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Herman Schroeder collection of DuPont Company audiovisual materials

Creation: 1938-1993
 Collection
Accession: 2010-204

Abstract

Herman Schroeder joined the DuPont Company's Chemical Department in 1938 and held various positions at the Organic Chemistry Department at Jackson Laboratory and the Elastomer Chemicals Department. This collection consists primarily of materials related to Schroeder's professional activities after his retirement from the DuPont Company in 1980.

Dates

  • Creation: 1938-1993

Creator

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet

General Physical Description

77 photographic prints : color : 3.5 x 5 in. 22 photographic prints : b&w : 8 x 10 in. or smaller 1 photographic print : color : ca. 8 x 10 in. 1 photographic print : b&w : ca. 10 x 18 in. 154 slides : color and b&w : 35 mm 25 negatives : color : 35 mm 8 negatives : b&w : 4 x 5 in. or smaller 1 negative : b&w : 5 x 7 in. 2 albums : b&w and color : 11 x 11.5 in. 1 album (28 photographic prints) : b&w : 8.5 x 11 in. 7 videocassettes

Biographical Note

Herman E. Schroeder (1915-2009) was a chemist at the DuPont Company from 1938 until 1980. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and graduated from Harvard University in 1939 with a doctorate in organic chemistry. Schroeder joined the DuPont Company's Chemical Department in 1938, and in 1946 moved to the Organic Chemistry Department at Jackson Laboratory where he became division head in 1949 and assistant laboratory director in 1951. In 1957, Schroeder moved to the Elastomer Chemicals Department as assistant research director and was promoted to director of Research and Development in 1963, a post he held until his retirement in 1980.

In 1984, Schroeder received the Charles Goodyear Medal from the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society in recognition of his accomplishments in the field of elastomer research. While serving as assistant research director in the Elastomer Chemicals Department, Schroeder oversaw the work of DuPont research scientist Charles Pedersen (1904-1989). In 1961, under Schroeder's advice, Pedersen began a series of experiments in the field of hydrocarbon polymers, which ultimately led Pedersen to discover a new compound, "crown" ethers. In 1987, Pedersen was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his discovery; Schroeder accompanied Pedersen to Sweden for the Nobel Prize ceremonies.

Scope and Content

This collection consists primarily of materials related to Schroeder's professional activities after his retirement from the DuPont Company in 1980, though there is some coverage of his career with DuPont from 1938 to 1980. Most notable is an album of 28 photographs from Jackson Lab dating to 1956, where Schroeder is pictured alongside his colleagues and staff. The collection contains a number of color snapshots from the Charles Goodyear Medal Reception in 1984, as well as slides and lecture notes from the 12th International Symposium on Macrocyclic Chemistry in Hiroshima, Japan, where Schroeder gave a presentation on Charles Pedersen's discovery of crown ethers. Finally, there is very good coverage of Charles Pedersen's winning of the Nobel Prize, including two scrapbooks of photos, clippings, postcards, documents, and ephemera assembled by Schroeder and his wife, Elizabeth, both of whom accompanied Pedersen to Sweden to accept the Nobel Prize. The collection also includes seven VHS tapes. There is one tape of the Nobel Prize award ceremony on December 10, 1987 and a profile of Charles Pedersen from late 1988. Four tapes contain footage of the DuPont Company's 1992 and 1993 Lavoisier Medal award ceremonies, including interviews with Herman Schroeder. Finally, there is a copy of DuPont's video "Shaping the Future." The collection contains a small number of family photographs of Herman Schroeder with his wife, Elizabeth, and children, Nancy, Edward, Peter, and Martha.

Existence and Location of Copies

View selected items online in the Hagley Digital Archives.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Processing Notes

Albums have been unbound and removed from their covers. Two Pedersen scrapbooks were in "magnetic" albums - items in these albums have been removed from pages for preservation purposes and empty albums discarded.

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title:
Herman Schroeder collection of DuPont Company audiovisual materials
Author:
Judy Stevenson and encoded by Chase Markee, 2013.
Description rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description:
English
Script of description:
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Audiovisual Collections Repository

Contact:
PO Box 3630
Wilmington Delaware 19807 USA
302-658-2400