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University of Chicago Library

Guide to the Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin Papers 1878-1932

© 2010 University of Chicago Library

Descriptive Summary

Title:

Chamberlin, Thomas Chrowder. Papers

Dates:

1878-1932

Size:

42.75 linear feet (35 boxes)

Repository:

Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center
University of Chicago Library
1100 East 57th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.

Abstract:

Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin (1843-1928) directed the Department of Geology at the University of Chicago from 1892-1919. Though his academic interests were wide-ranging, he is best known for the Chamberlin-Moulton Planetesimal Hypothesis, a theory of solar system formation. Chamberlin's papers include biographies, clippings, personal and professional correspondence, drafts, research notes, reprints, and teaching materials. The collection spans 1878-1932.

Information on Use

Access

The collection is open for research.

Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Chamberlin, Thomas Chrowder. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Biographical Note

Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin was born in 1843 in the area of Mattoon, Illinois: in his own words, "on the crest of the Shelbyville moraine…under the great six-tailed comet of 1843." He received his undergraduate degree from Beloit College in 1866. After completing graduate studies at the Universities of Wisconsin and Michigan, he returned to Beloit as Professor of Geology in 1873. He taught there and at Columbia University before serving as President of the University of Wisconsin from 1887 until 1892.

Chamberlin's education and early career coincided with an extremely important period in American geology, both in terms of knowledge and institutional structure. The expansion of mining, the discovery of North American dinosaurs, and the mapping of glaciers provided new opportunities for study. At universities geology was increasingly recognized as a discipline separate from geography and requiring its own department. The developing field was fostered by national organizations such as the United States Geological Survey (USGS, founded 1879) and the Geological Society of America (founded 1888). Chamberlin conducted his first research on glaciers and glacial movement. He was variously State Geologist of Wisconsin (1876 -1882), chief of the USGS Glacial Division (1881-1904) and geologist to the Peary Expedition in Greenland (1894). His work in Wisconsin articulated some of the basic laws of glacier movement and glacial stages, still accepted by geologists. His study of the multiple stages of glaciation informed his interest in climate change and the future habitability of earth.

Chamberlin was committed to scientific study as a means to materially and spiritually improve the human condition. His father was a Methodist preacher, and though Chamberlin opposed what he called "superstition" and "the dead weight of conservatism," he remained a Christian. He believed that by seeking to explain the history of humanity and the earth, both religion and science focused attention on important issues and freed individuals from everyday trivialities. In 1909 he reported to the University of Chicago's Oriental Education Commission on China's potential for developing scientific educational programs; throughout his career he wrote and spoke on pedagogy and the role of the university.

In 1892 Chamberlin left Wisconsin to chair the Department of Geology at the University of Chicago. He founded the Journal of Geology there in 1893. He was also active as a research associate of the Carnegie Foundation and president of the Chicago Academy of Science. During the second part of his career his research was concerned with the origins and formation of the earth, and through his collaboration with astronomer Forest Ray Moulton advanced the "Chamberlin-Moulton Planetesimal Hyposthesis" in 1904-1905. This theory of the solar system posited that planets had formed from the collision of planetesimals, or debris ejected from the sun. Though extremely influential at the time, the Planetesimal Hypothesis was disproven during the 1940s.

Chamberlin became emeritus faculty in 1919. He received geology's highest honour, the Penrose Medal, in 1926, and died in 1928. A lunar crater and a crater on Mars are named for him. He was survived by his son, Rollin Thomas Chamberlin (1881-1948), also a geologist and University of Chicago faculty member.

Scope Note

Series I: Personal, contains awards and commemorations, biographical sketches, clippings, and memorabilia. Of note is a draft of Chamberlin's autobiography, "Little Things in the Life of Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin." Material spans 1903-1928.

Series II: Correspondence, contains Chamberlin's personal and professional correspondence, both incoming and outgoing. Correspondence pertaining to specific research projects can be found in Series III.3 and in Series V and VI. Material spans 1876-1927.

Series III: Writings and Research, contains clippings, correspondence, drafts of papers and addresses, and reprints of articles by Chamberlin and others. It includes research materials related to the development of the Chamberlin-Moulton Planetesimal Hypothesis. Material spans 1878-1932.

Series IV: Teaching, contains lecture outlines and a bound volume of complete lectures by Chamberlin and lecture notes taken by one of his students. Material spans 1896-1915.

Series V: Oriental Education Commission, contains correspondence, reports, and recollections Chamberlin wrote and co-authored during his trip to China in 1909 as part of the University of Chicago's ongoing "Oriental Educational Investigation." Material spans 1901-1929.

Series VI: United States Geological Survey, contains correspondence, proposals, and reports authored by Chamberlin and others for the USGS. Material spans 1881-1907.

Related Resources

Browse finding aids by topic.

Burton, Ernest DeWitt. Papers

Salisbury, Rollin D. Papers

University of Chicago. Department of Geology. Records

Subject Headings

INVENTORY

Series I: Personal

This series contains awards and commemorations, biographical sketches, clippings, and memorabilia. Of note is a draft of Chamberlin's autobiography, "Little Things in the Life of Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin." Material spans 1903-1928.

