Hertha Sponer papers, 1917-1967

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Summary

Creator:
Sponer, Hertha
Abstract:
Hertha Sponer, 1895-1968, was a German physicist who immigrated to the United States and came to Duke University in 1936, where she became the first woman on its Physics Department faculty. She conducted research and taught at Duke until 1965, supervising thirty-five masters and doctoral degree graduates. The Hertha Sponer Papers span the years 1917-1967 and comprise the correspondence, research, speeches, writings, and teaching materials of German physicist Hertha Sponer, who in 1936 became the first woman appointed to the faculty of the Duke University Department of Physics. The collection primarily documents her American career, especially her work in the areas of chemical physics, spectrum analysis, and molecular spectroscopy. Arranged in five series: Correspondence, Printed Materials, Professional Files, Research Files, and Writings and Speeches. The Correspondence Series covers the final two decades of her career, from the late 1940s to 1967, and primarily consists of letters about research with her numerous collaborators and co-authors. Some of her final letters discuss death of her husband, physicist James Franck, in 1964, and also allude to the death that same year of her Duke Physics Department associate and fellow German refugee, Hedwig Kohn. The Printed Materials Series holds offprints and reprints of Sponer's articles from the 1930s-1960s, plus a few articles by Franck. Sponer's teaching and administrative files, including correspondence with graduate students, appear in the Professional Files. The Research Files make up the largest series in the collection; these files document her research on many topics and articles and also contain much of the collection's correspondence. The Writings and Speeches Series gathers several papers and talks from the last half-dozen years of Sponer's professional career.
Extent:
6 Linear Feet
3000 Items
Language:
Material in English, German
Collection ID:
UA.29.02.0246
University Archives Record Group:
29 -- Papers of Faculty, Staff, and Associates
29 -- Papers of Faculty, Staff, and Associates > 02 -- Individuals

Background

Scope and content:

The Hertha Sponer Papers, 1917-1967, comprise the correspondence, research, speeches, writings, and teaching materials of Hertha Sponer, a German physicist who in 1936 became the first woman appointed to the faculty of the Duke University Department of Physics. The collection primarily documents her American career, especially her research and publications in the areas of chemical physics, spectrum analysis, and molecular spectroscopy. It is arranged in five series: Correspondence, Printed Materials, Professional Files, Research Files, and Writings and Speeches. The Correspondence Series covers the final two decades of Sponer's career, from the late 1940s to 1967. Her primary correspondents were various collaborators and co-authors, with whom she generally discussed research and professional concerns rather than personal matters. Several late letters, though, discuss the 1964 death of her husband, physicist James Franck, and briefly allude to the death that same year of her Duke Physics Department associate and fellow German refugee, Hedwig Kohn. The small Printed Materials Series is composed of offprints and reprints of Sponer's articles, spanning her entire professional career in America, but also contains a few 1960s articles by Franck. Sponer's teaching and administrative files, including correspondence with Duke graduate students about their theses, are arranged in the Professional Files; this series also includes information about research grants, conferences, and other professional activities. The Research Files make up the largest series in the collection. These files document Sponer's research on many topics and articles and also contain much of the collection's correspondence. The Research Files also document the only paper she co-wrote with Hedwig Kohn. The collection concludes with a small Writings and Speeches series, which gathers several papers and talks from the last half-dozen years of Sponer's professional career.

Biographical / historical:

Hertha Sponer, 1895-1968, was a German physicist who became, in 1926, only the second woman awarded the Habilitation in her field--qualification to teach physics at the university level in Germany. She left Germany in 1934, taught two years in Norway and Spain, and arrived at Duke University in 1936, where she became the first woman appointed to its Physics Department faculty. She conducted research and taught at Duke until 1965, supervising thirty-five masters and doctoral degree graduates.

Chronology List
Date Event
1895 Sept. 1
Born in Neisse, Prussia (today Nysa, Poland)
1918
Transferred from University of Tübingen to University of Göttingen
1920
Awarded Ph.D in physics, adviser Peter Debye
1920-1921
Became assistant to James Franck at Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Chemistry, Division of Physics, Dahlem (Berlin)
1925
Awarded Venia Legendi and Habilitation (qualification to teach at university level)
1925-1926
Awarded Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship to study at the Department of Physics, University of California Berkeley
1933
Charles W. Edwards, Chair of Duke University Physics Department, first contacted by Rockefeller Foundation about Sponer's possible availability
1934
Tentatively accepted offer from Edwards of guest professorship at Duke, but preferred to remain in Europe
1934 Sept.-Oct.
Left Germany for Norway, to begin guest professorship at University of Oslo
1935
January, contacted again by Charles Edwards about a position at Duke; May, accepted "trial half-year," to begin Feb. 1, 1936
1935-1936
Published "Molekülspektren I"(Molecular Spectra and Their Application to Chemical Problems Vol. I and II)
1936
Appointed to Duke University faculty as Professor of Physics
1939-1940
Joined with Lise Meitner and other scientists in letter-writing campaign to assist Jewish physicist Hedwig Kohn in emigrating from Germany
1940-1942
Served as Associate Editor of The Journal of Chemical Physics
1946 June 29
Married James Franck, Chicago
1949
Spectroscopy laboratory moved to new Physics Building, Duke University
1952
Arranged Duke Physics research associateship for Hedwig Kohn, following Kohn's retirement from Wellesley
1952-1953
Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship to fund guest professorship at Uppsala University, Sweden
1962
Research and lecture trip to Japan and India
1964 May 21
James Franck died in Göttingen
1965 Sept. 1
Retired from Duke University
1966
Named Professor Emeritus in Physics
1966
Moved to Celle, Germany, to be near her sister and nephew
1968 Feb. 17
Died in Ilten, near Hannover
Acquisition information:
The Hertha Sponer Papers were received by the University Archives as a transfer from the American Heritage Center in 2013. Formerly cited as AHC Collection Number 6621.
Processing information:

Processed by Michael Shumate, Julia Eads, April 2013

Encoded by Michael Shumate, April 2013

Accessions UA 2013-0009 and 2013-0010 are described in this finding aid.

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
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Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the University Archives to use this collection.

Collection is open for research.

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Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Hertha Sponer Papers, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.