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William Band Papers, 1857-1989

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Band, William, 1906-1993
Title
William Band Papers
Dates
1857-1989 (inclusive)
Quantity
4 Linear feet of shelf space, (9 Boxes)
Collection Number
Cage 617 (collection)
Summary
The papers of William Band consist chiefly of diaries, manuscripts of publications, and scattered correspondence. Also included are documents concerning Band's ancestors and family.
Repository
Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open and available for research use.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

William Band was born in Liscard, Cheshire, England, on August 27, 1906, one of two sons born to William D. Band and Amy L. Cooke. He attended Liscard High School, where he excelled in Mathematics, and graduated in 1922 after satisfying the exams for the Higher School Certificate. At the University of Liverpool, which he entered in the fall of 1923, he concentrated in the study of physics and graduated with honors in 1926, winning the Oliver J. Lodge Prize. He became a candidate for the MsSc degree and graduated in 1927.

Upon graduation, Band served in China at Yenching University, a position he favored over study for a PhD at Cambridge. While on a short trip back to England in 1931, he married Claire May Edwards, whom he had met while teaching Sunday School at Liverpool. They arrived at Yenching on August 31, 1931, shortly before the Japanese invaded Manchuria on September 18. He was Chairman of the Physics department at Yenching until 1944, where, besides teaching quantum mechanics and relativity, he developed a research program for the MS degree.

Yenching University was founded in 1916 by John Leighton Stuart as a missionary institution in the continued effort to spread Christianity through education in China, under auspices of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States and the Division of Foreign Missions of the Board of Missions of the Methodist Church of the United States and the United Kingdom.

Band's service at Yenching was interrupted as a result of the outbreak of war between the United States and Japan. Band and his wife were evacuated by the Chinese Communists with whom they spent over two years on a thousand-mile journey to freedom until they reached Chunking in 1944. A book, "Dragon Fangs", based on their diaries of wartime experiences in China, was published in 1947. It was published later in the United States under the title "Two Years with the Chinese Communists".

Back in England on furlough, William Band was awarded his PhD by the University of Liverpool as a result of his research in physics. In 1946 he was granted a fellowship at the Institute for the Study of Metals of the University of Chicago where he stayed until 1949. In 1949 he moved to the State College of Washington as Professor of Physics. During each summer between 1955 and 1966 he worked as Senior Physicist at the Poulter Laboratories of the Stanford Research Institute, on the theory of shock propagation in solids. He was appointed Chairman of the Department of Physics at Washington State College in 1960, and served in this position in 1968, continuing his research activities until well after his retirement in 1971, and publishing extensively in all the major professional journals. In 1972 he was honored by colleagues from all over the world for his Physical Cluster Theory. He also published an introduction to mathematical physics and an introduction to quantum statistics. He was a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and Physical Society, London, and Fellow of the American Physical Society. William Band died in 1993.

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Content Description

The papers of William Band consist chiefly of diaries, manuscripts of publications, and scattered correspondence. Also included are documents concerning Band's ancestors and family.

Series 1, Diaries, consists of those diaries which Band and his wife kept and cover the years 1936-1986.

Series 2, Manuscripts, is divided into three Subseries, a) Autobiography, b) Drawings, and c) Published works, which incorporates the manuscripts for Dragon Fangs and well as scientific manuscripts and reprints.

Series 3, Family and Personal Documentation, includes the story of the Band business in Liverpool, and passports, special permits, etc.

Series 4, General Correspondence, covers a variety of matters' it also includes letters of recognition received upon the occasion of Dr. Band's retirement, and review clippings regarding his book "Dragon Fangs".

Series 5, Yenching University files, consist of reprints of publications that were of professional interest, and others concerned with developments in China.

Series 6, Photographs, includes photograph albums, some with photographs from China, and sets of slides taken during his visits to England and various localities in the United States.

Series 7 is Ephemera.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions apply.

Preferred Citation

[Item description]

William Band Papers, 1857-1989 (Cage 617)

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The papers have been arranged into seven series.

Acquisition Information

The papers of William Band were donated by Mr Band to the Washington State University Libraries in several installments received from 1989 through 1993 (MS89-08, MS89-25; MS89-30; MS89-38; MS89-47; MS89-48; MS89-64; and MS93-08).

Processing Note

This collection was processed in November 1994 by Jose Vargas.

Separated Materials

Gore's Directory of Liverpool and Environs was removed for separate cataloging (formerly in box 5, folder 33). Call number: DA690 L8 G67 1849.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

  • Series 1: Diaries

    • Dates: 1939 August 27 - 1944 March 02
      Container: Box 1, Folder 1
    • Dates: 1944 January 01 - 1944 December 31
      Container: Box 1, Folder 2
    • Dates: 1945 January 01 - 1945 December 31
      Container: Box 1, Folder 3
    • Dates: 1946 January 01 - 1950 December 31
      Container: Box 1, Folder 4
    • Dates: 1951 January 01 - 1955 December 31
      Container: Box 1, Folder 5
    • Dates: 1956 January 01 - 1960 December 31
      Container: Box 1, Folder 6
    • Dates: 1961 January 01 - 1965 December 31
      Container: Box 1, Folder 7
    • Dates: 1966 January 01 - 1970 December 31
      Container: Box 1, Folder 8
    • Dates: 1971 January 01 - 1975 December 31
      Container: Box 1, Folder 9
    • Dates: 1976 January 01 - 1980 December 31
      Container: Box 1, Folder 10
    • Dates: 1981 January 01 - 1985 December 31
      Container: Box 1, Folder 11
  • Series 2: Manuscripts

