Alfred L. Loomis papers
Scope and Contents
The collection contains biographical material about Alfred L. Loomis, patent correspondence and patents which document his role in the development of long-range navigational systems, a guest book, and a volume of research reprints (1927-1937) from the Loomis Laboratories, his private research laboratory located in Tuxedo Park, New York.
Dates
- Creation: 1926 - 1975
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open.
Conditions Governing Use
Access to collections in the Department of Distinctive Collections is not authorization to publish. Please see the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy for permission information. Copyright of some items in this collection may be held by respective creators, not by the donor of the collection or MIT.
Biographical Note
Alfred Lee Loomis, 1887-1975, A.B. in physics, 1909, Yale University; LL.B. 1912, Harvard Law School, was a member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Corporation from 1931 until his death in 1975. He established Loomis Laboratories in 1926 in Tuxedo Park, New York, to conduct independently financed research on a wide range of scientific topics. As chair of the Microwave Committee of the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC), he contributed to establishing the government wartime radar research lab, the Radiation Laboratory, at MIT in 1940. During World War II he was Chief, National Defense Research Committee, Division 14, Radar. He was also made numerous contributions to the development of the LORAN navigational system. For his wartime achievements, he was awarded the US Medal of Merit and the King's Medal for Service from Great Britain. A lawyer, financier, and physicist, he devoted much of his life to science, serving as an advisor and benefactor to such institutions as MIT and the University of California at Berkeley. In 1940 he was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Alvarez, Luis W. "NAS Biographical Memoir of Alfred L. Loomis". http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/alphabetical-listing/memoirs-l.html
Extent
0.5 Cubic Feet (1 manuscript box, 1 half manuscript box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The collection contains biographical material about Alfred L. Loomis, a member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Corporation from 1931 until his death in 1975. As chief, National Defense Research Committee, Division 14, Radar, in World War II, Loomis contributed to establishing the government wartime radar research laboratory, "Rad Lab," on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His own private Loomis Laboratories in Tuxedo Park, New York, conducted independently financed scientific research until 1940, and the bulk of this collection focuses on material from the Loomis Laboratories. Also in the collection are patents for long-range navigational systems and patent correspondence.
Physical Location
Materials are stored off-site. Advance notice is required for use.
Bibliography
- "Alfred Lee Loomis," by Luis W. Alvarez. NAS Biographical Memoirs, vol. 51, 1980, pp. 308-341.
- "Resolutions of the Corporation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the Death of Alfred Lee Loomis, Life Member Emeritus," Massachusetts Institute of Technlogy Corporation Minutes, October 3, 1975 (AC 278) in MIT Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Subject
- Loomis Laboratories (Tuxedo Park, N.Y.) (Organization)
- Loomis, Alfred L. (Alfred Lee), 1887-1975 (Person)
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Papers of Alfred L. Loomis
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2021 July 9: Edited by Lana Mason for compliance with DACS single-level optimum requirements and to remove aggrandizing terms in the abstract note description.
Repository Details
Part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Libraries. Department of Distinctive Collections Repository
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries
Building 14N-118
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge MA 02139-4307 US
distinctive-collections@mit.edu