Atomic Energy Commission's Historical Advisory Committee
Encyclopedia
The Atomic Energy Commission's Historical Advisory Committee was established in February 1958, when the United States Atomic Energy Commission
was a decade old and continued until 1974 when the Energy Research and Development Administration
(ERDA) and later the United States Department of Energy
replaced the Commission.
to be the historian of the Atomic Energy Commission. Upon taking up this post, Hewlett proposed the creation of an historical advisory committee for the AEC. His proposal was referred to historians James Phinney Baxter III
and Samuel Eliot Morison
and Nobel Prize winning physicist Isidor I. Rabi. These three men recommended the approval of Hewlett's proposal as a means of giving credibility of the AEC Historical Office's work and avoiding self-serving official history.
United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
was a decade old and continued until 1974 when the Energy Research and Development Administration
Energy Research and Development Administration
The United States Energy Research and Development Administration was a United States government organization formed from the split of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1975...
(ERDA) and later the United States Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
replaced the Commission.
History
In 1957, the United States Atomic Energy Commission appointed Dr Richard G. HewlettRichard G. Hewlett
Richard Greening Hewlett is an American public historian best known for his work as the Chief Historian of the United States Atomic Energy Commission.-Biography:...
to be the historian of the Atomic Energy Commission. Upon taking up this post, Hewlett proposed the creation of an historical advisory committee for the AEC. His proposal was referred to historians James Phinney Baxter III
James Phinney Baxter III
James Phinney Baxter III was an American historian, educator and academic. He won the 1947 Pulitzer Prize for history, for his book Scientists Against Time...
and Samuel Eliot Morison
Samuel Eliot Morison
Samuel Eliot Morison, Rear Admiral, United States Naval Reserve was an American historian noted for his works of maritime history that were both authoritative and highly readable. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, and taught history at the university for 40 years...
and Nobel Prize winning physicist Isidor I. Rabi. These three men recommended the approval of Hewlett's proposal as a means of giving credibility of the AEC Historical Office's work and avoiding self-serving official history.
Chairman
The following is a chronological list of chairmen, 1958-1974. In cases where a chairman also served as a regular member of the committee, his dates of such service are listed in the alphabetical listing of members.- James Phinney Baxter IIIJames Phinney Baxter IIIJames Phinney Baxter III was an American historian, educator and academic. He won the 1947 Pulitzer Prize for history, for his book Scientists Against Time...
, 1958-1967 - George E. Mowry, 1967-1969
- Alfred D. Chandler, Jr.Alfred D. Chandler, Jr.Alfred DuPont Chandler, Jr. was a professor of business history at Harvard Business School and Johns Hopkins University, who wrote extensively about the scale and the management structures of modern corporations. His works redefined business and economic history of industrialization...
, 1969-1974
Members
The following is an alphabetical listing of members who served on this committee:- John Morton BlumJohn Morton BlumJohn Morton Blum was an American political historian, active from the 1950 to 1991. He lived in New Haven, Connecticut and died at the age of 90.-Life:...
, 1958-1962 - James L. CateJames L. CateProfessor James L. Cate was an Air Force intelligence official and part of the Air Force Historical Division during World War II, and author of at least two pieces of Air Force literature, one entitled Origins of the Eighth Air Force: Plans, Organization, Doctrines, the other entitled History of...
, 1958-1969 - Thomas C. CochranThomas C. Cochran (historian)Thomas Childs Cochran was an American economic historian and a pioneer in that field.Born in Manhattan, he received his bachelor's and master's degrees from New York University before obtaining his doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. He taught at N.Y.U...
, 1973-1974 - A. Hunter DupreeA. Hunter DupreeAnderson Hunter Dupree is a distinguished American historian and one of the pioneer historians of the history of science and technology in the United States.-Early Education and Education:...
, 1968-1973 - Constance McL. Green, 1964-1969
- Ralph W. Hiddy, 1962-1969
- Thomas P. HughesThomas P. HughesThomas Parke Hughes is an American Historian of Technology. He is an emeritus professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania and is a visiting professor at MIT and Stanford.He received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in 1953....
, 1973-1974 - Richard S. Kirkendall, 1973-1974
- Richard W. LeopoldRichard W. LeopoldRichard William Leopold was a prominent diplomatic historian at Northwestern University.-Early life and education:...
, 1973-1974 - Ernest R. May, 1969-1973
- George E. Mowry, 1962-1967
- Robert P. Multhauf, 1969-1973
Source
- Richard W. LeopoldRichard W. LeopoldRichard William Leopold was a prominent diplomatic historian at Northwestern University.-Early life and education:...
, "Historians and the Federal Government: Historical Advisory Committees: State, Defense, and the Atomic Energy Commission," The Pacific Historical Review, vol. 44, No. 3. (Aug 1975), pp. 373-385.