  • Series 3: Family and personal documentation

  • Series 4: Correspondence

    • Description: "Two Years with the Chinese Communists" / "Dragon Fangs", book review clippings
      Container: Box 6, Folder 38
    • Description: "Two Years with the Chinese Communists", reviews
      Container: Box 6, Folder 39
    • Description: "Two Years with the Chinese Communists". George Allen and Unwin, Ltd., contract,
      Dates: 1945
      Container: Box 6, Folder 40
    • Description: British Council,
      Dates: 1944-1945
      Container: Box 6, Folder 41
    • Description: Yenching University, Retirement,
      Dates: 1936-1971
      Container: Box 6, Folder 42
    • Description: Furlough,
      Dates: 1944, 1946
      Container: Box 6, Folder 43
    • Description: Letter of recognition upon retirement,
      Dates: 1972
      Container: Box 6, Folder 44
    • Description: Correspondence, miscellaneous,
      Dates: 1958 - 1988
      Container: Box 6, Folder 45
    • Description: Correspondence, Blanche Chaytnor to William and Claire Band,
      Dates: 1988 - 1989
      Container: Box 6, Folder 46
    • Description: William Band Papers, notes on material received at MASC, W.S.U.,
      Dates: 1992 - 1993
      Container: Box 6, Folder 47
  • Series 5: Yenching University Files

    • Description: "Science in the Christian Universities in Chengtu, China," by William Band. Pamphlet published by The Associated Boards for Christian Colleges in China, (2 copies)
      Dates: undated [marked 1945 in pencil]
      Container: Box 7, Folder 48
    • Description: "Our University in Peking." Pamphlet published by the Yenching University,
      Dates: undated
      Container: Box 7, Folder 49
    • Description: Yenching alumni and former faculty in the United States and Canada
      Container: Box 7, Folder 50
    • Description: "The Place of Science in China," by Yap Pow-meng Pamphlet published by The China Campaign Committee,
      Dates: undated
      Container: Box 7, Folder 51
    • Description: "The Beginnings of Chemical Research in China," by William H. Adolph. Reprinted from "Peking Natural History Bulletin" 18 (3): 145-150,
      Dates: 1950
      Container: Box 7, Folder 52
    • Description: List of Publications from the College of Natural Science of Yenching University -
      Dates: 1930 July 01 - 1931 June 30
      Container: Box 7, Folder 53
    • Description: Associated Boards for Christian Colleges in China – Annual Report
      Dates: 1945 June 30
      Container: Box 7, Folder 54
    • Description: "Yenching Revue",
      Dates: 1935 May 10
      Container: Box 7, Folder 55
    • Description: United Board for Christian Colleges in China – Annual Report for the Year Ending
      Dates: 1953 June 30
      Container: Box 7, Folder 56
    • Description: "The Geographical Magazine". Volume XVIII, No. 5,
      Dates: 1945 September
      Container: Box 7, Folder 57
    • Description: "New Horizons". Volume XXI, No. 1
      Dates: 1953
      Container: Box 7, Folder 58
    • Description: Miscellaneous Items on Science in the China Colleges, compiled b Charles H. Corbett
      Container: Box 7, Folder 59
    • Description: "The Asiatic Review", Vol. XVII, No. 152
      Container: Box 7, Folder 60
    • Description: "Yenching Physics News. No. 4title>"Yenching>,
      Dates: 1938 November
      Container: Box 7, Folder 61
    • Description: "Yenching Physics News. No. 6",
      Dates: 1939 November
      Container: Box 7, Folder 62
    • Description: "Yenching Physics News. No. 8",
      Dates: 1939 November
      Container: Box 7, Folder 63
    • Description: "The Place of Physics in the Rural Reconstruction of China," by William Band, Dept. of Physics, Yenching University,
      Dates: 1935 February
      Container: Box 7, Folder 64
    • Description: "Peregrinations with Joseph Needham in China, 1943-44", by H.T. Huang. Reprinted from "Explorations in the History of Science and Technology in China", pp 40-75, Shanghai,
      Dates: 1982
      Container: Box 7, Folder 65
  • Series 6: Photographs

  • Series 7: Ephemera

    • Description: Journeymen Tailor's List of Prices (Liverpool),
      Dates: undated
      Container: Box 9, Folder 83
    • Description: The Liverpool University Physical Society Meeting. Cartoon,
      Dates: 1928 March
      Container: Box 9, Folder 84
    • Description: Currency
      Container: Box 9, Folder 85
    • Description: R.M.S. "Media" List of Passengers
      Container: Box 9, Folder 86
    • Description: W.S.U. invitation for reception for W. Band,
      Dates: 1989
      Container: Box 9, Folder 87
    • Description: Liscard High School. Distribution of Prizes, Program,
      Dates: 1923 March 22
      Container: Box 9, Folder 88
    • Description: The Chairman, Vol. 1, No. 2,
      Dates: 1922 December
      Container: Box 9, Folder 89
    • Description: The Liscard High School Magazine,
      Dates: 1924 April
      Container: Box 9, Folder 90
    • Description: Notebook with miscellaneous notes
      Container: Box 9, Folder 91
    • Description: Bookmarks
      Container: Box 9, Folder 92
    • Description: Handmade wooden chess set
      Container: Box 9, Folder 93