Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections
Lyman J. Briggs Papers
UA.10.3.137
Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Repository
- Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections
- Creator
- Briggs, Lyman J., (Lyman James), 1874-1963
- Title
- Lyman J. Briggs papers
- ID
- UA.10.3.137
- Date [inclusive]
- 1882-1979, undated
- Extent
- 2.0 Cubic feet
- Language
- English
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: "Item title, Collection title, Collection Identifier, Michigan State University Archives & Historical Collections, East Lansing, Michigan."
Historical Note
On May 7, 1874, Lyman James Briggs was born near Battle Creek, Michigan to Chauncey and Belle Briggs. Briggs grew up on the family farm and in 1889, at the age of 15, entered Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University) and graduated with a degree in Agriculture in 1893. He received a M.S. in physics at the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. at John Hopkins University. In 1896, Briggs married Katharine Cook (M.A.C. class of 1893) and took a job in the Department of Agriculture in the Bureau of Soils.
Once Briggs’ education was complete he began his research in the field of soil physics, leading to the development of moisture equivalent classification method for soils. Briggs also worked with ecologist H. L. Shantz, publishing research on the relationships between environmental factors and water requirements of plants.
In the run up to World War I, the Department of Commerce requested Briggs join the Bureau of Standards. Briggs was tasked with organizing a division within the Bureau to develop a certification of gauges for the manufacture of munitions. Other projects included the development of a stable zenith instrument for the Navy and construction of a wind tunnel for aeronautical research. Due to the success of his projects, Briggs was given a permanent appointment as the chief of the Mechanics and Sound Division.
In 1932, Briggs was named acting director of the Bureau of Standards by President Herbert Hoover. During the Depression Briggs was tasked with keeping the Bureau afloat despite budget cuts. Briggs kept the Bureau viable during these years and in 1939 was called to the White House and tasked with a top-secret investigation into atomic power. Named as chairman of the Advisory Committee on Uranium, Briggs soon began to prove the possibility of atomic power and weaponry. The committee was absorbed into the National Defense Research Committee where Briggs and his fellow scientists furthered their research and ultimately recommended a determined effort to develop an atomic weapon. The project was taken over by the Office of Scientific Research and Development and the Manhattan Project was formed from the research Briggs and his colleagues conducted.
After the war, Briggs retired from the Bureau and returned to his research. Lyman Briggs passed away in his sleep March 26, 1963 at the age of 88.
Scope and Contents note
The Lyman Briggs collection contains publications, correspondence, and articles written by Lyman Briggs. Also included is memorabilia including identification cards and passes, invitations, and Michigan State University memorabilia.
Administrative Information
Publication Information
Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections April 2013
Conrad Hall888 Wilson Road, Room 101
East Lansing , MI, 48824
517-355-2330
archives@msu.edu
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Legal Status
Copyright: Michigan State University. Property Rights: Michigan State University.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish material from this collection must be obtained from University Archives & Historical Collections, Michigan State University.
Custodial History
Gift of Dr. Peter Briggs Meyers.
Processing Information
One box of photographs and two oversized academic certificates reamin unprocessed (Accession UA 3071.)
Controlled Access Headings
Corporate Name(s)
- Michigan Agricultural College.
- Michigan State University. Class of 1893.
