John R. Pierce papers, 1929-1980

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Abstract:
Materials related to the life and career of engineer and writer John R. Pierce, including correspondence; daybooks and calendars; unpublished stories and manuscripts; and published writings including reprints, papers, memoranda, and books.
Extent:
15.76 Linear Feet (28 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. John R. Pierce papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

Materials related to the personal and professional life of John R. Pierce.

Correspondence is primarily from Pierce's time at Bell Labs and Caltech, and includes both internal and external letters. Correspondents include academic and lawyer Nicholas Johnson, former Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission Lee Loevinger, engineer Edward E. David Jr., and former President of Bell Labs William O. Baker. There is also the correspondence of character Alexander Botts Jr., created by Pierce as an excercise in imagining the letters a fictional engineer might write and receive.

Personal materials include daybooks and calendars used by Pierce; awards and certificates, including his academic degrees; and biographical articles.

Manuscripts are primarily unpublished articles and stories, sometimes written under the pseudonyms J.J. Coupling and John Pierce.

Professional materials include book reviews, technical memoranda written for Bell Labs, scientific papers and reprints, and books. There is also a small amount of material related to Pierce's time teaching at Caltech, as well as materials related to his work with IRCAM, the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music.

Biographical / historical:

Engineer and writer John Robinson Pierce was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1910. Known for his work with radio communication, microwave technology, computer music, and psychoacoustics, Pierce earned his bachelor's master's, and PhD degrees at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the 1930s.

After finishing his PhD, Pierce worked at Bell Telephone Laboratories from 1936 to 1971, then joined the faculty at Caltech where he taught until 1980. Pierce was also a chief engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 1979 to 1982. In 1983 he accepted a position as Visiting Professor of Music, Emeritus, at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics at Stanford University.

Pierce also wrote science fiction under the names John Pierce, John R. Pierce, and J. J. Coupling. He died in 2002 in Sunnyvale, California, from complications of Parkinson's Disease.

Acquisition information:
Gift of American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming, July 2004.
Processing information:

Processed by Kelly Kress in May 2023.

Arrangement:

Organized in four series:

  • Series 1. Correspondence, 1955-1980
  • Series 2. Personal, 1929-1979
  • Series 3. Manuscripts, 1932-1966
  • Series 4. Professional, 1936-1980
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. John R. Pierce papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Website