Box 1   Folder 1

Bibliography of published works, 1929

Box 1   Folder 2

Biographical information sent to encyclopedias, undated

Box 1   Folder 3

Biographical notes, 1914

Box 1   Folder 4

Biographical sketch, undated

Box 1   Folder 5-6

Clippings, 1908-1918

Box 1   Folder 7

Commencement programs, 1903-1916

Box 1   Folder 8

Eightieth birthday, list of well-wishers, 1923

Box 1   Folder 9

Family history, 1920s

Box 1   Folder 10

"The List of the American Philosophical Society," 1917

Box 1   Folder 11

"Little Things in the Life of Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin," 1928

Box 1   Folder 12-13

Obituaries, clippings, 1928

Box 2   Folder 1

Penrose medal, Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, 1927

Box 2   Folder 2

Penrose medal, Chamberlin's response, 1926

Box 2   Folder 3

Penrose medal, "What I should have said," 1926

Box 2   Folder 4

Reminiscences as told to J.V. Nash, 1928

Box 2   Folder 5

"Report of the Committee on the Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin Memorial Portrait, 1918

Box 2   Folder 6

"A Short Biography by Eugenie Williston," undated

Series II: Correspondence

This series contains Chamberlin's personal and professional correspondence. Correspondence pertaining to specific research projects can be found in Series III, V and VI. This series is divided into three subseries:

Subseries 1: Family, contains letters Chamberlin wrote to his wife, Alma Isabel (Wilson) Chamberlin, and his son, Rollin Thomas, during 1885 and 1886. It also includes correspondence between Chamberlin and his son from 1905-1923, and other correspondence addressed to Rollin.

Subseries 2: Professional, contains both incoming and outgoing correspondence, 1876-1927, some original and some copied. Material is arranged chronologically and then alphabetically by correspondent.

Subseries 3: Letterbooks, consists of twenty-one bound letterbooks. All but the first two include indexes. These contain copies of letters written by Chamberlin between 1888 and 1908, though the years 1892-1893 are incomplete. Correspondents include prominent academics and geologists, including William Rainey Harper, C.R. Van Hise, G.K. Gilbert, and Rollin D. Salisbury. Letterbooks are organized chronologically.

Subseries 1: Family

Box 2   Folder 7-8

Chamberlin, Alma Isabel (Wilson) and Rollin Thomas, 1885-1886

Box 2   Folder 9-10

Chamberlin, Rollin Thomas, 1905-1923

Box 2   Folder 11

Chamberlin, Rollin Thomas, other correspondence, 1929

Subseries 2: Professional

Box 2   Folder 12-16

1880-1919

Box 3   Folder 1

A, 1905-1926

Box 3   Folder 2-3

B, 1905-1923

Box 3   Folder 4

Beloit College, 1897, 1917

Box 3   Folder 5

Brazilian Iron and Steel Company, 1911-1922

Box 3   Folder 6

C, 1893-1919

Box 3   Folder 7

Carnegie Institute, 1902-1918

Box 3   Folder 8

Chicago Academy of Sciences, 1897-1906

Box 3   Folder 9

D, 1908-1918

Box 3   Folder 10

E-F, 1905-1919

Box 3   Folder 11

Experimental shrapnel, 1918

Box 4   Folder 1

G, 1906-1927

Box 4   Folder 2

H, 1903-1926

Box 4   Folder 3

Harper, William Rainey, 1892, 1905

Box 4   Folder 4

I-J, 1906-1917

Box 4   Folder 5

Illinois Department of Conservation, 1910-1919

Box 4   Folder 6

Illinois State Museum, 1901-1902

Box 4   Folder 7

Indiana Dunes National Park Project, 1916

Box 4   Folder 8

Jeans, J.H., 1917

Box 4   Folder 9

K, 1894-1925

Box 4   Folder 10

L, 1904-1923

Box 4   Folder 11

M, 1904-1926

Box 5   Folder 1

N-O, 1905-1918

Box 5   Folder 2

P, 1906-1927

Box 5   Folder 3

R, 1908-1918

Box 5   Folder 4

Rock River Paper Company, 1876-1886

Box 5   Folder 5

S, 1893-1919

Box 5   Folder 6

T, 1913-1922

Box 5   Folder 7-9

University of Chicago, 1895-1919

Box 5   Folder 10

University of Chicago chapel, 1911-1923

Box 5   Folder 11

University of Chicago museums, 1900-1905

Box 6   Folder 1

V, 1904-1927

Box 6   Folder 2-3

W-Y, 1904-1924

Box 6   Folder 4

Whitman, C.O., to William Rainey Harper, 1894

Subseries 3: Letterbooks

Box 7

October 22, 1888-October 19, 1891

Box 7

October 27, 1891-August 9, 1892

Box 8

October 12, 1893 - March 7, 1894

Box 8

March 7, 1894- May 17, 1894

Box 9

June 2, 1894-February 27, 1895

Box 10

Feb. 27, 1895 – Sept. 30, 1895

Box 11

September 30, 1895-July 3, 1896

Box 12

July 14, 1896-April 6, 1897

Box 12

April 7, 1897-January 31, 1898

Box 13

January 31, 1898 – September 12, 1898

Box 13

September 12, 1898-August 10, 1899

Box 14

August 7, 1899-November 28, 1900

Box 15

November 30, 1900-July 18, 1901

Box 16

July 18, 1901-March 13, 1902

Box 17

March 13, 1902-September 9, 1902

Box 18

September 10, 1902-March 10, 1903

Box 19

March 10, 1903-February 16, 1904

Box 20

February 16, 1904-March 11, 1905

Box 21

April 3, 1905-March 26, 1906

Box 22

March 27, 1906-July 3, 1907

Box 23

July 8, 1907-September 16, 1908

Series III: Writings and Research

This series contains Chamberlin's writing and research materials. It is divided into three subseries:

Subseries 1: Planetesimal Hypothesis, contains clippings, correspondence, and research notes related to the Chamberlin-Moulton Planetesimal Hypothesis on the formation of the solar system. Material spans 1897-1932 and is organized by topic and title, preserving Chamberlin's own headings for notes.

