R.A.F. Penrose miscellaneous correspondence, 1897-1928

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Summary

Creators:
Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964 and Penrose, R. A. F.
Abstract:
Consists primarily of letters received from Herbert Hoover, relating to international mining, World War I Belgian relief, and American politics.
Extent:
1 manuscript box (0.4 Linear Feet)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], R.A.F. Penrose miscellaneous correspondence, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The R.A.F. Penrose miscellaneous correspondence consists primarily of letters received from Herbert Hoover, relating to international mining and World War I Belgian relief, as well as related correspondence from others about Hoover and his activities, such as Belgian relief and Hoover's campaign for the presidency in 1928.

Hoover's first contact with Penrose appears to have been during his days as a geology student at Stanford University. The earliest correspondence from Hoover to Penrose in this collection, however, dates from 1897, two years after Hoover's graduation, when he sought a recommendation letter from Penrose for a job he was applying for: that of a mining engineer with the British firm of Bewick, Moreing and Company. Hoover's successive appointments with Bewick, Moreing in Western Australia and in China laid the foundation for his successful career as a mining engineer, and several of his letters to Penrose detail his earliest activities, plans, and ambitions in these places. In addition, Hoover provided detailed descriptions of mining prospects, wrote to Penrose seeking recommendations on staff to hire, and on one occasion asked Penrose for information regarding gold deposits in Colorado, which Penrose had surveyed during the previous decade.

Later correspondence to Penrose, as well as correspondence from others to Penrose, dealt largely with Hoover's activities as the chairman of the Commission for Relief in Belgium in World War I. Included is a group of letters between Penrose and his brother, U.S. Senator Boies Penrose, who was reluctant to lend his support to Hoover's activities.

The collection was acquired in 2004 from Custodians of History, in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Sources: Dictionary of American Biography, 1936; Website, National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum, www.mininghalloffame.org/ , accessed May 2011.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1863, December 17
Born, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1885
Obtains Ph.D. from Harvard University
1886-1888
Manager of mines, Anglo-Canadian Phosphate Company
Circa 1880s-1890s
Works as field geologist, best known for his work of surveying mines and claims at Cripple Creek, Colorado (1894-1895)
1892-1911
Associate, and later full, Professor of Economic Geology, University of Chicago
1895-1903
Co-founder, and later president, Commonwealth Mining and Milling Company, Territory of Arizona
1899-1915
Director of Cripple Creek Sampling and Ore Company, Colorado; member of executive committee of the Hanover Bessemer Iron Ore Association, Fierro, New Mexico
1903
Co-founds Utah Copper Company, which subsequently develops the Bingham Canyon mine
1920-1921
Founder and first president, Society of Economic Geologists
1930
Elected President, Geological Society of America
1931, July 31
Dies, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Acquisition information:
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 2004.
Arrangement:

The R.A.F. Penrose Miscellaneous correspondence collection is divided into two series: Correspondence, Herbert Hoover to R.A.F. Penrose; and Other correspondence related to Herbert Hoover. Both series are arranged chronologically.

Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], R.A.F. Penrose miscellaneous correspondence, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
Website