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National Radium Institute Collection

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 0029

Scope and Contents

Contains reports, clippings, financial records, and correspondence related to the National Radium Institute and associated individuals, companies, and governmental departments, as well as materials from the Journal of American Chemical Society and Radium American Mining Congress. Includes records relating to James Douglas and James Ewing.

Dates

  • 1913 - 1921

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Material is stored off site and requires three business days advance notice for retrieval. To inquire about the collection, please contact the MSK Archivist.

Conditions Governing Use

Due to the sensitive nature of some of the content within MSK’s collections, advance permission is needed before citing or reproducing collection content. To inquire about the collection, please contact the MSK Archivist.

Biographical / Historical

The National Radium Institute (NRI) was incorporated in Delaware and Colorado in 1913. The development of the NRI was initiated and directed by James A. Douglas of Phelps Dodge and Company, affiliated with Memorial Hospital, and Howard A. Kelley of Johns Hopkins University, who collaborated with the U.S. Bureau of Mines in the establishment of an organization devoted to the mining and extraction of radium. The Bureau of Mines provided technical support and supervision for mining processes, while the NRI provided capital. Radium produced by the NRI was provided to the hospitals with which Douglas and Kelley were affiliated for use in research on radium in the treatment of cancer. The NRI was dissolved by early 1920.

Extent

2.6 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Title
National Radium Institute Collection
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Special Collections and Archives Repository

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