Subseries 2: Drafts and Notes, contains drafts of papers and addresses by Chamberlin. These cover scientific topics and thoughts on education. It also contains clippings and research notes in the form of short writing pieces and outlines. Material spans the 1880s though 1927 and is organized by title.

Subseries 3: Reprints, contains reprints of articles, editorials, and reviews written by Chamberlin and others. Material spans 1878-1931. It is organized alphabetically by title, and author when other than Chamberlin.

Subseries 1: Planetesimal Hypothesis

Box 24   Folder 1-3

Clippings, 1900-1928

Box 24   Folder 4

“Considerations bearing upon the duration of the heat of the solar system,” undated

Box 24   Folder 5

Correspondence, 1900-1914

Box 24   Folder 6

Correspondence, T.C. Chamberlin and R.T. Chamberlin with F.R. Moulton, 1897-1932

Box 24   Folder 7

Criticism of the hypothesis by F.R. Moulton, 1914

Box 24   Folder 8

“Hypothesis respecting the origin of the moon," undated

Box 24   Folder 9

Jeffries and the Planetesimal Hypothesis, 1924

Box 24   Folder 10

“List of special problems,” undated

Box 24   Folder 11

“Memorandum of Chamberlin's studies on the fundamental doctrines of geology,” undated

Box 24   Folder 12

“Memorandum on the original announcement of the Planetesimal Hypothesis in 1904," 1928

Box 24   Folder 13-16

Notes and calculations, circa 1901-1904, 1924undated

Box 24   Folder 17

“Notes on nebulae relative to parallax and other inquiries,” undated

Box 25   Folder 1

“Preliminary notes on the consequences of collisions between larger and smaller nebulae,” undated

Box 25   Folder 2

“Propositions involved in the evolution of a spiral nebulae into a planetary system,” undated

Box 25   Folder 3

Scheme of inquiry,” 1910

Box 25   Folder 4

“Spiro-nebulae hypothesis, undated

Box 25   Folder 5

"Synopsis of the Stages of Study on Earth Genesis by T.C. Chamberlin and F.R. Moulton," 1906

Box 25   Folder 6

“Translation of passages in Les hypothèses cosmographiques,” 1913

Subseries 2: Drafts and Notes

Box 25   Folder 7

“Academic test,” undated

Box 25   Folder 8

“Additional cosmic theories,” undated

Box 25   Folder 9

"Address Before the Association of Doctors of Philosophy of the University of Chicago," 1918

Box 25   Folder 10

"Address on the Fiftieth Anniversary of the St. Louis Academy," undated

Box 25   Folder 11

"Address at the Laying of the Cornerstone of the Julius Rosenwald Hall," 1914

Box 25   Folder 12

“Addresses at congregational dinners,” undated

Box 25   Folder 13

"The Advisability of Reorganizing the A.A.A.S.," 1910

Box 25   Folder 14

"The American University and its Ideals," undated

Box 25   Folder 15

"The Ample Basis for Diastrophism," 1926

Box 25   Folder 16

“Analysis of compressional energy,” 1921

Box 25   Folder 17

“Analysis of modes of internal movement and the structure of bodies relative to such motion,” 1910

Box 25   Folder 18

"The Ancestral Family of the Sun," 1915

Box 25   Folder 19

"The Atmosphere," 1922

Box 25   Folder 20

“Basal concepts of evolution,” 1916

Box 25   Folder 21

“Bases of reference in determining the earth's form and dimensions,” undated

Box 25   Folder 22

“Basis for drawing a revised map of the western hemisphere,” 1926

Box 25   Folder 23

“Basis for long-time regional weather predictions,” 1923

Box 25   Folder 24

"The Bearing of Molecular Activity on Spontaneous Fission in Gaseous Spheroids," 1908

Box 25   Folder 25

“Behaviour of the borders of the continents,” 1905

Box 25   Folder 26

“The bending of star rays in passing the sun,” 1923

Box 25   Folder 27

"Birth, Growth, and Mature Stages of Glaciers: the Harris Lectures," 1918

Box 25   Folder 28

Bibliographies, circa 1919

Box 25   Folder 29

“The case of eruption before star reaches periastion,” undated

Box 25   Folder 30

"Change in the Concept of Cosmology," 1916

Box 25   Folder 31

"The Climatic Evidences of the Proterozic Era," 1917

Box 25   Folder 32

“Climatic fallacy,” 1923

Box 25   Folder 33

"The Coast Glaciers Between Disco Island and Inglefield Gulf," undated

Box 25   Folder 34

"Comments Relative to the Interpretation of the Paper of W.J. McGee," 1926

Box 25   Folder 35

"Communication of College Economics: Addressed to Beloit College," 1917

Box 25   Folder 36

"The Conditions of a Wholesome, Ethical, and Religious Atmosphere in a University," 1897

