Rare Books + Manuscripts 

The Historical Manuscripts Collection focuses on individuals who have been associated with the Johns Hopkins University. The collection is strong in the history of science, especially physics and chemistry; literary manuscripts of Hopkins-related authors; and the history of higher education.  All presidents of The Johns Hopkins University are documented, from Daniel Coit Gilman through the current president. Personal papers for Daniel Coit Gilman (MS. 1), Ira Remsen (MS. 39), Frank Johnson Goodnow (MS. 3), Joseph Sweetman Ames (MS. 61), and Isaiah Bowman (MS. 58) are part of the Manuscripts unit of Special Collections. Gilman's personal papers and presidential records are combined into one manuscript collection.

Of Hopkins' original six faculty members, three are documented by manuscript collections: Ira Remsen (who served as Hopkins' first professor of chemistry prior to becoming its second president); Henry A. Rowland, professor of physics, (MS. 6); and philologist Basil L. Gildersleeve (MS. 5). Other prominent faculty members documented by manuscript collections include Herbert B. Adams (MS. 4), Sidney Lanier (MS. 7), George Boas (MS. 10), Arthur O. Lovejoy (MS. 38), Abel Wolman (MS. 105), and Hugh L. Dryden (MS. 147). Other faculty are represented by manuscript collections of various sizes.

These papers are a significant resource for the history of higher education in the United States, especially graduate programs, in which the Johns Hopkins University was a pioneer. Herbert Baxter Adams, one of whose students was Woodrow Wilson, had an important influence on the teaching of history in this country, and his ideas and methods show clearly in his papers.

Use this box to search all the archival and manuscripts collections at JHU. To browse a list of manuscript collections, click here.

Peabody Library

Rare Books

University Archives

Manuscripts

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