The Cyrus Fogg Brackett Lectureship in Applied Engineering and Technology was established in 1921 in memory of Professor Cyrus Fogg Brackett (1833-1915). A teacher, physician, inventor, and physicist, Brackett was a pioneer in the field of electrical engineering. The lectures were free to the public, although intended for engineering students, and occurred monthly while classes were in session. The Dean of the School of Engineering, in conjunction with a committee established by the Princeton Engineering Association, selected and invited the speakers. The lecturers were often business or research executives in engineering-related fields, but other well-regarded scientists, businessmen, and statesmen lectured on occasion. Lecture topics included, for example, "Street Railway Engineering," 1924; "The Story of Flour," 1934; "A Public Utility Investment in South America," 1935; "Research in Connection with Higher Speed Steam Locomotives," 1940; and "Postwar Industrial Relations," 1947.

It became somewhat of an honor to give a Brackett lecture. Many of the businessmen went to great expense to publish their lectures. On the tenth anniversary of the first Brackett address, former lecturers organized the Guild of Brackett Lecturers and thereafter met periodically to hear new lectures and enjoy formal dinners. The number of lectures declined during the Second World War, however, and the last took place in 1953.

The lecturer files contain correspondence, lecture manuscripts, and published lectures–although rarely all three. The other materials include lecture schedules, a biography of Professor Brackett, lists and directories of the lecturers, a scrapbook of clippings, and histories of the lectureship.