Harrison, Anna J.
Papers
1854-1999
Manuscript Collection: MS 0763
44
boxes
Agency History/Biographical note:
Anna Jane Harrison was born on December 23, 1912 in Benton City,
Missouri to farmers Albert Harrison and Mary Katherine Jones
Harrison. She became interested in science while attending high
school in Mexico, Missouri and went to the University of Missouri
where she received a B.A. (1933), M.A. (1937), and Ph.D. (1940) in
chemistry and a B.S. (1935) in education. While working towards her
Master's Degree, she also taught at an elementary school in Andrain
County, Missouri. She was a chemistry professor at Sophie Newcomb
College from 1940-1945. During World War II she also did research on
toxic smoke for the National Defense Research Council, the A.J.
Griner Co. in Kansas City, Missouri and Corning Glass Works in
Corning, New York. The American Ceramic Society honored her with the
Frank Forrest Award for her findings in this research. In 1945 she
began teaching at Mount Holyoke College. She became a full professor
in 1950, served as chair of the Chemistry Department from 1960-1966,
and retired in 1979. She did research concerning the structure of
organic molecules, the absorption of organic compounds in ultraviolet
and far ultraviolet regions, and photolysis. She was an active
member of many scientific societies, including the American Chemical
Society (ACS), the National Science Board, and the American
Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In 1978 she
became the first woman president of the ACS and she was president of
the AAAS in 1983. She served on the editorial boards of the "Journal
of College Science Teaching" and "Chemical and Engineering News" and
she was on the Board of Directors of Sigma Xi from 1988-1991. In
1989 she co-authored a textbook with her Mount Holyoke College
colleague Edwin Weaver entitled "Chemistry: A Search to Understand."
She received many honors and awards including twenty honorary
degrees. Harrison died in Holyoke, Massachusetts on August 8, 1998
at the age eighty-five.
Scope and Content:
The papers of Anna J. Harrison consist of American Chemical Society
records; subject files containing correspondence, reports, minutes,
publications, and other documents; material relating to Mount Holyoke
College; her research material and published and unpublished
writings; letters by and to her; memorabilia; biographical
information; and photographs. The bulk of the collection is arranged
in subject files. The papers chiefly concern Harrison's professional
activities as an educator and researcher from 1938-1989. The
material includes records reflecting her work with many scientific
organizations in the United States, particularly the American
Chemical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, the Association of American Colleges, the Chemical
Manufacturers Association, the Education Commission of the States,
the Manufacturing Chemists' Association, the National Academy of
Sciences, the National Research Council, the National Science Board,
the National Science Foundation, and the Universities Space Research
Association's Lunar and Planetary Institute. Other documents concern
many of the conferences that Harrison attended in the United States
and abroad and reflect her association with numerous universities and
colleges as a lecturer, consultant or honorary degree recipient.
Also included are reports, correspondence and articles concerning her
trips to India as a representative of the National Science Foundation
in 1971 and the American Association for the Advancement of Science
in 1983; to Japan, Spain, and Thailand as president of the American
Chemical Society in 1978; and to Antarctica in 1974 as a
representative of the National Science Board. Material in the
collection also reflects her interest in the support of science
education by state and federal agencies, the role and status of women
in science, and public health issues. The papers also document her
work with editorial boards and organizations that produced scientific
publications or sponsored films and other projects. Material
relating to Mount Holyoke College dates from 1969-1986 and includes
correspondence with former students, records for a course in
elementary chemistry that Harrison often taught, and her
recommendations for students, faculty, staff, and colleagues. This
collection also contain her writings from 1938-1996 including
experiment findings, speeches, and articles she wrote for such
publications as the "Journal of the American Chemical Society",
"Chemical and Engineering News", and "Encyclopaedia Britannica". Her
Master's thesis and Ph.D. dissertation are included as well. The
collection also contains autobiographical and biographical
information about Harrison, 1949-1999; genealogical and biographical
information about members of the Harrison family, 1854-1952 and 1978;
and Harrison's diplomas and other memorabilia, ca.1884-1998.
Rounding out the collection are formal and informal photographs of
Harrison alone and with others, ca.1910-1992, and of her parents and
the family home, ca.1903, ca.1917.
Cite as: Anna J. Harrison Papers, Mount Holyoke College
and Special Collections, South Hadley, MA.
Access Restrictions: Unrestricted except for Mount Holyoke
College records less than 25 years
old and recommendations filed in
Series 3 of the collection. The
College records may be used with the
permission of the office or
department that created them.
Recommendations may be used by
researchers who sign the Mount
Holyoke College Archives and Special
Collections Restricted Records
Statistical and Quantitative Research
Contract.
Series List:
- American Chemical Society Material
, 1969-1987
, 11 boxes
- Subject Files
, 1890, 1954-1991
, 21 boxes
- Mount Holyoke College Material
, 1969-1986
, 3 boxes
- Research Material
, 1933-1972
, 2 boxes
- Writings
, 1938-1959, 1971-1996
, 2 boxes
- Correspondence
, 1970-1987, 1995-1996
, 2 boxes
- Memorabilia
, 1940-1988
, 1 box
- Biographical Information
, 1854-1999
, 1 box
- Photographs
, ca.1903-1992
, 1 box
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