Collection ID: C139
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Westfall, Richard S.
Abstract:
Richard S. Westfall was a professor of History, History of Science, and Philosophy of Science at Indiana University from 1963 to 1989. The collection consists of research notes, copies of published works, lecture notes, and class notes related to Richard S. Westfall's research on the scientific revolution in Europe, especially his biography of Newton. Also includes material on Galileo, mechanics, dynamics, and related topics. Includes a small amount of biographical and family material.
Extent:
8.3 cubic feet (9 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English .
Preferred citation:

[Item], Richard S. Westfall papers, Collection C139, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

Richard Samuel Westfall was born April 22, 1924, in Fort Collins, Colorado, the son of Alfred van Rensselaer and Dorothy M. (Towne) Westfall. He graduated from Fort Collins High School in 1942 and enrolled at Yale University. He left Yale in 1944 to serve in the U.S. Navy for two years, then returned to complete his B.A. degree in 1948. He remained at Yale for graduate study, receiving an M.A. degree in 1949 and a Ph.D. in 1955. His doctoral dissertation was published by Yale University Press in 1958 as Science and Religion in Seventeenth Century England. There were subsequent editions in 1970 and 1972.

Westfall was known worldwide for his work on the history of the scientific revolution in 17th-century Europe, particularly the life of Isaac Newton. His major works include Never at Rest (1980), regarded by historians as the definitive biography of Newton and translated into Italian, French, and Japanese; Force in Newton's Physics: The Science of Dynamics in the Seventeenth Century (1971), translated into Italian; and The Construction of Modern Science: Mechanisms and Mechanics (1971), translated into Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, and Greek.

Among Westfall's many professional honors were the Pfizer Award (1972 and 1983), an annual prize for the best book in the history of science, given by the History of Science Society, of which he was past president (1977-78); the Leo Gershoy Award of the American Historical Association (1982); the George Sarton Medal of the History of Science Society (1985); and election as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Royal Society of Literature (both in 1982). He was awarded the Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal of the Yale Graduate School Alumni Association (1988).

Westfall taught history at the California Institute of Technology (1952-53), the State University of Iowa (1953-57), and Grinnell College (1957-63), before joining the faculty of the Indiana University Department of History and Philosophy of Science in 1963 as Professor of History of Science. He was given the additional title of Professor of History in 1966, and became Distinguished Professor of History and Philosophy of Science in 1976. He retired with the rank of Distinguished Professor Emeritus in 1989, and died in 1996 at the age of 72.

Scope and Content:

This collection consists of the papers of Richard Samuel Westfall, Distinguished Professor of History and Philosophy of Science and Professor of History, who was a member of the faculty of Indiana University from 1963 to 1996. It covers the period from 1942 to 1996, with the bulk of the material dating from 1956 to 1996. The material is in a number of formats: videotapes, audiotapes, computer disks, typescripts, reprints of articles, books, bundles of 5" x 7" note cards, and correspondence files. Material is arranged into 9 series, as follows:

Series 1 - Biographical Material: This series consists of clippings and other biographical material about Westfall, with dates ranging from 1942 to 1996.

Series 2 - Family Material: This series consists of a binder containing biographical material on Professor Alfred Westfall, father of Richard S. Westfall, with dates ranging from 1953 to 1969, and a folder containing Christmas letters from Richard S. Westfall and his wife, dates ranging from 1963 to 1995.

Series 3 - Student Papers: This series consists of 7 folders, each containing a typescript of a paper written by Westfall while he was a student at Yale. One of the papers is coauthored. Most of the papers are in binders. One paper is dated 1949, when Westfall was working on his M.A. degree. The others are undated. However, Westfall's senior essay can be assigned a date of 1948, the year he completed his B.A. degree. Folders are arranged with the two dated papers in chronological order, then the remaining papers in alphabetical order, with the coauthored paper last. Also in the series is Westfall's Ph.D. dissertation from Yale University.

Series 4 - General Subject Files: This series consists of correspondence and other records related to Westfall's research, publications, teaching and administrative duties. Records are arranged in alphabetical order and were created in the period from 1963-1996.

Series 5 - Lectures and Class Notes: This series consists of 2 subseries: Lectures and Class Notes. Most of the records in this series are undated. Some of the material in the Lectures subseries may be from Indiana University class lectures, and some is definitely from outside lectures, as it is identified as such. Material in the Class Notes subseries consists primarily of typescripts, often very extensive and detailed, and many annotated in Westfall's handwriting, often with heavy use of abbreviations. The Class Notes subseries also includes paper copies of transparencies used in Westfall's classes.

Series 6 - Publications: This series comprises 4 subseries, which date from the period 1951 to 1996. Subseries 1 consists of folders containing correspondence related to Westfall's publications and lectures, as well as reviews of his work, arranged in alphabetical order. Subseries 2 consists of folders containing typescripts, several edited by Westfall, and page proofs, arranged in chronological order. Subseries 3 consists of folders containing Westfall's reprints, articles, reviews, catalogs, and essays, arranged in chronological order. Subseries 4 consists of a copy of Westfall's coedited work containing the writings of Newton.

Series 7 - Computer disks: This series consist of disks containing many of Westfall's publications, lectures, research notes, and letters of recommendation.

Series 8 - Videotapes and Audiotapes: This series consists of videotapes and audiotapes by or about Westfall, including audiotapes of a sermon he delivered and of a memorial service for him, and videotapes of his contribution to a televised "Biography" of Newton, and of a CBS interview with Westfall. The records in this series date from the period 1987 to 1996.

Series 9 - Research Files: This series consists of 2 subseries. Subseries 1 consists of a "Catalog" of short biographies of scientists, which Westfall was compiling for a publication he never completed. This subseries comprises 21 folders and is arranged alphabetically. Subseries 2 is composed primarily of notes taken by Westfall from his readings, written on 5"x 7" plain paper sheets, which have been wrapped in bundles of acid-free paper and placed in boxes in the same general order in which they were received. Where Westfall provided descriptions, these have been retained. Otherwise, a description has been supplied for each bundle. None of the bundles of notes are dated.

Acquisition information:

Gift; Gloria Westfall, 1997; Accessions 97/063 and 97/075.

Transfer; Carol Green, Dept. of History and Philosophy of Science, 1997; Accession 97/087.

Processing information:

Processed by Rosemary Lovely.

Completed in 1997.

Arrangement:

This collection is organized in nine series: Biographical material, Family material, Student papers, General subject files, Lectures and class notes, Publications, Computers disks, Videotapes and audiotapes, and Research files.

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

This collection is open for research except for two folders of letters of recommendation, which are restricted. Also, many of the images housed in the photography collection were obtained by Prof. Westfall from other Universities. While they may be viewed, reproduction rights and copies of these images should be sought from the respective Universities.

Advance notice is required.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

The donor(s) of this collection have not transferred their copyrights for the materials to the Trustees of Indiana University. For more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.

The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of others and does not claim any copyrights for non-university records, materials in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift. Responsibility for the determination of the copyright status of these materials rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials. Researchers are responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights holders for any reuse of these materials that extends beyond fair use or other statutory limitations.

Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives are made available for noncommercial educational and research purposes only. If you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have questions about its inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University Archivist.

PREFERRED CITATION:

[Item], Richard S. Westfall papers, Collection C139, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
Herman B Wells Library E460
1320 East Tenth Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-7000, United States
CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
CONTACT:
812-855-1127
archives@indiana.edu