Restrictions on Access
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Preferred Citation
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Biography
Scope and Content
Related Oral History
Title: Willard F. Libby papers
Collection number: 1276
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
143 linear ft.
(278 boxes, 4 cartons, 9 oversize boxes.)
Date (inclusive): ca. 1954-1976
Abstract: Willard F. Libby (1908-1980) was a professor in the UCLA Department of Chemistry (1959), and director of the Institute of
Geophysics and Planetary Physics at UCLA. In 1960, he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing the radio-active
dating technique known as carbon-14. The collection consists of correspondence, notebooks, research materials, publications,
lectures, and memorabilia related to Libby's career as a chemist, and items related to Libby's involvement in the U.S. Atomic
Energy Commission, tritium experiments, radiocarbon dating, the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary physics, and UCLA.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Creator:
Libby, Willard F.
Restrictions on Access
Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library
Special Collections for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are
retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Willard F. Libby Papers (Collection 1276). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Leona M. Libby, 1981-83.
Biography
Libby was born December 17, 1908; BS (1931) and Ph.D (1933), UC Berkeley; part of the Manhattan Project, 1941-45; professor,
Institute for Nuclear Studies, University of Chicago, 1945-54; commissioner, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, 1954-59; became
a professor, UCLA Department of Chemistry, 1959; director, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at UCLA; received
the 1960 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing the radio-active dating technique known as carbon-14; died September 8, 1980.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of correspondence, notebooks, research materials, publications, lectures, and memorabilia related to the
career of chemist Williard F. Libby. Contains items related to Libby's involvement in the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, tritium
experiments, radiocarbon dating, the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary physics, and UCLA. Also includes cassette and reel-to-reel
tapes, video tapes, and film materials.
Related Oral History
The following oral history is available through the UCLA Library Center for Oral History Research:
-
Nobel Laureate [oral history transcript] / Willard F. Libby, interviewee. UCLA Oral History Department interview, 1983. Available at UCLA
Library Special Collections.
-
Interview of Willard F. Libby
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Libby, Willard F.--Archives.
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
University of California (System). Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics.
University of California, Los Angeles. Dept. of Chemistry--Faculty--Archival resources.
Chemists--United States--Archival resources.
Radiocarbon dating--Research.