Daniel Kirkwood papers, 1864-1895
A Guide to his Papers at the Indiana University Archives
Finding aid prepared by Jaye Bausser
Summary Information
Repository
Indiana University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives
Creator
Kirkwood, Daniel, 1814-1895
Extent
.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Language
Materials are in English unless otherwise
indicated.
TitleDaniel Kirkwood papers, 1864-1895
Collection No.
C52
Abstract
Daniel Kirkwood was an astronomer and
professor of mathematics at Indiana University almost continuously from 1856 until 1886.
Collection consists of papers of Daniel Kirkwood in two series: Correspondence and
Publications. Correspondence, 1864-1895, consists of both incoming and outgoing
correspondence. Some noted correspondents are Cyrus Nutt, president of Indiana
University 1860-1875, Joseph Swain, IU president, 1893-1902, astronomer Sherburne W.
Burnham, and Arthur C. Mellette, governor of the Dakota Territory from 1861-1889. The
Publications series, 1864-1891, consists of articles written by Kirkwood. Several of the
publications are photocopies of the originals.
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research. Advance notice required.
Biographical Note
Daniel Kirkwood was an astronomer and professor of mathematics at Indiana University
almost continuously from 1856 until 1886.
He was born 27 September 1814 in Harford County, Maryland to John and Agnes (Hope)
Kirkwood. After attending school in his home county, Kirkwood began his career as a
teacher in 1833, at Hopewell, Pennsylvania. In 1834 Kirkwood entered the York County
Academy. A short time later, in 1838, he was appointed mathematical instructor.
Kirkwood's first college position was in Delaware College, Newark, Delaware, where he
was professor of mathematics 1851-1856. During his last two years at the college he also
served as college president. After departing Delaware for financial reasons, he came to
Indiana University, where he served for 30 years as professor of mathematics, 1856-1886.
Kirkwood died 11 June 1895 in Riverside, California.
Over the course of his career, Kirkwood published well over one hundred articles. Noted
articles are his 1849 article for the Proceedings of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, where he first published his formula for the rotation periods of
the planets and another article for Proceedings in 1866 where he identified the
"Kirkwood Gaps" in the orbits of the minor planets, or asteroids. He accomplished this
at a time when only about 50 asteroids had been discovered. For these findings, he is
known throughout the world.
In Bloomington, Kirkwood's memory is honored by Kirkwood Avenue (1885), Kirkwood Hall
(1895), and Kirkwood Observatory (1900). In 1995, he was added to the Monroe County Hall
of Fame.
Arrangement
The collection is organized in two series: Correspondence and Publications.
Scope and Content Note
The Daniel Kirkwood papers are organized in two series, Correspondence and
Publications.
The Correspondence series is arranged alphabetically by the last name of the
correspondent and then chronologically within the folder. The correspondence dating late
December 1876 and early January 1877 are all letters from individuals relating a
meteoric event they experienced December 21.
The Publications series is arranged chronologically. Several of the publications are
photocopies of the originals.
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Indexing Terms
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The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
IUCAT, the IU Libraries' online
catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by searching the
catalog using these terms.
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Names
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Kirkwood, Daniel,
1814-1895 --Correspondence.
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Kirkwood, Daniel,
1814-1895 --Archives.
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Swain, Joseph,
1857-1927 --Correspondence.
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Nutt, Cyrus,
1814-1875 --Correspondence.
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Mellette, Arthur
Calvin, 1842-1896 --Correspondence.
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Burnham, S. W.
(Sherburne Wesley), 1838-1921 --Correspondence.
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Swain, Joseph,
1857-1927.
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Nutt, Cyrus,
1814-1875.
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Mellette, Arthur Calvin,
1842-1896.
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Burnham, S. W. (Sherburne
Wesley), 1838-1921.
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Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Accession 0012
Usage RestrictionsThe donor(s) of this collection have not transferred their copyrights for the materials to the Trustees of Indiana University.
For more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.
The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of others and does not claim any copyrights for
non-university records, materials in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift. Responsibility
for the determination of the copyright status of these materials rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials.
Researchers are responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights holders for any reuse of these
materials that extends beyond fair use or other statutory limitations.
Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives are made available for noncommercial educational
and research purposes only. If you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have questions about its
inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University Archivist.
Preferred Citation
[Item], Daniel Kirkwood papers, Collection C52, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.
Processing informationProcessed by Jaye Bausser, 2003.
Updated in 2011 by Dina M. Kellams.
Series:
Correspondence, 1866-1895
Comstock, M. L. and Roberts, J. B., 24 December 1876
View item(s)
Swain, Joseph,
circa 25 January
1895
View item(s)
re: Kirkood Hall dedication
Series:
Publications, 1864-1891
Kirkwood, Daniel.
Box 1
"The Comet."
Bloomington Indiana Telephone
(June 3, 18--).
View item(s)
"On Certain Harmonies of the Solar System"
American Journal of Science and Arts 38, no 12
(July
1864) : 1-18.
View item(s)
"Note on the Planetary Distances"
American Journal of Science and Arts 39
(January
1865) : 1-4.
View item(s)
"The November Meteors"
Iowa Instructor and School Journal 7, no. 4
(January
1866) : 107-111.
View item(s)
"The Aurora Borealis of February 20th, 1866"
Iowa Instructor and School Journal 7, no. 7
(April
1866) : 212-213.
View item(s)
"On the Shower of November, Meteors as Observed at Bloomington,
Indiana, November 13-14, 1868"
(1868) :
541-542.
View item(s)
"On the Nebular Hypothesis, and the Approximate Commensurability of
the Planetary Periods"
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Containing Papers, Abstracts of Papers, and Reports of the Proceedings of
The Society
29 (November 1868-June
1869) : 96-103. (Photocopy).
View item(s)
"The Asteroids, or Minor Planets."
Indiana Student 3, no. 4 (December 15,
1868) : 1. (Photocopy).
View item(s)
"On the Periodicity of the Solar Spots."
(April 2,
1869) : 93-102.
View item(s)
"On Comets and Meteors."
American Philosophical Society 10 10 (?), no. 2
(?) (November
19, 1869) : 215-220.
View item(s)
"On the Periods of Certain Meteoric Rings."
(March 4,
1870) : 299-300.
View item(s)
"On the Mass of Asteroids between Mars and Jupiter."
(August 19,
1870) : 498.
View item(s)
"On the Great Sun-Spot of June, 1843."
American Journal of Science and
Arts
1 (April 1871).
View item(s)
"The Asteroids Between Mars and Jupiter." In
Annual Report of Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution,
358-371. Washington, D. C.
1877.
(Photocopy).
View item(s)
"The Divisions in Saturn's Rings," Correspondence to the
Editor.
The Observatory, A Monthly Review of
Astronomy
7 (1883) : 335-337. (Photocopy).
View item(s)
"The Comet of 1866 and the Meteors of November 14," Speech read
before the American Philosophical Society
(July 17,
1885) : 424-428.
View item(s)
"On the Similarity of Certain Orbits in the Zone of the
Asteroids."
Publications of the Astronomical Society of the
Pacific
3 (1891) : 95-97. (Photocopy).
View item(s)