Genre(s)
- Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
- Invitations
- Letters (correspondence)
- Publications
- Theses
Geographic Name(s)
- Australia
Personal Name(s)
- Briggs, Lyman J., (Lyman James), 1874-1963 -- Archives
- Burgess, G. K., (George Kimball), 1874-1932
Subject(s)
- College students
- Horticulture
- Plants
- Research
- Soils -- Classification
- Soils -- Testing
- Weights and measures -- United States
Collection Inventory
| Drawer | Folder | |||
|
International Geophysical Year commemorative stamps 1958 |
F.D. | 1 | ||
|
Publications |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
A 1947 Eclipse Expedition 1947 |
4246 | 21 | ||
|
A New Form of Electrical Condenser Having a Capacity Capable of Continuous Adjustment 1900 |
4246 | 21 | ||
|
A New Method of Measuring the Acceleration of Gravity At Sea 1916 |
4246 | 21 | ||
|
A Wax Seal Method for Determining the Lower Limit of Available Soil Moisture 1911 |
4246 | 21 | ||
|
An Artificial Root for Inducing Capillary Movement of Soil Moisture 1904 |
4246 | 21 | ||
|
An Automatic Transpiration Scale of Large Capacity for Use with Freely Exposed Plants 1915 |
4246 | 21 | ||
|
An Electrical Method of Determining the Moisture Content of Arable Soils 1897 |
4246 | 21 | ||
|
An Electrical Method of Determining the Temperature of Soils 1897 |
4246 | 21 | ||
|
An Electrical Resistance Method for the Rapid Determination of the Moisture Content of Grain 1908 |
4246 | 21 | ||
|
Availability of Potash In Certain Orthoclase-Bearing Soils as Affected by Lime or Gypsum 1917 |
4246 | 21 | ||
|
Birds of Michigan 1893 |
4246 | 21 | ||
|
The Black Hills Engineer: Memorial to Doctor C.C. O'Harra 1935 |
4246 | 21 | ||
|
Bulletin of the National Research Council 1922 |
4246 | 21 | ||
|
Capillary Studies and Filtration of Clay From Soil Solutions 1902 |
4246 | 22 | ||
|
Centrifugal Method of Mechanical Soil Analysis 1904 |
4246 | 22 | ||
|
Commemorative Sundial 1948 |
4246 | 22 | ||
|
Comparison of the Hourly Evaporation Rate of Atmometers and Free Water Surfaces with the Transpiration Rate of Medicago Sativa 1917 |
4246 | 22 | ||
|
Daily Transpiration During the Normal Growth Period and Its Correlation with the Weather 1916 |
4246 | 22 | ||
|
Division of Water, Sewage, and Sanitation Chemistry of the American Chemical Society 1954 |
4246 | 22 | ||
|
Dry-Farming Investigations in the United States 1915 |
4246 | 22 | ||
|
Dry Farming in Relation to Rainfall and Evaporation 1910 |
4246 | 22 | ||
|
Early Work of the national Bureau of Standards 1951 |
4246 | 22 | ||
|
Electrical Instruments For Determining the Moisture, Temperature, and Soluble Salt Content of Soils 1899 |
4246 | 22 | ||
|
Effect of Frequent Cutting on the Water Requirement of Alfalfa and Its Bearing on Pasturage 1915 |
4246 | 22 | ||
|
Equilibrium Between Carbonates and Bicarbonates in Aqueous Solution 1901 |
4246 | 22 | ||
|
Evaporation in the Great Plains and Intermountain Districts as Influenced by the Haze of 1912 1913 |
4246 | 22 | ||
|
Field Treatment of Tobacco Root-Rot 1908 |
4246 | 22 | ||
|
George Kimball Burgess 1932 |
4246 | 22 | ||
|
George Kimbal Burgess 1847-1932 1957 |
4246 | 22 | ||
|
Hourly Transpiration Rate on Clear Days as Determined by Cyclic Environmental Factors 1916 |
4246 | 23 | ||
|
How Old Is It?: Telltale Radioactivity in Every Living Thing Is Cracking the Riddle of Age 1958 |
4246 | 23 | ||
|
Improvements on the Ultra-Violet Microscope 1907 |
4246 | 23 | ||
|
Indicator Significance of Vegetation in Tooele Valley, Utah 1914 |
4246 | 23 | ||
|
Influence of Hybridization and Cross-Pollination on the Water Requirements of Plants 1915 |
4246 | 23 | ||
|
Investigations on the Physical Properties of Soils 1900 |
4246 | 23 | ||
|
Laboratories in the Stratosphere 1935 |
