Andrey A. Potter papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MSF 527

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Andrey A. Potter papers document the career, education, and personal life of nationally renowned engineer and educator Andrey Potter (A.A. Potter). Types of materials in the collection include articles; speeches; surveys; research and lecture notes; certificates, diplomas, and awards; photographs; correspondence; printed material; scrapbooks; medals; ephemera; artifacts; books and manuscripts; obituaries; greeting cards; reports; letterhead; newspaper clippings; and meeting minutes. The collection is comprised of biographical information; articles written by or about Potter; speeches; Potter's research notes and papers on a variety of subjects, including patent laws, fuel, steam generators, national defense, engineering experimental stations, nuclear power, land grant institutions, and engineering education; personal and business correspondence; documentation of Potter's work on the faculty of Kansas State University and Purdue University, and his role as President of Bituminous Coal Research, Inc.; materials relating to Potter's memberships and activities with various engineering societies and organizations, such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Engineering Council, the National Society of Engineers, and the American Society for Engineering Education; materials relating to Potter's work with the President's Highway Safety Conference, consulting for the U.S. government, serving as executive secretary of the National Patent Planning Commission, surveying various universities, and working on the National Science Advisory Board on Railroad Research; and notes and manuscripts for his various books and reports. Potter's positions as Dean of Engineering, Acting President, and Dean Emeritus of Engineering at Purdue University are also documented in the collection. This collection also contains the papers of Potter's daughter, Helen Potter. She was a professor at Purdue's School of Home Economics.

Dates

Creation: 1893 - 1986
Creation: Majority of material found within 1930-1970
Other: Date acquired: 11/30/1979

Creator

Potter, A. A. (Andrey Abraham), 1882-1979 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Extent

38.00 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement Note

Original arrangement was maintained.

Physical Access Requirements

The collection is stored offsite; 24 hours notice is required to access the collection.

Source of Acquisition

Helen Potter

Method of Acquisition

Gift from family. Records transferred from Potter's office to Special Collections, April 1980.

Separated Materials

Photographs were removed and place in Purdue Photograph File under Faculty, Potter A.A.

Two books -- The American Commonwealth (1891) and A Study of Higher Education for Engineers (1947) -- were removed from box 21, cataloged, and added to the book collection in 2004.