Guide to the Harcourt Brown papers, circa 1940-1957

John Hay Library , Special Collections
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Tel: 401-863-2146
email: hay@brown.edu

Published in 2013

Collection Overview

Title:	Harcourt Brown papers
Date range:	circa 1940-1957
Creator:	Brown, Harcourt, 1900-
Extent:	1.25 Linear feet
Abstract:	The Harcourt Brown papers contain correspondence, course materials, and office files dated from circa 1940 to 1957. Some of the correspondence is related to the periodical Annals of Science, edited by Professor Brown.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	John Hay Library , Special Collections
Collection number:	OF.1UF.B4

Scope & content

The Harcourt Brown papers contain correspondence, course materials, and office files dated from circa 1940 to 1957. Series I, Brown files, includes course materials and information regarding students, especially graduate students, in the Department of French and the Department of Romance Languages at Brown University. Series II comprises correspondence with Hunter Kellenberger and David Kossoff. The third series, French plays, contains materials regarding the play Amphitryon, including student papers about the play, and the playwright Virgilio Scapin. Series IV, Annals of Science, contains correspondence, arranged alphabetically. Brown was the Associate Editor of Annals of Science from 1935 to 1974. The final series, Additions, contains a range of unsorted materials appended to the collection.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Brown, Harcourt, 1900-

Subject Topics

• French language--Study and teaching
• Science--History--Periodicals

Document Types

• Letters (Correspondence)
• Office files

Subject Topics

• Education

Arrangement

The Harcourt Brown papers have been orgainzed into the following series:

Series I. Brown files Series II. Correspondence Series III. French plays Series IV. Annals of Science Series V. Unsorted materials

Biographical note

Harcourt Brown (1900-1990), a professor of French at Brown University, was born in Toronto, Canada, on May 30, 1900. He received his B.A. degree in modern languages in 1925 and his M.A. degree in French in 1926, both from the University of Toronto. He taught at Queen's College in Kingston, Ontario, and at Brooklyn College and the University of Rochester in the United States before earning his Ph.D. degree at Columbia in 1934. He taught at Washington University from 1935 until 1937, when he came to Brown as a professor of French language and literature. He became interested in the history of science, and his first book, written while he was at Columbia, was Scientific Organizations in Seventeen-century France (1620-1680). He became a member of the History of Science Society in 1934, and was its president in 1952. In 1938 he was awarded the Prix Moulin of the Academie des Sciences, Arts et Belles Lettres of Caen for his paper on French physician André Graindorge. He was one of the founders of the Annals of Science, and served as associate editor from 1935 to 1974. A collection of his papers, Science and Human Comedy: Natural Philosophy in French Literature from Rabelais to Maupertuis. was published in 1976. After retiring from teaching in 1969, he returned to Canada. Brown died on November 17, 1990 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials:	Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation:	Harcourt Brown papers, OF-1UF-B4, Brown University Archives.
Contact information:	John Hay Library , Special Collections Box A Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Tel: 401-863-2146 email: hay@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Brown University Library staff
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2013 January 28
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
Sponsor:	Processing funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Additional Information

Inventory

---