The Richard B. Talmadge papers consist of manuals, technical reports, internal memos and documentation, daily activity logs, and subject, personal, and project files relating to Talmadge's work at International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). The materials range in date from 1953 to 1997. About a quarter of the collection is made up of both published and internal IBM manuals. The second quarter of the papers consists of internal materials from IBM, such as technical reports and reviews, division operating plans, project outlines, course and workshop materials, internal memos, and handwritten notes. Examples of subjects in this portion of the collection include the 7040/7090 DC System, the 7740 Data Control Package, and the 7095 Data Processing System. Another quarter of the papers are made up of subject, personal, and project files related to Talmadge's work at IBM, including information on graphics and display research, the RTSX control program, and the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) project. The final quarter of the collection consists of manuals, technical reports, meeting minutes, and notes from companies and organizations other than IBM, such as Lockheed, Univac, and Remington Rand.

Richard B. Talmadge was an engineer and research scientist who worked for International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) from 1958 to 1981. Talmadge earned a bachelor's degree in Mathematics from California Institute of Technology in 1948 and a PhD in Mathematics from the same institution in 1951. From 1952 to 1953, he worked as a research engineer in applications programming at Hughes Aircraft, focusing on mathematical problems in radar systems design. From 1953 to 1954, Talmadge worked at Marquardt Aircraft Corporation, where he was a research scientist and manager of the computer group, called Test Systems. Talmadge then spent three years with Lockheed Missile Systems Division as a manager of the systems programming department and as a research scientist. A notable part of his work at Lockheed involved producing a complete operating system for the Univac 1103A.

33.51 Linear feet, 24 record cartons and 3 flat boxes

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The collection is open for research.