Finding Aids

Crawford H. Greenewalt (1902-1993) was an executive with the DuPont Company and president of the firm from 1948 to 1962. He had a passion for the natural sciences, and combined his love of ornithology with photography. He was especially known for his high-speed photographs of hummingbirds. His ornithological interests included bird songs, the radiance of hummingbird feathers, and the evolution of shapes and sizes of birds in relation to their flight abilities. Greenewalt's personal papers are primarily focused on his retirement years and his avocational interests. The papers document Greenewalt's political activities in the Republican National Committee and include exchanges with many of the leading political and business figures of the day. Of particular significance are the papers describing Greenewalt's work in photography and ornithology, beginning in 1948. These materials trace his research interests in the hummingbird and bird flight and his trips to places like Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, the Antilles, New Guinea, and the Galapagos Islands in order to observe and photograph birds in their natural habitats. Other files describe Greenewalt's work on the visiting committee at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1965-1987), which evaluated the school's academic programs.

The National Industrial Conference Board, later renamed The Conference Board, formed in 1916 as a response by the business community to continued labor unrest and growing public criticism. Their records are an important source for understanding the business community's response to most political and socioeconomic issues. NOTE: The box inventory for this finding aid is not yet online, a full inventory is available onsite in the Reading Room only.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. At the onset of the French Revolution, he served as a member of the Assemblée Nationale Constituante, where he allied himself with the moderate Girondist faction. After the leader of the Jacobin movement, Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794), took power, du Pont was arrested in July 1794, but he escaped execution. On January 3, 1800, accompanied by his sons, he arrived in America. This small collection consists primairly of letters from du Pont de Nemours to Philippe Nicolas Harmand (1759-1839), director of pensions under the Empire, then first clerk for the Public Debt from 1814 to 1821. Harmand was the tutor of du Pont de Nemour's sons and a loyal family friend. Harmand brought du Pont de Nemours food during his period of concealment. These letters include references to financial and business affairs, as well as personal and family news.