Samuel A. Goudsmit Papers, 1921–1979

These papers document the career of Samuel A. Goudsmit, who served on the physics faculty at University of Michigan, and on the staff of Brookhaven National Laboratory. Goudsmit also served as head of the ALSOS mission, an American scientific intelligence combat unit whose main objective was to determine German progress in developing an atomic bomb. The papers consist primarily of correspondence (1921-1978) which documents his career from his discovery (with George Uhlenbeck) of the electron spin (1927), through his work as editor-in-chief at the American Physical Society (APS) (1951-1974), to his post as visiting professor at the University of Nevada (1974-1978).

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About this project

Series I. Biographical Materials

Series II. Chronological Correspondence, 1921-1941

Series III. Individuals, Institutions, and Subjects

Series IV. Alsos Mission

Series V. Lecture Series

Series VI. University of Nevada. Desert Research Institute

Series VII. Brookhaven and Other Positions

Series VIII. Travel

Series IX. Science and Government Security

Series X. Writings by Goudsmit

Series XI. Organizations

Series XII. Scientific Subject Files

Series XIII. Author Files

Series XIV. Notebooks

Series XV. Writer's Files

Series XVI. Audio-Visual Materials

Series XVII. Correspondence with Henry L. Woudhuysen (Goudsmit's brother-in-law)

Scanning and online access to this collection was supported in part by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this digital collection do not necessarily reflect those of the American Institute of Physics or the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.