Box 25   Folder 37

"The Content of the Cosmogonic Field," 1916

Box 25   Folder 38

“Continental platforms,” 1899

Box 25   Folder 39

“Cosmogony,” 1911

Box 25   Folder 40

"The Cosmos, the Psychos, the Monontos," 1927

Box 25   Folder 41

“Crushing tests, Tarr and Von Engeln,” 1918

Box 25   Folder 42

“Curves of pressure, freed energy, and density,” 1921

Box 25   Folder 43

Darwin, Charles, undated

Box 25   Folder 44

“Deployments and powers of deployment,” 1916

Box 25   Folder 45

“Diagram and statistics relative to seismic pier beneath Rosenwald Hall,” 1917

Box 25   Folder 46

"A Differential Method of Voting on the (Liquor) License Question," circa 1897

Box 25   Folder 47

“Directions of individual paths of the nebulous units,” 1916

Box 25   Folder 48

“Discussion of conditions which control the distribution and evolution of early life,” undated

Box 25   Folder 49

“Distinction between original satellitesimal earth and later planetesimal earth,” 1919

Box 25   Folder 50

“The distortional factor,” 1921

Box 25   Folder 51

“A dynamic classification of small astronomic bodies,” 1908

Box 25   Folder 52

“The dynamic contribution of planetesimal infall during the core formation”, 1924

Box 26   Folder 1

"The Early Shaping of the Earth," 1924

Box 26   Folder 2

"The Educational Era of July 13, 1899," 1899

Box 26   Folder 3

Educational proposals, clippings, 1880s-1890s

Box 26   Folder 4

"Effects of Ionization on the Chamberlin Theory of Meteorites," 1935

Box 26   Folder 5

“Effect of the planetesimals on the erupto-vortical motion,” 1924

Box 26   Folder 6

“Electric and magnetic fields of force,” 1916

Box 26   Folder 7

“Energy,” 1921, undated

Box 26   Folder 8

"The Enrichment and Depletion of the Atmosphere," undated

Box 26   Folder 9

"The Ethical Nature of True Scientific Study," 1899

Box 26   Folder 10

“Evolution of the earth,” 1926

Box 26   Folder 11

"Existing Glaciation and the Place it Gives the Present Epoch in the Cycle of Climates," 1918

Box 26   Folder 12

Falkland Islands, 1923

Box 26   Folder 13

"The Field of Force About the Earth," 1926

Box 26   Folder 14

"The Former Rate of the Earth's Rotation," undated

Box 26   Folder 15

"The Former Rates of the Earth's Rotation and Their Relations to Terrestrial Deformation," undated

Box 26   Folder 16

"The Freedom of University Professors," circa 1899

Box 26   Folder 17

The function of fluxes in the interior of the earth in connection with igneous ascension and with strain zones, 1910

Box 26   Folder 18

"The Function of the Ocean Relative to Atmospheric Gases," 1905

Box 26   Folder 19

"The Function of Scientific Study in Secondary Schools," circa 1880s

Box 26   Folder 20

"Fundamental Factors in Earth Shaping," 1925

Box 26   Folder 21

"The Fundamental Segmentation of the Earth," 1914

Box 26   Folder 22

"Fundamental Sources of Energy," 1921

Box 26   Folder 23

"The Fundamentals of Geology," 1922

Box 26   Folder 24

"The Fundamentals of Isostasy," undated

Box 26   Folder 25

"The Future of Earth and of Man," 1921

Box 26   Folder 26

The "gagenschein," undated

Box 26   Folder 27

Geikie, undated

Box 26   Folder 28

General notes, undated

Box 26   Folder 28

"The Genesis and Growth of the Earth," 1926-1927

Box 26   Folder 30

"Geologic Climates," 1917-1922

Box 27   Folder 1-2

Geology, clippings, 1880s-1904

Box 27   Folder 3

"Geology as a By-pasture for Preachers," circa 1895

Box 27   Folder 4

Glaciers, clippings, 1890s

Box 27   Folder 5

"Glaciers, Ancient and Modern: Harris Lectures," 1918

Box 27   Folder 6

"Glaciers and Their Work," 1902

Box 27   Folder 7

"A Glance at the Intellectual Attitudes of Beloit College," 1897

Box 27   Folder 8

"Grand Divisions of the Earth," 1923

Box 27   Folder 9

"Grant for the Study of Fundamental Problems of Geology," 1906

Box 27   Folder 10

Graphic interpretations of mean density, 1921

Box 27   Folder 11

Gravity, undated

Box 27   Folder 12

"The Greenland Scientific Expedition of 1895," undated

Box 27   Folder 13

"The Growth of the Earth," 1926-1927

Box 27   Folder 14

Hayford, 1915

Box 27   Folder 15

"How Can Endowments Most Effectively Aid Research?" 1903

Box 27   Folder 16

"How the Earth Got its Start and How it Grew," 1926

Box 27   Folder 17

Hydrogeoid, 1925

Box 27   Folder 18

“Hypothesis respecting the interior of the earth,” undated

Box 27   Folder 19

“Hypothetical sequences of ejection from sun of vortex,” 1922

Box 27   Folder 20

“Immortality of matter,” undated

Box 27   Folder 21

"The Importance of a Belief in the Divine Immanence at the Present Crisis of Intellectual Development," undated

Box 27   Folder 22

"The Influence of Science on Literature," undated

Box 27   Folder 23

“Influence of tidal force on the solid and liquid earth,” undated

Box 27   Folder 24

“Internal distortion an extrusive agency,” undated

Box 27   Folder 25

“Investigation of basal factors in climate,” 1922

Box 27   Folder 26

“Jeans' problems of cosmogony and stellar dynamics,” 1920

Box 27   Folder 27

Jeffries, Harold, "The Earth, Its Origin, History, and Physical Constitution," 1924

