Fisk, James Brown

Person

Staff Only

Dates

Existence: 1910 - 1981

Biographical Note

James Brown Fisk, 1910-1981, SB in aeronautical engineering, 1931, PhD in theoretical physics, 1935, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, taught physics at the University of North Carolina and at MIT before joining Bell Laboratories in 1939. During World War II he headed a group that developed the microwave device used to generate high frequency radar. He was appointed assistant director of research at Bell Labs in 1949, vice president for research in 1954, and executive vice president in 1955. He was president of Bell Labs from 1959 to 1973, when he became chair of the board. In 1947 he served as the first director of research for the US Atomic Energy Commission. In 1958 he headed a team of scientists sent to Geneva by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to negotiate the technical groundwork for the nuclear test ban treaty. He was a member of the corporation at Harvard University and MIT, and served on MIT presidential search committees in 1965 and 1970.

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

James B. Fisk papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MC-0433

Scope and Contents of the Collection Correspondence, notes, photographs, reports, articles, and speeches document Fisk's work on atomic fission. A diary describes his trip to Italy, 1943 1944, to contact other scientists and identify important scientific documents. Correspondence with Vannevar Bush provides details about Fisk's consulting work for the United States Office of Scientific Research and Development during World War II. There is information about Fisk's assignment as head of a delegation of scientists sent to Geneva...

Dates: 1931 - 1977

Found in: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Libraries. Department of Distinctive Collections

Vannevar Bush papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MC-0078

Scope and Contents The Vannevar Bush Papers consist of correspondence, reports, patent records, notes, memos, manuscript drafts and galley proofs of books and articles, appointment calendars, and reprints primarily from 1956 to 1974. There are three series: 1. Subject Files, 2. Writings, and 3. Appointment Calendars. The collection came in two accessions, and although the two were interfiled, whenever possible the papers were kept in their original order. As a result the subject files are in three sections...

Dates: 1921 - 1974