Inventory of the R.A.F. Penrose miscellaneous correspondence
Processed by Brad Bauer.
Hoover Institution Archives
Stanford University
Stanford, California 94305-6010
Phone: (650) 723-3563
Fax: (650) 725-3445
Email: archives@hoover.stanford.edu
© 2011
Hoover Institution Archives. All rights reserved.
Inventory of the R.A.F. Penrose miscellaneous correspondence
Hoover Institution Archives
Stanford University
Stanford, California
- Processed by:
- Brad Bauer
- Date Completed:
- 2011
- Encoded by:
- Machine-readable finding aid derived from Microsoft Word and MARC record by Brad Bauer.
© 2011 Hoover Institution Archives. All rights reserved.
Collection Summary
Title: R.A.F. Penrose miscellaneous correspondence
Dates: 1897-1928
Collection Number: 2005C23
Collector: Penrose, R.A.F.
Collection Size:
1 manuscript box
(0.4 linear feet)
Repository:
Hoover Institution Archives
Stanford, California 94305-6010
Abstract: Consists primarily of letters received from Herbert Hoover, relating to international mining, World War I Belgian relief,
and American politics.
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Archives
Languages:
English
Administrative Information
Access
Collection is open for research.
The Hoover Institution Archives only allows access to
copies of audiovisual items. To listen to sound recordings or to view videos or films during your visit, please contact the Archives
at least two working days before your arrival. We will then advise you of the accessibility of the material you wish to see
or hear. Please note that not all audiovisual material is immediately accessible.
Publication Rights
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Archives.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], R.A.F. Penrose miscellaneous correspondence, [Box number], Hoover Institution Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Archives in 2004.
Accruals
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. To determine if this has occurred, find
the collection in Stanford University's online catalog Socrates at
http://library.stanford.edu/webcat . Materials have been added to the collection if the number of boxes listed in Socrates is larger than the number of boxes
listed in this finding aid.
Alternative Forms of Material Available
Several of the letters in this collection are reproduced in the book,
Life and Letters of R.A.F. Penrose, edited by Helen R. Fairbanks and Charles P. Berkey (New York: Geological Society of America, 1952).
Related Materials
Sir Alfred Chester Beatty correspondence, Hoover Institution Archives
Bewick, Moreing and Company miscellaneous records, Hoover Institution
Archives
William Joseph Loring papers, Hoover Institution Archives
Broken Hill Mines, engravings, Hoover Institution Archives
R.A.F. Penrose correspondence and papers, American Philosophical Society
Pre-Commerce papers, Herbert Hoover papers, Herbert Hoover Presidential
Library, West Branch, IA
Biographical/Historical Note
| 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 |
Scope and Content of Collection
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.
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.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964.
Mines and mineral resources.
World War, 1914-1918, Civilian relief.
Commission for Relief in Belgium (1914-1930)
United States--Politics and government--1923-1929
Collection Contents
Box: 1
Correspondence, Herbert Hoover to R.A.F. Penrose,
1897-1917
Scope and Content Note
Contains correspondence from Hoover to Penrose, related primarily to mines and mining in various parts of the world, as well
as humanitarian relief work in Belgium during World War I. Arranged chronologically.
Box/Folder: 1 : 1
February 7, Berkeley, California
Box/Folder: 1 : 3
March 17, Berkeley, California
Box/Folder: 1 : 5
November 21, Coolgardie, Western Australia
Box/Folder: 1 : 6
April 2, Coolgardie, Western Australia
Box/Folder: 1 : 7
July 9, Tientsin (Tianjin), China
Box/Folder: 1 : 8
January 20, Tientsin (Tianjin), China
Box/Folder: 1 : 9
February 15, Tientsin (Tianjin), China
Box/Folder: 1 : 13
May 17, Monterey, California
Box: 1
Other correspondence related to Herbert Hoover,
1906-1928
Scope and Content Note
Primarily correspondence about Hoover's activities related to humanitarian relief, as well as his campaign for president in
1928. Arranged chronologically.
Box/Folder: 1 : 24
F.A. Govett to Herbert Hoover
1906
Box/Folder: 1 : 25
Lou Henry Hoover to R.A.F. Penrose, concerning Herbert Hoover's book, Principles of Mining, circa
1909
Box/Folder: 1 : 26
R.A.F. Penrose to Herbert Hoover
1915
Box/Folder: 1 : 27
Ellen Coit Elliott to R.A.F. Penrose, concerning Belgian relief fundraising activities at Stanford University
1916
Box/Folder: 1 : 28
R.A.F. Penrose to Alonzo Taylor
1916
Box/Folder: 1 : 29
Correspondence between R.A.F. Penrose and his brother, Senator Boies Penrose, regarding Hoover's activities
1917
Box/Folder: 1 : 30
Bradley Stoughton to R.A.F. Penrose, regarding election of Herbert Hoover honorary as honorary member of the American Institute
of Mining Engineers
1917
Box/Folder: 1 : 31
Correspondence to R.A.F. Penrose from the Hoover Business League
1928
Box/Folder: 1 : 32
George Wharton Pepper to R.A.F. Penrose, undated
