Scope and Content
Biographical Note
Preferred Citation:
Provenance
Publication Rights
Access Restrictions
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: David Locke Webster papers
creator:
Webster, David Locke
Identifier/Call Number: SC0131
Physical Description:
14.25 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1914-1970
Scope and Content
The papers of David Locke Webster document his career as a professor and physicist and
include course material from physics classes taught at Stanford (1946-1954); notes and
notebooks from his earlier teaching career at Harvard, Michigan and M.I.T.; correspondence
and subject files on Army research projects; budget material for the Stanford physics
department (1924-1943); reprints of articles; research data; photographs of apparatus used
in experiments; and manuscripts.
Biographical Note
Born in Boston, November 6, 1888, David Locke Webster attended Harvard University,
receiving his bachelor's in 1910 and his doctorate three years later, both in physics. While
studying at Harvard, Webster also taught as an instructor in mathematics (1909-12) and as an
assistant in physics (1911-14). After receiving his advanced degree, he held an
instructorship in physics until 1917.
In the autumn of that year, Webster assumed the position of Assistant Professor of Physics
at the University of Michigan. This appointment was short-lived, as the American entry into
the First World War intervened and Webster was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Air
Service of the Army. By October of 1918, he had been promoted to captain, the rank he would
hold in the air reserves from Armistice until 1924. Webster returned to Michigan, but within
the year accepted another offer of an assistant professorship, this one at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
After a single year at M.I.T., Webster came to Stanford, where he had been offered full
professorial status and the position of executive department head. He remained Professor of
Physics at Stanford until 1954, when he retired. He functioned as department head until
1942, when he took an official leave of absence to serve in World War II. During the
subsequent three years he held the posts of head Signal Service physicist, head physicist at
large for the Ordnance Department, and chief Army physicist.
Webster married Anna Cutler Woodman in June, 1912, with whom he had two daughters (Nancy,
Helen) and two sons (David Locke Jr., Cutler). In September of 1951, he married his second
wife, Olive Durbin Ross. Webster's long-standing avocation was flying. He coordinated the
civilian pilot training program at Stanford (1939-41) and co-authored two pilot training
manuals.
Working with H.W. Farwell and E.R. Drew, Webster produced
General
Physics for Colleges
in 1923. He was a member of the board of editors for the
Review of Modern Physics from 1929 to 1948, and of the
American Physics Teacher from 1933 to 1935. He also contributed to
the
Encyclopedia Brittanica.
Webster belonged to a number of professional societies, was elected to the National Academy
of Sciences, American Physical Society, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American
Philosophical Society, and Phi Beta Kappa. He listed his religious preference as
agnostic.
[Information obtained from
Who's Who in America, Volume 32,
1962-63.]
Preferred Citation:
[Identification of item], David Locke Webster Papers, SC 131, Stanford University Archives,
Stanford, Calif.
Provenance
Gift of David Locke Webster 1974, 1976 and Dr. and Mrs. Sergius Bryer, 1979; and transfer
from the Stanford University Dept. of Physics, 1987.
Publication Rights
Property rights reside with the repository. Literary rights reside with the creators of the
documents or their heirs. To obtain permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the
Public Services Librarian of the Dept. of Special Collections and Univeristy Archives.
Access Restrictions
None.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War, 1939-1945
Physics -- History.
Klystrons.
Webster, David Locke
Stanford University. Department of Physics
Webster, David Locke
United States.. Army.