4246 | 23 | ||
|
Living Plant as a Physical System 1917 |
4246 | 23 | ||
|
Measurement of Gravity at Sea Undated |
4246 | 23 | ||
|
Methods for Measuring the Coefficient of Restitution and the Spin of a Ball 1945 |
4246 | 23 | ||
|
Mechanics of Soil Moisture 1897 |
4246 | 23 | ||
|
Moisture Equivalent Determinations and their Application 1910 |
4246 | 23 | ||
|
Moisture Equivalents of Soils 1907 |
4246 | 23 | ||
|
Mottle-Leaf of Citrus Trees in Relation to Soil Conditions 1916 |
4246 | 23 | ||
|
Movement and Retention of Water in Soils 1898 |
4246 | 23 | ||
|
Mulched-Basin System of Irrigated Citrus and its Bearing on the Control of Mottle-Leaf |
4246 | 23 | ||
|
National Geographic Society U.S. Navy Solar Eclipse Expedition of 1937 to Canton Island 1939 |
4246 | 24 | ||
|
National Geographic Society U.S. Army Air Corps Stratosphere Flight of 1934 in the Balloon "Explorer" 1935 |
4246 | 24 | ||
|
National Geographic Society U.S. Army Air Corps Stratosphere Flight of 1935 in the Balloon "Explorer II" 1936 |
4246 | 24 | ||
|
Objects and Methods of Investigating Certain Physical Properties of Soils 1900 |
4246 | 25 | ||
|
On the Adsorption of Water Vapor and of Certain Salts in Aqueous Solution by Quartz-Dissertation 1901 |
4246 | 25 | ||
|
On the Adsorption of Water Vapor and of Certain Salts in Aqueous Solution by Quartz 1905 |
4246 | 25 | ||
|
On the Electrolytic Conductivity of Concentrated Sulphuric Acid 1895 |
4246 | 25 | ||
|
Physics: A Mechanical Differential Telethermograph and Some of its Applications 1913 |
4246 | 25 | ||
|
Relative Water Requirement of Plants 1914 |
4246 | 25 | ||
|
Relative Wilting Coefficients for Different Plants 1912 |
4246 | 25 | ||
|
Science Communications 1954 |
4246 | 25 | ||
|
Salts as Influencing the Rate of Evaporation of Water from Soils 1900 |
4246 | 25 | ||
|
Solution Studies of Salts Occurring in Alkali Soils 1901 |
4246 | 25 | ||
|
Some Necessary Modifications in Methods of Mechanical Analysis as Applied to Alkali Soils 1900 |
4246 | 25 | ||
|
Stratosphere Flight Information 1935 |
4246 | 25 | ||
|
Stratosphere Balloon Flight 1935 |
4246 | 25 | ||
|
Water Requirement of Plants as Influenced by Environment 1917 |
4246 | 26 | ||
|
Water Requirements of Plants: Investigations in the Great Plains in 1910 and 1911 1913 |
4246 | 26 | ||
|
Water Requirements of Plants: A Review of the Literature 1913 |
4246 | 26 | ||
|
Wilting Coefficient for Different Plants and its Indirect Determination 1912 |
4246 | 26 | ||
|
Work of the National Bureau of Standards in Metrology and Mechanics undated |
4246 | 26 | ||
|
Papers |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
A Juicy G.O.P. Scandal 1953 |
4247 | 1 | ||
|
Address Before Colombia Historical Society 1946 |
4247 | 2 | ||
|
Adsorption Thesis 1901 |
4247 | 3 | ||
|
Adsorption and its Relation to Soil Investigations undated |
4247 | 4 | ||
|
Ash Numbers, Carbon Copy 1913 |
4247 | 5 | ||
|
Black Sphere Coefficients 1917 |
4247 | 6 | ||
|
Bureau of Standards Stable Zenith 1917 |
4247 | 7 | ||
|
California Citrus Soils 1913 |
4247 | 8 | ||
|
Calibration of Sunshine Recorder 1914 |
4247 | 9 | ||
|
Classification of Soils on the Basis of their Moisture Equivalents undated |
4247 | 10 | ||
|
Coefficients of Correlations undated |
4247 | 11 | ||
|
Coolidge Tube Instructions undated |
4247 | 12 | ||
|
Congressional Record, Tribute to Lyman Briggs 1945 |
4247 | 13 | ||
|
Correspondence with Professor Whitney |
4247 | 14 | ||
|
Determinations of "V" undated |
4247 | 15 | ||
|
Diagrams 1 undated |
4247 | 16 | ||
|
Diagrams 2 undated |
4247 | 17 | ||
|
Dimensions of Bamboo Rods, Robinson undated |
4247 | 18 | ||
|
Directions for Vreeland Oscillator 1916 |
4247 | 19 | ||
|
Effect of Centrifugal Force on the Distribution of Salt in the Solute in a Solution undated |
