Skip to main content
Notice: The Library is open for research by appointment only, please visit our research services page for more information.

David A. Hounshell and John K. Smith research notes for "Science and Corporate Strategy"

Creation: 1903-1986
 Collection
Accession: 1850

Abstract

Science and Corporate Strategy is a scholarly history of Research and Development at the DuPont Company authored by David A. Hounshell (1950-) and John Kenly Smith (1951-). The collection consists of research files compiled by Hounshell Smith for the purpose of writing the book. Research files include copies of correspondence, articles, reports, patents, chronologies, organizational charts, and contracts from the DuPont Company from 1903 though 1980.

Dates

  • Creation: 1903-1986

Creator

Extent

8 Linear Feet

Historical Note

Science and Corporate Strategy is a scholarly history of Research and Development at the DuPont Company authored by David A. Hounshell (1950-) and John Kenly Smith (1951-).

Science and Corporate Strategy is the outgrowth of an idea of Edward G. Jefferson (1921-2006), chairman and chief executive officer of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company from 1981 to 1986 and a former research chemist. The E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont company. Jefferson felt that a history of the company's research and development programs would make an important contribution to U.S. historical scholarship and to current issues in public policy.

David A. Hounshell, a professor of the history of technology at the University of Delaware, and John Kenly Smith, one of his students in the Hagley Graduate Program with an undergraduate degree in chemistry, were asked to conduct the research and to write a scholarly history. They were given free access to the company's records and key personnel under the supervision of a committee of corporate officers. Their project was supported by DuPont through a grant dispensed through the Hagley Museum and Library.

Arrangement

Series I. Research files; Series II. Project files; Series III. Departmental and product histories.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of research files compiled by David A. Hounshell and John K. Smith for the purpose of writing Science and Corporate Strategy: DuPont R&D, 1902-1980. Research files include copies of correspondence, articles, reports, patents, chronologies, organizational charts, and contracts from the DuPont Company from 1903 though 1980. Most documents were copied from original documents found in other Hagley collections and are noted with their original accession number.

The collection also contains copies of selected DuPont official company histories, including ones for the Chambers Works, the paint business, and the Textile Fibers plants. The projects files comprise the internal records of the project, including Hounshell's project notes, project committee meeting minutes and correspondence from 1983 through 1986, the project contract, publication information, oral history interviewee correspondence, and annual and semi-annual project reports. There is also a "long version" of the manuscript that is lacking Chapter 3.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research. Litigators may not view the collection without approval.

Related Materials

Hounshell and Smith oral history transcripts (Accession 1878), Manuscripts and Archives Department, Hagley Museum and Library

Hounshell and Smith oral history interviews (Accession 2007.234), Audiovisual Collections and Digital Initiatives Department, Hagley Museum and Library.

Howard Ensign Simmons, Jr. papers (Accession 2172), Manuscripts and Archives Department, Hagley Museum and Library

Original records collected from DuPont or individuals for the project have been placed in separate accessions.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Provenance

On Deposit from E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company.

Related Names

Subject

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title:
David A. Hounshell and John K. Smith research notes for Science and Corporate Strategy
Description rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description:
English
Script of description:
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository

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