Box 27   Folder 28

“Jottings for H.L.,” 1918

Box 27   Folder 29

La Touche, undated

Box 27   Folder 30

“Land connections and relations in North Atlantic area and beyond, “1923

Box 27   Folder 31

"The Laplacian and Other Laws of Density," 1921

Box 27   Folder 32

"Lectures on Historical Geology," 1895

Box 27   Folder 33

"Life After Death From the Point of View of Science," 1897

Box 27   Folder 34

"The Litho-geoid," 1925

Box 27   Folder 35

"Lord Kelvin's Address on the Age of the Earth as an Abode Fitted for Life," 1899

Box 27   Folder 36

"The Lower Division of the Atmosphere," 1922

Box 27   Folder 37

Lunn's results, 1921

Box 28   Folder 1

"Major Ice Invasions of the Pleistocene Period," 1928

Box 28   Folder 2

“Maximum climatic amelioration,” 1923

Box 28   Folder 3

“Memoranda for "Evolution and its Remaking," 1927

Box 28   Folder 4

“Memorandum on the industrial situation,” 1903

Box 28   Folder 5

“Memorandum on magnetism problem,” undated

Box 28   Folder 6

“Memorandum relative to a possible basis for a naturalistic system of mathematics,” 1918

Box 28   Folder 7

"Methods of Teaching," circa 1895

Box 28   Folder 8

“Mind in evolution,” undated

Box 28   Folder 9

“Mode of end movement sections,” 1910

Box 28   Folder 10

“Molecular escape and solar exchange,” 1922

Box 28   Folder 11

"The Moral Functions of Modern Scholarship," undated

Box 28   Folder 12

"The Moral Functions of Scientific Study," undated

Box 28   Folder 13

“The more massive and deeper circulation,” 1923

Box 28   Folder 14

“A neglected climatic factor,” 1922

Box 28   Folder 15

“New arrangement of article,” 1925

Box 28   Folder 16

"New Aspects of Geologic Fundamentals," 1922

Box 28   Folder 17

“New sub-hypothesis respecting the order of eruption,” 1926

Box 28   Folder 18

"New Views of the Universe," 1912

Box 28   Folder 19

Notes from Encyclopedia Britannica, 1923

Box 28   Folder 20

“Notes from Murray,” 1923

Box 28   Folder 21

“Notes on Article XV,” 1921

Box 28   Folder 22

“Notes on the climatic problem,” 1916

Box 28   Folder 23

“Notes on the depth of the ocean,” 1923

Box 28   Folder 24

“Notes on metamorphism,” 1921

Box 28   Folder 25

“Notes on northeast Greenland,” 1918

Box 28   Folder 26

“Notes on the reconstruction of the A.A.A.S.,” 1910

Box 28   Folder 27

"Observational Evidence of the Existence of Supplementary Atmospheres," 1908

Box 28   Folder 28

"Oceanic Circulation," 1923

Box 28   Folder 29

"On the Interior of the Earth," 1896

Box 28   Folder 30

“On language,” undated

Box 28   Folder 31

"On the Peninsular Character of Palaeozoic Wisconsin," undated

Box 28   Folder 32-37

“Origin of the earth,” book draft, 1919-1926

Box 29   Folder 1

"The Origin of the Earth," 1925-1926

Box 29   Folder 2

“Origin of life: hypotheses,” 1896

Box 29   Folder 3

“Outline for club,” undated

Box 29   Folder 4

“The part played by liquid rock,” 1926

Box 29   Folder 5

"The Planetesimal Factor in Cosmogony," 1908

Box 29   Folder 6

"Pleistocene Glaciation of the Last Geological Period," 1918

Box 29   Folder 7

“Possible explanation for the canals of Mars,” undated

Box 29   Folder 8

“Possible masses of the nuclei of the earth and moon,” 1920

Box 29   Folder 9

“Present standing of the several hypotheses of the cause of the glacial period,” undated

Box 29   Folder 10

Presidential address to the Royal Society of New South Wales by T.W.E. David, notes, undated

Box 29   Folder 11

“Principles of segment deformation,” undated

Box 29   Folder 12

“Probable function of glacial air currents,” undated

Box 29   Folder 13

“The problem simply,” 1925

Box 29   Folder 14

"A Proposal for a West Side Park for the City of Beloit," 1924

Box 29   Folder 15

Proposed beginning of a paper on the fundamentals of isostasy, 1923

Box 29   Folder 16

"A Proposed Field School of Geology," 1911

Box 29   Folder 17

"A Proposition to Enlarge the Scope of the American System of Education," 1923

Box 29   Folder 18

"Radioactivity and Thermal Geology," 1911

Box 29   Folder 19

"Remarks at the Dedication of the Hull Biological Laboratories," 1896

Box 29   Folder 20

"Report on the Gurley Collection of Fossils," circa 1899

Box 29   Folder 21

"Review of Thwaites' Development of the Theory of Multiple Glaciation," 1928

Box 29   Folder 22

Review of Reid, 1924

Box 29   Folder 23

“Scheme for national university,” undated

Box 29   Folder 24

“The science of geology,” undated

Box 29   Folder 25

"Science in the Service War," 1918

Box 29   Folder 26

"The Scientific and the Non-scientific," undated

Box 29   Folder 27

“Scientific results, Nansen, 1923

Box 29   Folder 28

"Secular Theology: An Appropriate Field of Public Instruction," undated

Box 29   Folder 29

“Selection of a theme for research viewed as a foreshadowing of selections in life,” 1899

