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Arnold (Ralph) Papers
mssArnold
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Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Ralph Arnold papers
Creator:
Arnold, Ralph, 1875-1961.
Identifier/Call Number: mssArnold
Physical Description:
202 Linear Feet
(268 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Date (inclusive): 1836-1961
Abstract: This collection contains the extensive
business, political, personal, and family papers of American geologist and petroleum
engineer Ralph Arnold.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department.
For more information, contact Reader Services.
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.
[Identification of item]. Ralph Arnold papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Gift of Ralph Arnold, 1955-1961.
American geologist and petroleum engineer Ralph Arnold (1875-1961) was born in
Marshalltown, Iowa, on April 14, 1875. His father, Delos Arnold (1830-1909), was a lawyer
and Iowa state senator who became interested in the study of fossils after the discovery of
crinoids fossils in LeGrand, Iowa. The Arnolds moved to Pasadena, California, in 1886, and
Ralph attended both Pasadena High School and Throop Polytechnic School (now the California
Institute of Technology) before receiving a B.A. in geology and mining from Stanford in
1899. He continued at Stanford to complete an M.A. (1900) and Ph.D. (1902) in geology and
paleontology. In 1899, Arnold married Frankie Winninette Stokes. The couple had two
daughters, Winninette, who married chemist Richard M. Noyes, and Elizabeth (McKee).
Arnold worked for the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from 1900 to 1909, and from
1903 to 1909 published a variety of paleontological articles. He was active in petroleum
surveys throughout the United States, and organized the Petroleum Branch of the United
States Bureau of Mines; in 1910, Arnold left the USGS. Herbert Hoover, Arnold's former
colleague at Stanford, then in London as a consulting engineer for Gold Fields, Ltd. of
South Africa, recommended Arnold to that company for a survey of oil resources in Venezuela,
about which experiences Arnold later published a book, "The First Big Oil Hunt: Venezuela,
1911-1916." At that time there was a single oil well in Venezuela producing 40 gallons of
oil per day. In 1958, the year Arnold published his book recording his spectacular success
in Venezuela, the country was producing 2,500,000 barrels of petroleum per day. The survey,
the most extensive and thorough of its kind ever undertaken in South America, was widely
publicized throughout the world.
Arnold's second survey, conducted for the General Asphalt Company in Northern Venezuela,
employed, under Arnold's direction, a staff of 52 geologists, engineers, and drillers. So
successful was this venture, a Royal Dutch Shell Company paid General Asphalt $1,000,000 for
51 percent in General Asphalt's Caribbean Petroleum Co.
After Arnold's South American explorations between 1911 and 1916, he took up wild-catting,
both in petroleum and in every conceivable kind of mineral, as he joined the Independents,
in contradistinction to the big oil companies. He organized one exploratory company after
another. His projects extended from Alaska to Mexico, all over the Far West and the South
West, though the syndicates that Arnold organized failed.
In the 1920s Arnold's interests turned to politics. He was an ardent Republican and served
as chairman of three electoral committees for the Presidency in California and was actively
involved in the Herbert Hoover presidential campaign. He remained committed to the
California Academy of Sciences, the Cooper Ornithological Society, and the Sierra Club,
among other organizations. Arnold died in Santa Barbara, California, in 1961.
The collection contains letters, documents, including 190,000 reports, 1200 maps, 500
photographs, and 8200 pieces of printed material related to the life and career of geologist
and petroleum engineer Ralph Arnold. Subjects represented in the collection include: mining,
petroleum, and seismology in the Western United States as well as Canada, Mexico, Cuba, and
South America; political papers from 1914 to 1956, mostly concerning the campaign of Herbert
Hoover for president; family and personal papers from 1836 to 1961 of Arnold and his father,
Delos Arnold, containing source material on Pasadena and Southern California local history.
The collection also contains Arnold's field books, including those made at Stanford
University with the U.S. Geological Survey from 1900 to 1909. Arnold's petroleum reports,
numbering about 1,000 reports, extending all over the United States, Alaska, Canada, and
Mexico, are a valuable resource for studying the Petroleum industry during this period.
Related Materials in the Huntington Library
- Ralph Arnold Addenda (Call number: mssArnold addenda)
- Ralph Arnold Santa Barbara-South coastal area field notes, 1929 (Call number: mssHM 83111)
- Ralph Arnold Photograph and Map Collection (Call number: photCL 311)
The collection is arranged in the following 16 series:
- 1. Family and personal papers, 1836-1961
- 2. Business papers, 1890-1950
- 3. General correspondence, 1899-1960
- 4. Field books, 1899-1957
- 5. Legal papers, 1911-1947
- 6. Manuscripts, 1898-1960
- 7. Maps, 1890-1954
- 8. Memoranda and notes, 1901-1958
- 9. Mining papers, 1875-1946
- 10. Petroleum papers, 1865-1960
- 11. Photographs
- 12. Political papers, 1914-1956
- 13. Seismological papers, 1887-1956
- 14. Shells
- 15. Ephemera
- 16. Addenda: Printed material
Former call number: mssArnold papers.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Mines and mineral resources -- Canada.
Mines and mineral resources -- Cuba.
Mines and mineral resources -- Mexico.
Mines and mineral resources -- South America.
Mines and mineral resources -- West (U.S.)
Mineral industries -- West (U.S.)
Mining engineers -- West (U.S.) -- Archives.
Petroleum -- Geology -- Canada.
Petroleum -- Geology -- Cuba.
Petroleum -- Geology -- Mexico.
Petroleum -- Geology -- South America.
Petroleum -- Geology -- United States.
Petroleum engineering -- Canada.
Petroleum engineering -- Cuba.
Petroleum engineering -- Mexico.
Petroleum engineering -- South America.
Petroleum engineering -- West (U.S.)
Petroleum geologists -- California -- Archives.
Petroleum industry and trade -- United States.
Seismology -- West (U.S.)
Pasadena (Calif.) -- History -- Sources.
Family papers -- United States.
Field notes -- United States
Letters (correspondence) -- United States.
Maps -- United States.
Arnold, Ralph, 1875-1961.
Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964.
Geological Survey (U.S.)
Republican Party (U.S. :
1854- )