John R. Pierce Papers: Finding Aid mssPierce
Kelly Kress
The Huntington Library
May 2023
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Note
Finding aid last updated on September 29, 2023 by Mari Khasmanyan.
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: John R. Pierce papers
Identifier/Call Number: mssPierce
Physical Description:
15.76 Linear Feet
(28 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1929-1980
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calendars; unpublished stories and manuscripts; and published writings including reprints,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.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
Conditions Governing Use
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.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming, July 2004.
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.
Scope and Contents
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.
Processing Information
Processed by Kelly Kress in May 2023.
Existence and Location of Copies
Selected audiovisual items from this collection have been digitized and are noted in the
contents list. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for access.
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
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Communication models
Computer music -- 20th century
Telecommunications engineers -- United
States
Science fiction, American -- 20th century
Science writers -- California -- 20th century
Letters (correspondence)
Manuscripts
Technical reports
Baker, William O.
(William Oliver), 1915-2005
Bell Labs
David, Edward E., Jr.
(Edward Emil), 1925-2017
IRCAM (Research institute
: France)
Loevinger, Lee,
1913-2004
Johnson, Nicholas,
1934-
Pierce, John R. (John
Robinson), 1910-2002
Correspondence
1955-1980
Physical Description: 2.83 Linear
Feet(6 boxes)
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Scope and Contents
Bound volumes of Pierce's correspondence, primarily during his career at Bell Labs and
Caltech.
Box 1
External correspondence
1955-1959
Box 2
External correspondence
1959-1961
Box 3
Correspondence
1955-1961
Scope and Contents
Correspondence with Bell Telephone Labs, and fictitious correspondence of Alexander
Botts, Jr.
Box 5
Correspondence
1967-1972
Scope and Contents
Correspondence with Dr. Edward E. David, Nicholas Johnson, and Lee Loevinger
Box 6
Correspondence
1971-1980
Scope and Contents
Correspondence from Caltech years, including with W.O. Baker
Personal
1929-1979
Physical Description: 2.38 Linear
Feet(4 boxes)
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Scope and Contents
Awards and diplomas including Pierce's academic degrees, memberships, and awards he
received during his career; a file of biographical articles, and Pierce's handwritten
daybooks and calendars. Daybooks include Pierce's notes on meetings, conversations, and
thoughts.
Box 7
Awards and biographical
1935-1972
Scope and Contents
Certificates, diplomas, and newspaper and magazine articles about Pierce.
Box 8
Awards and biographical
1935-1965
Scope and Contents
Certificates and a photograph of a National Academy of Engineering Meeting
Box 9
Daybooks
1970-1976
Scope and Contents
Notebooks containing Pierce's handwritten notes of conversations, meetings, and
thoughts from 1973 to 1976.
Box 10
Daybooks and calendars
1976-1979
Scope and Contents
Notebooks containing Pierce's handwritten notes of conversations, meetings, and
thoughts up through 1979, and five calendar datebooks covering 1975 to 1979.
Manuscripts
1932-1966
Physical Description: 1.17 Linear
Feet(2 boxes)
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Scope and Contents
Binders of primarily unpublished material, sometimes written under the pseudonyms J.J.
Coupling or John Roberts. Includes stories, talks, and a play. Some stories were
published in Astounding Science Fiction and other magazines. A list of titles and dates
compiled by Dr. A. Michael Noll is included.
Box 11
Binders 1, 2
1932-1949
Scope and Contents
Stories, articles, talks, and a play by Pierce, sometimes using the pseudonyms J.J.
Coupling or John Roberts, primarily unpublished. A few stories were published in
Astounding Science Fiction.
Professional
1936-1980
Physical Description: 9.38 Linear
Feet(16 boxes)
Arrangement
Arranged by type of material, then chronologically within.
Scope and Contents
Primarily professional writing published or presented by Pierce, including internal
technical memoranda he authored during his 36 years at Bell Labs, scientific research
papers he published throughout his career, reprints, and books he wrote, co-wrote, or
edited. An index to the technical memoranda is included in box 14. Scientific paper
topics include communications, sound and amplifiers, information theory, and computers
and music.
Additional music writing and recordings of computer music for IRCAM (Institute for
Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music) are in box 24, and some of his work with
students at Caltech is in box 25.
Books include translations in several languages.
Box 13
Book reviews and talks
1954-1967
Scope and Contents
Two binders of book reviews by Pierce.
Box 14
Bell Telephone Labs Technical Memoranda
1936-1944
Scope and Contents
Also includes an index.
Box 15
Bell Telephone Labs Technical Memoranda
1945-1951
Box 16
Bell Telephone Labs Technical Memoranda
1952-1971
Box 17
Papers 1-90
1936-1956
Scope and Contents
Also includes separate binders of papers received from J.O. McNally regarding
electron guns and beams, and Pierce's complied work on data loops.
Box 22
Papers 481-515 and unbound
1976-1979
Box 23
Reprints
1936-1981
Scope and Contents
Four binders and some loose reprints of Pierce's published writings.
Box 24
IRCAM
1966-1979
Scope and Contents
A binder of Pierce's music writing for the Institute for Research and Coordination in
Acoustics/Music (IRCAM), based in Paris and affiliated with Stanford University. Also
includes three open reel tapes of recorded computer music by Pierce and others, and
one reel of a 1979 talk Pierce gave for IRCAM.
Existence and Location of Copies
The four open reel audiotapes have been digitized; please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for access.
Box 25
Other
1944-1980
Scope and Contents
Includes a draft of a 1979 book for Scientific American; a binder titled Ideas I
Tried to Give to Students; and folders related to Pierce's 1944 meeting with H.G.
Wells, Caltech student papers, and other later career writings.