Box 29   Folder 30

"The Shaping Effects of Rotation," 1925

Box 29   Folder 31

"Short Glacial Dependencies of the Main Ice Gap," undated

Box 29   Folder 32

"Significance in Landscape Contours," undated

Box 29   Folder 33

“Sketch of an attempt to decipher ancient geography,” 1899

Box 29   Folder 34

"Soil Wastage," undated

Box 29   Folder 35

“Some notions regarding the early stages of the earth,” 1900

Box 29   Folder 36

"Special Features in the Forms of Spiral Development," 1916

Box 29   Folder 37

"The Special Value of Salinity as a Working Factor in Interpretation," undated

Box 29   Folder 38

“Specific gravity,” undated

Box 29   Folder 39

"Speculations Concerning Mode of Differentiation of the Archean Material under the Accretion Hypothesis," undated

Box 29   Folder 40

“Speculations on the ultimate nature of things,” 1926

Box 29   Folder 41

“Standards of the form and development of the earth,” 1925

Box 29   Folder 42

"The State University and Research," 1904

Box 30   Folder 1

"The Structure of the Core as Formed by the Erupt-Vertical Circulation," 1924

Box 30   Folder 2

"Studies in Cosmogony," 1916

Box 30   Folder 3

"A Study of the Fundamental Problems of Geology," 1922

Box 30   Folder 4

“Study of the normal circulation of the atmosphere on a sphere,” 1917

Box 30   Folder 5

“Suggestions relative to the possible origin of start clusters,” 1916

Box 30   Folder 6

"Synopsis of the Address on the Methods of the Earth Sciences," 1904

Box 30   Folder 7

"The Teaching of Geology in College," 1917

Box 30   Folder 8

“Tentative scheme for work in the military aspects of the earth sciences,” 1918

Box 30   Folder 9

"Tentative Sketch of a Plan for the Development of Original Research in the University of Chicago," undated

Box 30   Folder 10

“Tentative working interpretations of nebulae,” 1916

Box 30   Folder 11

“Tests of shifts on the revised basis, “1919

Box 30   Folder 12

Textbook on oceanography, 1923

Box 30   Folder 13

"A Theory of Radiance," 1911

Box 30   Folder 14

"A Theory of the Sub-Sub-Mechanism," 1922

Box 30   Folder 15

“Thermal courses,” undated

Box 30   Folder 16

“Tidal theory,” undated

Box 30   Folder 17

"Topography of the Great West," undated

Box 30   Folder 18

"The Tripartite Construction of the Earth," 1922

Box 30   Folder 19

University of Chicago, clippings, undated

Box 30   Folder 20

"Unrecognized Religiousness," undated

Box 30   Folder 21

"A Vision of Modern Type, by a Disciple of the Physical Sciences," 1917

Box 30   Folder 22

"The Vitalizing of Geographic Study," 1895

Box 30   Folder 23

"What are the Real Issues?" 1925

Box 30   Folder 24

What does Paris mean for future peace, circa 1914

Box 30   Folder 25

Why should the tectonic equator still pass through center of heavy and center of light hemisphere? 1924

Box 30   Folder 26

"Working Concepts Appropriate to an Earth of Planetesimal Origin," 1926

Box 30   Folder 27

"World Organization after the World War," 1919

Subseries 3: Reprints

Box 30   Folder 28

Abstracts, 1892-1901

Box 30   Folder 29

"Address Before the Association of Doctors of Philosophy at the University of Chicago," 1918

Box 30   Folder 30

"Address at the Laying of the Cornerstone of Julius Rosenwald Hall," 1914

Box 30   Folder 31

"An Ancient Theory of the Pacific," 1923

Box 30   Folder 32

"Annual Report of the Wisconsin Geological Survey,

  • 1878-9
Box 30   Folder 33

"The Appropriate Moral Field of Public Educational Institutions," 1890

Box 30   Folder 34

"Are There Line Fences in Science?" 1910

Box 30   Folder 35

"An Attempt to Frame a Working Hypothesis of the Cause of Glacial Periods on at Atmospheric Basis," 1900

Box 30   Folder 36

"An Attempt to Test the Nebular Hypothesis by the Relations of Masses and Momenta," with F.R. Mouton, 1900

Box 30   Folder 37

"The Attitude of the Eastern and Central Portions of the United States During the Glacial Period," 1891

Box 30   Folder 38

"Baccalaureate Address at the University of Wisconsin Commencement," 1892

Box 30   Folder 39-40

"The Bearings of Radioactivity on Geology," 1911, 1912

Box 30   Folder 41

"The Bearing of Some Recent Determinations on the Correlation of the Eastern and Western Terminal Moraines," 1882

Box 30   Folder 42

"Certain Phases of Glacial Erosion," 1911

Box 30   Folder 43

"Certain Phases of Metatectonic Geology," 1926

Box 30   Folder 44

"Certain Valley Configurations in Low Latitudes," with R.T. Chamberlin, 1910

Box 30   Folder 45

Chamberlin, R.T., "Further Studies at Vero, Florida," 1917

Box 30   Folder 46

Chamberlin, R.T., "Glacial Features of the St. Croix Dulles Region," 1905

Box 30   Folder 47

"Charles Richard Van Hise, 1857-1918," 1918

Box 31   Folder 1

"The Chinese Problem," 1910

Box 31   Folder 2

"The Coming of Age of State Universities," 1910

Box 31   Folder 3

"A Contribution to the Theory of Glacial Motion," 1904

Box 31   Folder 4

"Convocation Address on Behalf of the Faculties of the University," 1916

Box 31   Folder 5

"The Criteria Requisite for the Reference of Relics to a Glacial Age," 1903

Box 31   Folder 6

"De la détermination des faits fondamentaux et des principles qui doivent server de bases à la classification géologique," 1901

