These letters are from the archives of the
Physics Department of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. They
are dated between 1882 and 1935 and are mostly addressed to Professors
Michelson, Miller and Shankland. They were handed down from Miller to Shankland
to Benade to Gordon to Fickinger. The originals will eventually be kept in the
university archives.
The links are all to PDF files. Most of the
texts have been transcribed and the corresponding files are less than 100 KB.
The scanned images of the letters are much longer: 1 to 4 MB and should be
viewed on a computer with a fast internet connection.
William Fickinger, Professor Emeritus of
Physics, wjf@case.edu.
June 2006
#1 Handwritten letter from George Barker of the University of Pennsylvania to John Stockwell, first professor of math and astronomy at Case School of Applied Sciences. About hiring Michelson. March 22, 1881. - Text 25 KB - Image 2.4 MB
#2 Handwritten letter from
Barker to Stockwell. About what should be spent on equipment for Michelson. May
5, 1881. - Text
25 KB - Image 1.9 MB
#3 Carbon copies of two letters from H. G. Abbey, secretary of CSAS, to Michelson in Paris. About money for equipment to be bought in Europe. Nov. 11. 1881; Jan 3. 1882. - Text 28 KB - Image 2.8 MB
#4 Invoice for purchase of barometer from J & HJ Green 20 July 1882.
#5 Samuel Newcomb, of the Nautical Almanac Office, to his former assistant, Michelson, about money for research, etc. Sep. 16, 1882. - Text 25 KB - Image 2.1 MB
#6. Bill from Siemens Freres to Michelson for one electro-dynamometre at 186.20 ff 16 Mar 1882 - Image 0.8 MB
#7 Letter from Michelson to Abbey. 8 Aug 1883 - Text 24 KB - Image 0.7 MB
#9 Letter from Simon Newcomb to Michelson asking about state of light velocity work. 14 Sept. 1883 - Text 72 KB - Image 0.8 MB
#10 Letter from Simon Newcomb to Michelson. 26 Sept. 1883 - Text 73 KB - Image 0.9 MB
#11 Letter from Henry Rowland of Johns Hopkins University to Albert Michelson about the construction of a grating. 28 Jan. 1883. - Text 74 KB - Image 1.1 MB
#12 From Michelson to the Case Board of Trustees. About money for equipment. 11 Jan. 1887. - Text 72KB - Image 0.9 MB
#13 Letterhead: Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, handwritten by Frederick Ward Putnum, anthropologist at Harvard, director of the Museum, permanent secretary of the AAAS, to A. A. Michelson. About the publication of a letter Michelson had sent to the AAAS. 15 Dec. 1887. - Text 78 KB - Image 1.7 MB
#14 Note on CSAS letterhead from Eckstein Case, Secretary and Treasurer, to A. A. Michelson with response from AAM on same page. About money. 18 May 1889. - Text 73 KB - Image 0.5 MB
#15 Letter from William Francis Magie to Dayton Miller on which text books the new young professor should use in his classes at CSAS. Magie was a professor at Princeton, where Miller had received his doctorate. Magie was a founder of the American Physical Society and its president (1910-1912). 24 Oct. 1893. - Text 81 KB - Image 1.4 MB
#16 A. Rogers of Waterville, Maine, to Miller about sale of a Geneva Society standard; two letters and a postcard. 12 Nov 1894. - Text 79 KB - Image MB
#17 Koenig to Miller thanking him for X-ray pictures. 17 Dec. 1897. - Text 72 KB -
#18 Typed letter, signed by Charles A. Young, professor of astronomy at Princeton. He had earlier taught at Western Reserve in Hudson, and was advisor to Miller at Princeton. About the x-ray Miller had sent him, and campus life at Princeton. 12 Oct. 1897. - Text 74 KB - Image 0.6 MB