4247 | 20 | ||
|
Engine Lists, Akron undated |
4247 | 21 | ||
|
Evaporation 1890 |
4247 | 22 | ||
|
Experiment Calculations undated |
4247 | 23 | ||
|
Fargo Paper undated |
4247 | 25 | ||
|
Flow of Sap undated |
4247 | 25 | ||
|
German News Paper Article 1913 |
4247 | 26 | ||
|
Humas 1907 |
4247 | 27 | ||
|
Influence of Adsorption Phenomena on the Rate of Assimilation of Soil Components undated |
4247 | 28 | ||
|
Integrator for Sumit Treatment undated |
4247 | 29 | ||
|
Key to Fruit Analyses undated |
4247 | 30 | ||
|
Living Plant as a Physical System undated |
4247 | 31 | ||
|
Manuscripts and Publications |
4247 | 32 | ||
|
McLane Colorimeter 1916 |
4247 | 33 | ||
|
Measurement of the Environmental Factors and Their Relation to Plant Growth undated |
4247 | 34 | ||
|
Moisture Equivalents 1907 |
4247 | 35 | ||
|
Moisture Equivalent of Soils as a Basis for Soil Classification undated |
4247 | 36 | ||
|
Movement and Retention of Water in Soils undated |
4247 | 37 | ||
|
On Centrifugal Method for Obtaining Soil Solutions in Plant Nutrition Investigations undated |
4247 | 38 | ||
|
On the Separation of Soil Solutions from Unsaturated by Centrifugal Force undated |
4247 | 39 | ||
|
Periodicity in Transpiration undated |
4247 | 40 | ||
|
Physical Basis of Soil Classification undated |
4247 | 41 | ||
|
Plant Figures undated |
4247 | 42 | ||
|
Preparation of the Platinum Adsorption Tubes Using Potassium Chloride Solutions undated |
4247 | 43 | ||
|
Progress Reports on Two Seasons' Work at Dzibilchalton 1959 |
4247 | 44 | ||
|
Quincke Review 1902 |
4247 | 45 | ||
|
The Rapid Determination of the Moisture Content of Soils undated |
4247 | 46 | ||
|
The Relation of Humas to Crop Production 1909 |
4247 | 47 | ||
|
Removal of Salt Solutions by Centrifugal Force undated |
4247 | 48 | ||
|
Scale Readings for Observations on Water Content undated |
4247 | 49 | ||
|
Singled Valved Classifications undated |
4247 | 50 | ||
|
Soap undated |
4247 | 51 | ||
|
Soil Classifications Table undated |
4247 | 52 | ||
|
Soil Moisture Measurements in Ecological Investigations undated |
4247 | 53 | ||
|
Soil Physics Investigations in Dry Land Farming undated |
4247 | 54 | ||
|
Solubility of Feldspar in Varying Concentrations of Lime-Water 1913 |
4247 | 55 | ||
|
Structure of Soils as Determined by the Distribution of Water from a Plant undated |
4247 | 56 | ||
|
Telethermograph 1916 |
4247 | 57 | ||
|
Temperature Balances and Misc. 1902 |
4247 | 58 | ||
|
Tobacco Root Rot Experiments 1908 |
4247 | 59 | ||
|
The Water Requirement of Plants 1912 |
4247 | 60 | ||
|
Water Requirements of Plants 2 undated |
4247 | 61 | ||
|
Wheat Experiment Data undated |
4247 | 62 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Albert J. Cook Hall |
4246 | 1 | ||
|
Autograph Book |
4246 | 2 | ||
|
Biographical 1948-1979 |
4246 | 3 | ||
|
Biographical Clippings 1928-1955 |
4246 | 4 | ||
|
Biographical: 80th Birthday 1954 |
4246 | 5 | ||
|
Correspondence, 1898-1954 1898-1954 |
4246 | 6 | ||
|
Correspondence, 1955-1963 1955-1963 |
4246 | 7 | ||
|
Correspondence: Crater Lake 1959 |
4246 | 8 | ||
|
Correspondence: Lyman Briggs College, 1967-1971 1967-1971 |
4246 | 9 | ||
|
Correspondence, Misc |
4246 | 10 | ||
|
Explorer II Stratospheric Flight 1935 1935 |
4246 | 11 | ||
|
Government Railways of Australia Pass 1914 |
4246 | 12 | ||
|
Honors, Awards, Citations |
4246 | 13 | ||
|
Invitations |
4246 | 14 | ||
|
M.S.U. Memorabilia |
4246 | 15 | ||
|
National Academy of Sciences Membership 1882-1947 |
4246 | 16 | ||
|
National Advisory for Aeronautics/ Department of Commerce Pass 1940 |
4246 | 17 | ||
|
National Defense Research Committee Identification |
4246 | 18 | ||
|
Pocket Notebooks |
4246 | 19 | ||
|
Trip to Australia 1914 |
4246 | 20 | ||