Box 31   Folder 7

"The Development of the Planetesimal Hypothesis," with F.R. Moulton, 1909

Box 31   Folder 8

"The Development of the Revised Hypothesis Respecting White Nebulae," 1917

Box 31   Folder 9

"Diastrophism and the Formative Processes, Parts 1-14," 1913

Box 31   Folder 10

"Diastrophism as the Ultimate Correlation," 1909

Box 31   Folder 11

"The Diversity of the Glacial Period," 1893

Box 31   Folder 12

"Early Terrestrial Conditions," 1908

Box 31   Folder 13

"The Earth: its Figure and Dimensions, and the Constitution of its Interior," 1917

Box 31   Folder 14

Editorials, 1910-1913

Box 31   Folder 15

"The Evolution of the Earth," 1916

Box 31   Folder 16

"The Fault Problem," 1907

Box 31   Folder 17

"The Former Rates of the Earth's Rotation and Their Bearings on its Deformation," undated

Box 31   Folder 18

"The Founding of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters," 1920

Box 31   Folder 19

"Fundamental Concepts of Time and Space," undated

Box 31   Folder 20

"Fundamental Problems of Geology," with F.R. Moulton, 1907

Box 31   Folder 21

"Further Studies of the Drainage Features of the Upper Ohio Basin," 1894

Box 31   Folder 22

"The Future Habitability of the Earth," 1911

Box 31   Folder 23

"The Genesis of the Planets," 1924

Box 31   Folder 24

"A Genetic Classification of Pleistocene Deposits," 1891

Box 32   Folder 1

"A Geologic Forecast of the Future Opportunities of Our Race," 1909

Box 32   Folder 2

"The Geologic Relations of the Human Relics of Lansing," 1902

Box 32   Folder 3

"Glacial Studies in Greenland," 1894

Box 32   Folder 4

"The Greater Earth," 1921

Box 32   Folder 5

"Groundwork of the Earth's Diastrophism" 1921

Box 32   Folder 6

"Grove Karl Gilbert," 1918

Box 32   Folder 7

"The Growth of the Earth," 1925, 1927

Box 32   Folder 8

"Hillocks of Angular Gravel and Disturbed Stratification," 1884

Box 32   Folder 9

"The Horizon of Drumlin, Osar, and Kane Formation," 1893

Box 32   Folder 10

"How Can Endowments Most Effectively Aid Research?" 1903

Box 32   Folder 11

"L'hypothèse planétésimale," 1914

Box 32   Folder 12

"An Ignored Theory of the Ice Age," 1906

Box 32   Folder 13

"The Interior of the Earth from the Viewpoint of Geology," 1915

Box 32   Folder 14

"Intrageology – Elastasy vs. Isostasy," 1927

Box 32   Folder 15

"Investigation Versus Propagandism," 1919

Box 32   Folder 16

"Jones' Criticism of Chamberlin's Groundwork for the Study of Megadiastrophism," 1922

Box 32   Folder 17

"King's Farmer's of Forty Centuries," 1912

Box 32   Folder 18

"Lord Kelvin's Address on the Age of the Earth as an Abode Fitted for Life," 1899

Box 32   Folder 19

"The Method of Multiple Working Hypotheses," 1931

Box 32   Folder 20

"The Methods of the Earth Sciences," 1904

Box 32   Folder 21

"The Mission of the Scientific Spirit," 1893

Box 32   Folder 22

Moulton, F.R., "On the Evolution of the Solar System," 1905

Box 32   Folder 23

Moulton, F.R., "Professor Chamberlin on the Nebular Hypothesis," undated

Box 32   Folder 24

Moulton, F.R., "Spheres of Activity of the Planets," undated

Box 32   Folder 25

"The Nature of Englacial Drift of the Mississippi Basin," 1893

Box 32   Folder 26

The New Theory of Cosmic Evolution," 1909

Box 32   Folder 27

"Notes on the Glaciation of Newfoundland," 1894

Box 32   Folder 28

"On Fundamental Problems of Geology," 1923

Box 32   Folder 29

"On the Habitat of the Early Vertebrates," 1900

Box 32   Folder 30

"On the Possible Function of Disruptive Approach in the Formation of Meteorites, Comets, and Nebulae," 1901

Box 32   Folder 31

"On the Possible Reversal of Deep-Sea Circulation and its Influence on Geologic Climates," 1906

Box 32   Folder 32

"On the Relationship of the Pleistocene to the Pre-Pleistocene Formation of the Mississippi Basin," with R.D. Salisbury, 1891

Box 32   Folder 33

"Preliminary Paper on the Driftless Area of Upper Mississippi Valley," 1886

Box 32   Folder 34

"Proposed International Geologic Institute," 1900

Box 32   Folder 35

"Recent Glacial Studies in Greenland," 1895

Box 32   Folder 36

"Reform of the Calendar," 1910

Box 32   Folder 37

"Requisite and Qualifying Conditions of Artesian Wells," 1885

Box 32   Folder 38

"Review of Reed's 'The Planetesimal Hyposthesis of the Solar System," 1925

Box 32   Folder 39

Reviews, 1910-1928

Box 32   Folder 40

"Rock Scorings of the Great Ice Invasions," 1888

Box 33   Folder 1

"Self-Compression of the Earth and Related Problems," 1920

Box 33   Folder 2

"Seventy-Five of American Geology," 1924

Box 33   Folder 3

"The Shelf-Seas of the Paloezoic and Their Relations to Diastrophism and Time Divisions," undated