#19 Kelvin to Morley about Morley-Miller paper. 24 Sep. 1904. - Text 68 KB - Image 1.1 MB
#21 Rayleigh to Miller re: receipt of phonodeik traces. This brief note is accompanied by a penciled transcription by Miller. 27 Jun. 1909. - Text 69KB - Image 0.8 MB
#22 This letter from Michelson in Chicago is in response to a letter sent two days earlier by Miller, requesting that Michelson use his analyzer to study curves made with the phonodeik. 15 Feb. 1911. - Text 72 KB - Image 0.9MB
#23 Miller to Michelson with additional details on phonodeik analysis; carbon copy of typed message. 18 Feb. 1911. - Text 73 KB
#24 Letter from instrument maker, G. Coradi, of Zurich to Miller (three pages). 30 Nov. 1916. - Text 73 KB - Image 2.3 MB
#25 Larmor to Miller re music book; accompanied by penciled transcription by Miller. 19 Jun. 1926. - Text 69 KB - Image 0.7 MB
#26 Rayleigh to Miller re music book; with Miller’s transcript. 27 May 1926. - Text 70 KB - Image 0.9 MB
#27 Samojloff, of University of Kazan, Russia, to Miller re physiology of sound. 12/25 Dec. 1916 - Text 77 KB - Image 1.1 MB
#28 Stephens, of University of Wales, to Miller re analysis of EKG traces. 16 Sept. 1916 - Text 76 KB - Image 2.8 MB
#29 Sylvanus B. Thompson, London Institute, Technical College, to Miller re music book. - Text 74 KB - Image 0.9 MB
#30 J. J. Thomson to Miller re music book. 16 June 1916 - Text 65 KB - Image 0.3 MB
#31 Short note from Michelson
to Miller thanking him for “Science of Musical Sounds”
letterhead, The University of Chicago, Ryerson Physical Laboratory. 22 Jun.1917. - Text 67 KB - Image 0.6 MB
#32 Michelson to Miller; letterhead: University of Chicago, Ryerson Physical Laboratory, hand written accompanied by carbon copy of typed letter from DCM to AAM 27 Feb 1923. - Text 69 KB - Image 0.8 MB
#33 Carbon copy: Miller to Michelson re death of Morley. 27 Feb. 1923 - Image 1.0 MB
#34 F. W. Dyson to Miller on sound velocity. 16 Feb. 1933 - Image 0.5 MB
#35 F. W. Dyson to Miller on sound velocity. 12 Feb. 1933 - Text 69 KB - Image 0.6 MB
#36 Rayleigh to Miller re Flute Book. 28 March 1935 - Text 67 KB - Image 0.6 MB
#37 Bragg to Miller re Flute Book. 29 Jan. 1936 - Image 0.5 MB
#38 From Michelson to Mr. Abbey of CSAS about possible candidates for teaching positions at Case. - Text 72 KB - Image 1.0 MB
#39 Short note from instrument maker, Rudolf Koenig, to Michelson as receipt for payment. 26 Nov. 1882. - Text 68 KB - Image 0.5 MB
#40 Customs document. 12 Jul. 1882 - Image 1.6 MB
#41 Letter from Koenig to Michelson in which he explains how to prepare and install either paper membranes for Chladni patterns or rubber membranes for the manumetric flame apparatus. 14 Jan. 1883. - Text 71 KB - Image 2.1 MB
#42 Letter from Koenig to Miller about his instrument order. 5 Oct. 1896. - Text 71 KB - Image 0.5 MB
#43 Receipt of payment from Koenig to Michelson. 24 Feb.1882. - Text 64 KB - Image 0.4 MB
#44 Beginnings of a draft of a letter to Rayleigh from the 44 year old Miller, introducing himself. June 1909. - Text 68 KB - Image 0.4 MB
#45 Handwritten draft (in pencil) of a letter from Miller to Rayleigh which was to accompany a roll of photos made with the phonodeik. June 1909. - Text 75 KB - Image 0.7 MB
#46 Miller to Shankland; recommending books; Aug. 20. 1934. - Text 73 KB - Image 0.7 MB
#47 Miller to Shankland:
about Einstein lecture and relativity. Jan. 23. 1935. - Text 76 KB - Image 2.0 MB
#48 Miller to Shankland:
about his books and how to publish them. 2 June 1935. - Image 4.3 MB
#49 Miller to Shankland 30 Oct. 1935 - Image 5.5 MB
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