Nuclear History in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center

SCARC Collection Strengths

• Fiction about nuclear topics is a significant part of the collection, especially from the 1940s-1980s.
• Poetry includes a wide range of manuscripts in the Pauling Papers, as well as published compilations and anthologies.
• Drama is represented through multiple play scripts and stage plays.
• Music includes sheet music about radium, atoms, and the atomic bomb, peace cantatas, and activist songbooks.
• Art includes original art sent to Einstein by citizens, published pictures by atomic bomb survivors, and activist art and posters.
• Films are represented including "Atomic Power" in 1946 and "Dr. Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" in 1963. This strength includes posters for B-list movies involving nuclear themes, and activist videos.

See especially

• Series 12: Peace, especially Subseries 3: Early Control of Atomic Energy, Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists contains a multitude of pieces sent to the Committee as part of correspondence, including fiction drafts, poems, sheet music, and art.
• Series 17: Personal Library has numerous fiction titles related to nuclear themes, mostly as science fiction.

Robert Dalton Harris, Jr. Collection of Atomic Age Ephemera, 1897-2017
The Robert Dalton Harris, Jr. Collection of Atomic Age Ephemera consists of printed ephemera produced from the late 19th century to the present day. The materials comprise broad coverage of many scientific, religious, cultural, industrial, political, environmental, and other aspects of nuclear history. Many materials related to nuclear fiction, art, and music lie throughout the collection; notable examples include Item 1904.001-002, sheet music for "The Radium Dance" published in 1904; Item 1980.005, a promotion for rock band called Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Item 1998.002, a program for anti-nuclear art show at the National Museum of Art; and Item undated.089, which is original art for an anti-nuclear campaign.

History of Atomic Energy Collection, 1872-2014
The History of Atomic Energy Collection is the largest collection related to nuclear history in SCARC collections. Containing over 3,000 published items and other cultural artifacts, this collection is a significant resource for research on the political, scientific, economic, technological, and social issues that have characterized the nuclear age. (See Rare Books below for more on published materials). Series 2: Ephemera contains many materials related to art, fiction, and film, specifically movie posters.

Chih H. Wang Papers, 1947-1984
Chih H. Wang was Professor of Chemistry, Director of the Radiation Center, and Head of the Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering at Oregon State University. He was responsible for the growth of nuclear science research on the Oregon State University campus and the creation of the OSU Radiation Center. Box-Folder 41.6 contains materials related to "Red Alert," a thriller television film that was shot on site at the Radiation Center and released in 1977.

Theodore Rockwell Papers, 1915-2013
Theodore Rockwell was an engineer deeply involved in the genesis of atomic energy through his participation in the Manhattan Project at Oak Ridge and, later, the development of the United States' nuclear-powered naval fleet. Beginning in 1943, Rockwell worked as a process improvement engineer in the Electromagnetic Separation Pilot Plant at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Later, he was promoted to head of Radiation Shielding Engineering. In December 1945, the Saturday Evening Post published an article by Rockwell entitled "Frontier Life Among the Atom Splitters," one of the first accounts of work on the Manhattan Project at Oak Ridge. Series 2: Biographical Records and Published Materials contains drafts of his unpublished fiction, including Us vs. Them, an exploration of conflict in modern society, and Vice Versa, a trilogy of one-act plays.

David A. Marcus Letters, 1972-1985
The David A. Marcus Letters are comprised of correspondence between Marcus and politicians, peace activists, religious leaders, scientists, and intellectuals between 1972 and 1983. Topics include the potential for nuclear conflict, the need for a global peace organization, and the future of humankind. Box 1.4 is comprised of responses to Marcus' short story "Angel of Death" in which Marcus (as protagonist) converses with an embodiment of death about the future of mankind, the threat of nuclear annihilation, and his own efforts to encourage anti-nuclear activism.

History of Atomic Energy Rare Book Collection

Fiction is an especially strong subset of this collection; works from the years just after World War II are particularly abundant, as are later novels and thrillers. Poetry is also present, and includes Gregory Corso's famous visual poem, Bomb. Art is inherent throughout the collection, but specific nuclear-related art is represented mainly by later works in the 1980s and 1990s, often as part of activist publications. The subcollection Robert Dalton Harris, Jr. Collection of the Atomic Age contributes many works to this strength, including children's fiction, rare poetry, and modern nuclear-thriller titles.

Scholars Archive
Interesting dissertations on or involving nuclear fiction.