Caltech Archives

Celebrating #LibraryShelfieDay! As part of the @CaltechLibrary, we are proud to host a remarkable collection of rare science books, especially rich in the classic texts of the Scientific Revolution.

On this day in 1929, Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta. In 1958 he visited Caltech for three days as part of the Caltech Y Leaders of America program and gave several speeches. As reported in the California Tech, he conveyed an idealistic but action-oriented message. #MLK

#OTD in 1972 NASA launched the last Apollo mission to the moon, Apollo 17. Caltech alumnus and first scientist-astronaut Harrison Schmitt (BS '57) was among the crew, and one of the two who set foot on the moon.

Caltech Professor Emeritus Carver Mead, a VLSI pioneer, is also an alumnus: BS, MS, and PhD! In his video My First Chip he shows some of the objects he donated to the archives, telling the story of how he became a microchip designer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5P5SAlEbo4&feature=youtu.be

Most months, we participate in #ArchivesHashtagParty, sharing items from our collections on a common theme with hundreds of other archives. Read about it in today’s New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com//07/st/archives-hashtag-party.html

At the first event in Caltech’s series Critical Intersections: Conversations on Race, History, and Science, Caltech students and postdocs responded creatively and critically to uncomfortable things in our collections. Watch now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHF6JEOLFVU

For a twist on seasonal desserts, try the sweet potato pie from the household of Caltech physicist Richard Tolman. He made important contributions to statistical mechanics and cosmology; his wife Ruth was a prominent clinical psychologist. #ArchivesHashtagParty #ArchivesBakeOff

In 1953 Dabney House ranked first in charitable donations; the students’ prize was a dinner served by some of the most renowned faculty on campus. This year we can do our part by donating to #UnitedWayLA to support LA communities & fight poverty. #Caltech https://www.caltech.edu//campus-a/united-way-campaign-2021

We thank our Caltech Library colleagues in Access and Collection Services for their tireless support in scanning materials for our researchers, helping us keep our reading room open virtually. https://www.library.caltech.edu//docuserve-interlibrary-lo