A Social Archive of Invites, Photographs and Ephemera of Robert Simpson Woodward

Washington, DC, 1908. With the exception of minor soiling, the pieces in the collection are in excellent condition.. A collection of approximately forty (40) pieces of ephemera belonging to Robert Simpson Woodward, a distinguished Professor of Physics and Mathematics at Columbia University and later President of Carnegie Institution. The majority of the collection consists of invitations and corresponding ephemera such as programs, RSVP cards, envelopes, and calling cards. Some example items include: invitations to lectures and society meetings; an invitation to a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Royal Society; a lunch invitation to join the German Ambassador; a certificate enrolling him as a life member if the American Association for the Advancement of Science; an invitation to the annual dinner of the Periodical Publisher's Association of America; and a printed program for Carnegie Technical School's commencement week in 1908. The final item is a large sepia toned photograph (10" x 8"), printed by Portrait Studios Underwood and Underwood. This photograph comes in a folder. The smallest item in the collection measures approx. 2" by 3.75", and the largest measures approx. 12" by 9" Robert Simpson Woodward was born on July 21, 1849 in Rochester, MI to Lysander Woodward (1817 - 1880) and Peninah Axford Simpson (1825 - 1894). Robert first attended Rochester Academy, graduating in 1868. He went to the University of Michigan to study engineering and graduated in 1872. He worked as a geographer for the US geological survey from 1884 to 1890. He became a Professor of Mechanics at Columbia University in 1893 and in 1904 left that post to become President of Carnegie Institute of Washington, DC, where he remained until 1921. He was also President of several societies, such as American Mathematical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Robert married Martha Gretton Bond (1851 -1937) on March 1, 1876 in Detroit, MI. He had four children, Alice Woodward (1876-1878), Robert Simpson Woodward Jr (1879-1849), Karl Wilson Woodward (1881-1962) and William Lysander Woodward (1885-1946). He died June 29, 1924 in Washington, DC after a long illness.