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Root (Leonard, E.) papers
M0635
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Leonard Eugene Root papers
Identifier/Call Number: M0635
Physical Description:
11.75 Linear Feet
(25 boxes: 17 manuscript boxes; 4 half-manuscript boxes; 4 flat boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1923-1983
Abstract: The Leonard Eugene Root papers include 25 boxes of documents, photographs and ephemera about Root's personal life and his
professional career at Lockheed. The collection includes his speeches and work files from his time at Lockheed; personal and
professional photographs and correspondence; publications on the aerospace industry; and memorabilia such as his high school
yearbooks.
Open for research, with the exception of born-digital materials, which are closed until processed. Note that material must
be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use. Audiovisual materials are not available in original format, and
must be reformatted to a digital use copy.
This collection was given by Sheryl Root to Stanford University Special Collections in 1992.
Leonard Eugene Root was born in Lewiston, Idaho on July 4, 1910. He spent his school years in Stockton, California, and then
attended the College of the Pacific, receiving his Bachelor of Arts in Engineering and Mathematics in 1932.
Leonard Root's long and distinguished career in aeronautical and space sciences began with his graduate work at California
Institute of Technology in the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory. He earned Masters of Sciences in both Mechanical Engineering
(1933) and Aeronautical Engineering (1934) from Caltech. Before he could finish his doctoral work, however, he was recruited:
by his professor, Arthur E. Raymond, also the Chief Engineer at Douglas Aircraft Company, Inc., to work at Douglas in 1934.
He remained at Douglas as Chief of Aerodynamics until 1946, and then served as a member of the staff of a Special Engineering
Project until 1948.
After Douglas, Rand Corporation hired him as Chief of Aircraft Division from 1948-1953. In 1953, he joined Lockheed Aircraft
Corporation where he remained until his retirement in 1970. Throughout his years at Lockheed, Root was instrumental in long
range planning for the corporation. He was responsible for initiating planning efforts toward corporate diversification and
the development of missile and space system programs. As the first Director of the Development and Planning Department, he
proposed the creation of the Missile Systems Division to develop ballistic missiles and satellites. Lockheed Missiles and
Space Company, Root's brainchild, was established in January 1954.
In 1956, he was appointed Vice President of Lockheed Aircraft Corpoaration and General Manager of Missiles and Space Division.
In 1959, he became Group Vice President of Lockheed Missiles and Space Division, Lockheed Electronics Company and Grand Central
Rocket Company. In 1961, he was named President of Lockheed Missiles and Space Company, and in 1969, he became Group Vice
President of Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. While at Lockheed, he gave priority to cultivating effective management skills
as well as to developing goals for the corporation. His primary areas of research were aircraft design; flying qualities;
systems and operational analyses in military sciences; development planning methods; missiles and spacecreaft and aerospace
management. Among the preeminant engineering projects in which he participated were the Polaris, the Agena and the Genesis
efforts.
Root was called upon as advisor to other organizations in his field. He lectured at California Institute of Technology in
1937-1938. He served as a consultant to Hughes Aircraft Aerodynamic Advisory Panel. He was a member of Aerodynamic Committee
of the National Advisory Committee in Aeronautics from1944-1950. He was the Chairman of the Aerodynamic Advisory Panel for
the Atomic Energy Commission between 1948 and 1950. He was first Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff and then Chief of
Staff of the Advisory Board for Development for the United States Airforce.
Root was active in the professional, social and community organizations with which he associated. Root was active in his memberships
to the National Academy of Sciences; the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; the American Astronautical Society;
and the Royal Aeronautical Society.
Dedicated to his community, Root served on the Board of Directors for the University of the Pacific, the Stanford Bank, and
for the Management Council for Bay Area Employment Opportunity.
Among his honors are the Junior Chamber of Commerce Award for Outstanding Young Men (1945), the Navy Distinguished Public
Service Award (1960), and a NASA Public Service Award for outstanding contributions in the Gemini Program (1966)
Root married Laura Beryl Mount in 1935. They had three children: Kirby, Karen and Brian. Root retired early from Lockheed
in 1970 due to coronary disease. He turned to amateur radio to fill his free time. He died in Menlo Park, California on January
23, 1992.
[identification of item] Leonard Eugene Root Papers (M0635). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford
Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
With his papers, Stanford University Special Collections received a number of books from Root's personal library. Because
of their interest to the libraries' patrons they have been removed to the public stacks. A list of those volumes is available
upon request. A small number of volumes, including pamphlets and books not suitable for cataloguing, remain with the papers
because of their significance in Root's life.
Collection Scope and Content Summary
The Leonard Eugene Root papers document his personal life and career in the aerospace industry from the 1940s to the 1960s,
and includes correspondence, notebooks, business files, publications, memorabilia.
Biographical materials in the collection include a transcribed interview and autobiography of Root, and early family correspondence
(particularly with his wife from 1945 to 1946). Personal memorabilia pertains to his association with the University of the
Pacific in Stockton, California and the California Institute of Technology; and photographs include those of Root, his family,
and various Lockheed events.
Materials related to Root's aerospace career and his responsibilities as manager at Lockheed include a limited amount of inter-office
communication, reports, news and press releases; and his business notebooks and articles he authored. Root also collected
memorabilia throughout his career at Lockheed such as his special access badge to the Apollo 11 space launch and issues of
The Lockheed Star, a publication of the Lockheed Missiles and Space Company. Related materials include Root's collection of
industry-related literature about early aerospace organizations.
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not
an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission
or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Aerospace industries.
Aeronautics, Military.
Rocketry.
Science -- History.
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Rand Corporation.
Douglas Aircraft Company.
Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.