, environment, race, and I.Q., 1972; and clippings on Shockley's views as well as reactions to them, particularly
in the academic world. Some of the clippings concern the controversy at Stanford when Shockley's proposed graduate class on
dysgenics (1972) was not approved.
Accession ARCH-2007-074 consists of materials, originally part of William Spicer's files, pertaining to William Shockley's
interest in eugenics and heredity. Included are two papers by Shockley, "Possible Transfer of Metallurgical and Astronomical
Approaches to the Problem of Environment versus Ethnic Heredity," 1966, and "City Slums and Research Taboos - A National Sickness
Diagnosed," 1967; Shockley's letter to Spicer regarding the U.S. News and World Report interview with Shockley, 1965 (copy
attached); form letter by Shockley in response to his 1965 talk on "Population Control and Eugenics" with 17 enclosures (articles,
press releases, and other correspondence, including George W. Beadle); and form letter by Shockley requesting feedback on
his drafted response to criticisms from faculty in the Genetics Department of S. U. School of Medicine, 1966.
Accession ARCH-2013-060 consists of Shockley and Foundation for Research and Education on Eugencis and Dysgenics (FREED) correspondence,
news clippings, publications, and ephemera originally part of John B. deC. M. Saunders' files.
Arrangement note
The materials are arranged by accession.
Access Terms
Gage, N. L., (Nathaniel Lees), 1917-2008
Karkau, Isabel Steiner
Shockley, William, 1910-1989.
Stanford University--Faculty.
Wortz, Eleanor Thompson
Academic freedom.
Eugenics.
Heredity, Human.
Human genetics.
Collection Contents
Box 1
Accession ARCH-2000-263
Eugenics papers
1966-1976
Creator/Collector:
Karkau, Isabel Steiner
Biography/Organization History
Isabel Steiner Karkau was an engineering student at Stanford University in the 1930s. William Shockley was professor of engineering
at Stanford (1958-1975) and co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in physics, 1956.
Box 1, 1, Folder 1
Papers, remarks by Schockley
1970-1973
Box 1, Folder 2
Shockley reprints
1967-1973
Box 1, Folder 7
SWOPSI matter
1972 May 12
Box 1, Folder 8
National Academy of Sciences
1972
Box 1, Folder 10
Committee on Undergraduate Studies review of SWOPSI matter
1973
Box 1, Folder 11
Biographical material
1972-1973
Box 1
Acccesion ARCH-2007-074
Eugenics papers
1965-1970
Creator/Collector:
Spicer, William E., collector.
Biography/Organization History
William E. Spicer was a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, 1962-1992.
Scope and Content Note
This collection of miscellaneous materials, originally part of William Spicer's files, pertains to William Shockley's interest
in eugenics and heredity. The collection includes two papers by Shockley, "Possible Transfer of Metallurgical and Astronomical
Approaches to the Problem of Environment versus Ethnic Heredity," 1966, and "City Slums and Research Taboos - A National Sickness
Diagnosed," 1967; Shockley's letter to Spicer regarding the U.S. News and World Report interview with Shockley, 1965 (copy
attached); form letter by Shockley in response to his 1965 talk on "Population Control and Eugenics" with 17 enclosures (articles,
press releases, and other correspondence, including George W. Beadle); and form letter by Shockley requesting feedback on
his drafted response to criticisms from faculty in the Genetics Department of S. U. School of Medicine, 1966.
Box 2, Folder 1
Shockley, William, "City slums and research taboos"
1967 Jan 11
Box 2, Folder 2
Shockley, William, "Possible transfer of metallurgical and astronomical approaches to the problem of environment versus ethnic
heredity"
1966 Oct 15
Box 2, Folder 3
Shockley, William, letter to Spicer
1965 Nov 16
Box 2, Folder 4
Shockley, William, form letter and enclosures
1966 Sep 6
Box 2, Folder 5
Shockley, William, form letter re: comments from genetics faculty
1966 Apr 14
Box 2, Folder 6
Shockley, William, correspondence re: lab security
1970 Jul 15
Accession ARCH-2013-060
Eugenics papers
1966-1978
Creator/Collector:
Saunders, John Bertrand deCusance Morant, 1903-
Biography/Organization History
Son of a British surgeon, J.B.deC.M. Saunders was born in Grahamstown, South Africa in 1903, and educated there. He took his
M.B., Ch.B at the University of Edinburgh in 1925, becoming FRCS, Edinburgh in 1930. Dr. Saunders came to UCSF in 1931 as
Asst. Professor of Anatomy, becoming Professor and Chair of the Dept. of Anatomy in 1938, a post he held until 1956. He has
also served the campus as Dean, School of Medicine (1956-63), Chair, Dept. of Medical History and Bibliography (1937-73),
and University Librarian (1943-1973). In 1959 Dr. Saunders was inaugurated as the first Provost of the UCSF campus, was named
the first Chancellor of UCSF in 1964, and served in that position until 1966. In that year he was named to the Regents Chair
of Medical History, in the Department of the History of Health Sciences.
Dr. Saunders has carried out research in several areas, including medical history (works on Vesalius and ancient medicine)
and the structure and development of bones, the physiology of the muscles and the mechanics of walking. He was a member of
numerous professional and honorary societies, among them the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, the American Academy
of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Association of Anatomists, and the American and British Medical Associations.
