John Q. Stewart Papers, 1907-1970s

Contents and Arrangement

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Collection Overview

Creator:

Stewart, John Quincy (1894-1972)

Title:

John Q. Stewart Papers

Repository:

Manuscripts Division

Permanent URL:

http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/9w032304t

Dates:

1907-1970s

Size:

59 boxes and 29.8 linear feet

Storage Note:

ReCAP (scarcpxm): Box 1-59

Language:

English

Abstract: The John Q. Stewart Papers consists of articles, correspondence, conference material, printed material, student papers, and other miscellanea of the American astrophysicist and educator John Quincy Stewart (1894-1972).

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

Consists of articles written by Stewart and others, correspondence, financial material, photoprints, maps, conference material, printed material, and student papers. The collection reflects Stewart's interest in the development of social physics and the many scientific areas that he investigated. The correspondence includes letters with professional colleagues and learned societies, such as Stuart C. Dodd, Ralph E. Himstead, George Webber Mixter, G. Edward Pendray, the American Association of University Professors, the Social Research Council, and the Institute of Navigation; in addition, there is correspondence and reports of conferences on the natural sciences applied to social theory and social physics. Furthermore, there are printing plates for area and population maps of various countries, and nine record center cartons of unprocessed additional material.

Collection Creator Biography:

Stewart

John Quincy Stewart was born on 10 September 1894, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to John Q. and Mary (Liebendorfer) Stewart. He received two degrees from Princeton University, a B.S. in 1915 and a Ph.D. (physics) in 1919.

During World War I, Stewart was first a civilian aeronautical engineer (July-August 1917), and then entered the Army as a 1st Lieutenant S.C. (September 1917). He later served as a chief instructor in sound ranging at the Army Engineering School until his discharge (March 1919). Following the service, Stewart worked for two years (1919-1921) as a research engineer in the Development and Research Department of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company in New York. In 1921, he began teaching at Princeton in the Department of Astrophysics, a position he would hold until his retirement in 1963. Beginning in 1946, Stewart became interested in social physics, a field inaugurated by the astronomer Edmund Halley in 1693 which demonstrates the use of physical laws in the realm of the social sciences.

Stewart was a member of many professional organizations and societies, including the American Association for Advancement of Science, American Association of University Professors (serving as first national Vice-President, 1940-1941), American Astronomical Society, American Geographical Society (Honorary Fellow, 1963), American Physical Society, American Statistical Society, Geophysical Union, International Astronomical Union, Phi Beta Kappa, Population Association, and Sigma Xi.

His published books include Astronomy: A Revision of Young's Manual of Astronomy (Boston: Ginn and Co., 1926), co-authored with Henry Norris Russell and Raymond Smith Dugan, Marine and Air Navigation (Boston: Ginn and Co., 1944), co-authored with Newton L. Pierce, and Coasts, Waves, and Weather for Navigators (Boston: Ginn and Co., 1945). Stewart was a prolific writer of articles documenting his investigations in the areas of astronomy, astrophysics, cartography, demography, demography in relation to geography, gyromagnetic effect, hurricanes, ionized gases, lunar craters, meteorology, navigational methods, philosophy of science, physics, sociology, solar eclipses, space travel, speech and hearing, stellar atmospheres, sunspots, and weather cycles. He also participated in taking the first motion picture of the Moon, and in radar studies of meteor showers.

On 17 June 1925, Stewart married Lillian Vaughan Westcott. Their son, John Westcott Stewart, was born 15 November 1926, and followed his father's path to become an associate professor of physics at the University of Virginia.

After leaving Princeton, Stewart moved to Sedona, Arizona. He died in Cottonwood, Arizona, on 19 March 1972, at the age of 77 years.

The following standard abbreviation is used to identify materials in this collection: Ms = manuscript.

Collection History

Acquisition:: The majority of the collection was a gift to the Library by Stewart's son, John Westcott Stewart, in 1972. Additional materials were donated by the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming in 2003.
Appraisal: No appraisal information is available.
Processing Information: This collection was processed by Karla J. Vecchia in 2004. Finding aid written by Karla J. Vecchia in 2004.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

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