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Personal Papers of Hamilton P. Cady

 Collection
Call Number: PP 58

Overview

Hamilton Perkins Cady taught chemistry at the University of Kansas from 1898-1943. This collection consists of research notebooks, addresses, articles, patent drawings, and speeches related to his research and work at KU as well as personal papers and correspondence.

Dates

  • Creation: 1898 - 1943

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

No access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.

Biography of Hamilton P. Cady

Hamilton Perkins Cady was born May 2, 1874 outside Council Grove,Morris County, Kansas. After attending Carleton College, Cady received his A.B. in 1897 and his Ph.D. in 1903, both from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. He joined the KU faculty as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry in 1899 and reached full Professor status in 1911. In 1921 he was named chairman of the Department of Chemistry, retiring in 1942 as professor emeritus.

In 1905, after a 1903 discovery of a major natural gas well in Dexter, Kansas, Cady and his colleague David McFarland analyzed samples from the well. Through their analysis, they were able to extract helium from the sample, which hitherto had been thought to exist only on the sun and in rare minerals. Cady and McFarland began analyzing samples from other wells around the region and discovered helium was much more plentiful on Earth than previously known.

H. P. Cady married Stella Cornelia Gallup in 1900, with whom he had three children: Ruth Caroline, George Hamilton, and Helen Frances. Cady died in 1943.

Extent

1.25 Linear Feet (3 boxes + 2 oversize folders)

Language of Materials

English

Physical Location

PP 58

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gifts, Mrs. H.P. Cady, 1944; Alfred and Winnie Gallup, 2014.

Related Materials

Consult library staff regarding the availability of related photographs, biographical files, and scrapbooks.

Separated Materials

A scrapbook of Cady's is located with other oversize faculty scrapbooks in the University Archives.

Title
Guide to the Hamilton P. Cady Collection
Subtitle
Personal Papers of Hamilton P. Cady
Author
Finding aid prepared by ad, 2005; revised by skt, 2010; revised by jrw, 2015; revised by bd, 2017.
Date
2005
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Finding aid written in English.
Finding aid permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/10407/2150170661
Preferred citation
Hamilton P. Cady Collection, PP 58, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas

Repository Details

Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository

Contact:
1450 Poplar Lane
Lawrence KS 66045-7616 United States
785-864-4334