Inventor Name
Edgerton, Harold E. “Doc”
Repository
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Institute Archives and Special Collections
Rm. 14N-118
77 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307
617-253-5136
http://libraries.mit.edu/archives/
Physical Description
52.2 cubic ft. (128fmanuscript boxes),(2 half manuscript boxes),(1 records carton),(4 tubes),13 microfilm boxes),(3 reel-to-reel audio tape boxes),(2 flat storage boxes),(2 cassette boxes), and (14 phase boxes), and 5 microfilm storage boxes.
Summary
Harold "Doc" Eugene Edgerton, 1903-1990, B.S. 1926, University of Nebraska; S.M. 1927 and Sc.D. 1931 in electrical engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was professor of electrical engineering at MIT, 1928-1966; Institute Professor, 1966-1968; and Institute Professor emeritus, 1968-1990. Edgerton perfected the stroboscope and developed photographic techniques that allowed very rapid events to be observed and captured on film. He also developed techniques for underwater exploration, using sonar devices and flash photography, and participated in many oceanographic and archaeological expeditions. During World War II he designed a strobe lamp for nighttime aerial reconnaissance photography for the U.S. Army Air Force and directed its use in Italy, England, and France. In 1947, with Kenneth J. Germeshausen and Herbert E. Grier, former students, he formed Edgerton, Germeshausen and Grier, Inc. (now EG&G, Inc.), a company specializing in electronic technology. In 1953 he began a long association with French underwater explorer Jacques Yves Cousteau, accompanying him on numerous expeditions and designing various devices for underwater photography and exploration. The National Geographic magazine published a number of articles by Edgerton, and used his high-speed photographs to illustrate many articles. Edgerton's photographs are exhibited in museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Collection includes Edgerton's laboratory notebooks, a continuing record of research activities in his MIT laboratory, 1930-1990. Also included are Edgerton's autobiographical writings and other materials compiled by him in preparation for a full-length autobiography which was never completed; Edgerton family photograph albums, 1889-1930; and sound recordings of Edgerton's family gatherings, speeches, conversations, and musical performances, 1957-1979. Collection also includes Edgerton's professional and personal correspondence, 1938-1990 (bulk 1950-1989); course notes from classes he taught at MIT, 1961-1989, as well as correspondence documenting the operations and projects of the Stroboscopic Laboratory run by Edgerton at MIT; correspondence and other materials documenting Edgerton's personal contributions from 1932 to 1989 to the activities of EG&G, Inc.; and Edgerton's speeches, 1936-1989, and writings, 1928-1989, which document the broad range of his research activities and other interests, including stroboscopic photography and side scan sonar. Also included are trip files, maps, and charts documenting his underwater research and other field work, 1950-1989, technical specifications files for equipment and experimental setups, and correspondence and reports relating to his development and testing of aerial surveillance equipment for the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II.
Finding Aid
http://libraries.mit.edu/archives/collections-mc/mc25/index.html#biography