Box 33   Folder 4

"Significant Ameliorations of Present Arctic Climates," 1923

Box 33   Folder 5

"Soil Productivity," 1911

Box 33   Folder 6

"Soil Wastage," 1908

Box 33   Folder 7

"Some Additional Evidences," 1890

Box 33   Folder 8

"The State University and Research," 1904

Box 33   Folder 9

"Studies for Students: the Method of Multiple Working Hypotheses," 1897

Box 33   Folder 10

"Study of Fundamental Problems in Geology," 1926

Box 33   Folder 11

"Supplementary Hypothesis Respecting the Origin of the Loess of the Mississippi Valley," 1897

Box 33   Folder 12

"Symposium on the Age and Relations of the Fossil Human Remains Found at Vero, Florida," 1917

Box 33   Folder 13

"A Systematic Source of Evolution of Provincial Faunas," 1898

Box 33   Folder 14

"The Ulterior Basis of Time Divisions and the Classification of Geologic History," 1898

Box 33   Folder 15

"A Venerable Climatic Fallacy," 1923

Box 33   Folder 16

"World Organization After the World War: An Omni-National Confederation," 1918

Series IV: Teaching

This series contains lecture outlines and a bound volume of complete lectures by Chamberlin and lecture notes taken by one of his students. Material spans 1896-1915.

Box 33   Folder 17

Lecture notes, J. Paul Goode, "Working Methods of Geology," 1896

Box 33   Folder 18

Lecture notes, 1902

Box 33   Folder 19

Lecture outlines, "Working Methods of Geology" and "Principles of Geology," 1912, 1914-1915

Box 34   Folder 1

Lectures, "Principles of Geology," 1915

Series V: Oriental Educational Commission

This series contains correspondence, reports, and recollections Chamberlin wrote and co-authored during his trip to China in 1909. In 1901 Chamberlin had suggested to William Rainey Harper that the University of Chicago might be a valuable partner for China in the exploration and exploitation of its natural resources. The 1909 trip was part of the University of Chicago's ongoing "Oriental Educational Investigation" into the possibility of developing scientific education there. Chamberlin travelled with his son, Rollin Thomas Chamberlin, and Ernest DeWitt Burton, a biblical scholar (and University President 1923-1925). Material spans 1901-1929 and is organized chronologically; all "synopses" were co-authored with R.T. Chamberlin.

Box 34   Folder 2

Chinese geology, correspondence with William Rainey Harper, 1901

Box 34   Folder 3

Clippings, 1909

Box 34   Folder 4

Itinerary and correspondence with Ernest DeWitt Burton, 1908

Box 34   Folder 5

Itinerary and correspondence with H.P. Judson, 1908-1910

Box 34   Folder 6

"Notes on Honolulu," 1909

Box 34   Folder 7

"Synopsis of Studies in Central China," 1909

Box 34   Folder 8

"Synopsis of the Observations of the Messrs. Chamberlin North of the Yangtze River," 1909

Box 34   Folder 9

"Synopsis of the Observations of the Messrs. Chamberlin in the Province of Honan," 1909

Box 34   Folder 10

"Synopsis of the Observations of the Messrs. Chamberlin in Shansi," 1909

Box 34   Folder 11

"Synopsis of the Observations of the Messrs. Chamberlin in the Province of Chili," 1909

Box 34   Folder 12

"Synopsis of the Observations of the Messrs. Chamberlin on the Borderland of the Gulf of Chili Between Peking and Mukden," 1909

Box 34   Folder 13

"Synopsis of the Observations of the Messrs. Chamberlin on Manchuria," 1909

Box 34   Folder 14

"Notes on Women's Education in China," 1909

Box 34   Folder 15

"Summer Work in China," 1909

Box 34   Folder 16

"West China – Szechuan," circa 1909

Box 34   Folder 17

Address by T.C. Chamberlin on his trip, circa 1909

Box 34   Folder 18

"The Chinese Expedition of 1909," R.T. Chamberlin, 1929

Series VI: United States Geological Survey

This series contains correspondence, proposals, and reports authored by Chamberlin and others. Chamberlin served as the chief of the USGS Glacial Division between 1881 and 1904, during which time he articulated some of the basic laws of glacier movement and mapped their limits in the continental U.S. Material is organized chronologically and spans 1881-1907.

Box 35   Folder 1

Upham, Warren, reports and correspondence, 1881-1885

Box 35   Folder 2

Incoming correspondence, 1884-1892

Box 35   Folder 3

Branner, J.C. correspondence, 1886-1897

Box 35   Folder 4

Leverett, Frank, correspondence, 1886-1904

Box 35   Folder 5

Buell, D.M., correspondence, 1887-1892

Box 35   Folder 6

Reports and correspondence, 1891-1897

Box 35   Folder 7

Pleistocene survey, proposal and correspondence, 1900

Box 35   Folder 8

Maryland and New Jersey, reports and correspondence, 1901

Box 35   Folder 9

Washington, reports and correspondence, 1902

Box 35   Folder 10

Correspondence, 1903

Box 35   Folder 11

Midwest and the Rockies, proposals and correspondence, 1904

Box 35   Folder 12

Midwest, report and correspondence, 1905

Box 35   Folder 13

Michigan, report, 1906

Box 35   Folder 14

Chamberlin, "Comments on the Manuscript of F.B. Taylor on the Surficial Geology of the Housatonic Quadrangle," 1907