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Herman F. Mark Collection

Call Number

RG.002

Dates

1918-2013, inclusive
; 1928-1992, bulk

Creator

Extent

50 Linear Feet (30 boxes)

Language of Materials

Materials entirely in English.

Language of Materials

Most materials are in English with some in German, Hebrew, Latin, Russian, and one in Japanese.

Abstract

The Herman Mark Collection documents the personal and profession life of Herman Francis Mark, the Father of Polymer Science. During his fifty years at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, Mark developed the field of polymer science in the United States, published over 600 articles, and founded the Institute of Polymer Research, the first graduate program of its kind in America.

Biographical / Historical

Herman Francis Mark, The Father of Polymer Science, was born in Vienna on May 3, 1895. Although his schooling was interrupted by World War I, in which he served on the front lines as well as spending a year as a prisoner of war, he managed to complete his doctoral dissertation on the synthesis and characterization of the pentaphenyl ethyl free radical. His doctoral advisor, Wilhelm Schlenk, subsequently offered Mark a position at the University of Berlin in 1921.

Mark's position at the university had barely begun when he was offered a job at the Institute for Fiber Research at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. Here he worked on projects including x-ray crystallographic, refraction, and polarization studies. In 1926 he took a position at I.G. Farbenindustrie to study the production of synthetic fibers. At the start of World War II, he sought employment outside of Germany, becoming a professor of chemistry at the University of Vienna in 1932. There he designed a curriculum in polymer chemistry.

With the Nazi threat looming, Mark and his family prepared to escape Europe by covertly buying bits of platinum wire and twisting it into coat hangers in order to accumulate money for travel and a new life. By the time the Mark family escaped to Canada, they had amassed $50,000 in platinum wire.

Herman Mark joined the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (PIB) as an adjunct professor in 1940. Mark's position at PIB, as well as his relationships with DuPont and the wartime Office of Scientific Research and Development, led to further developments in polymer research. In 1947, the Institute of Polymer Research was founded at PIB; the first graduate program of its kind in America. Mark continued his relationship with PIB for over 50 years. He died in 1992.

The discipline of polymer science that Mark helped to establish is now a vital branch of chemistry. Polymers, macromolecules formed synthetically by uniting monomers, have high viscosity, elasticity, and strength. The first synthetic fiber, nylon, was a result of Mark's work in polymers. Today many scientific companies conduct polymer research.

Sources:

"Herman Francis Mark" nap.edu. The National Academies Press Biographical Memoirs. n.d. Web. 29 Aug. 2012.

Rodengen, Jeffrey L, and Mickey Murphy. Changing the World: Polytechnic University - - the First 150 Years. Fort Lauderdale, FL: Write Stuff Enterprises, Inc, 2005. Print.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into eleven series, by subject:

This collection is arranged into eleven series, by subject:

List

  1. Personal and Biographical
  2. Correspondence
  3. Writings
  4. Publications
  5. Subject Files
  6. Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn and the Polymer Research Institute
  7. Photographs
  8. Framed Photographs and Documents
  9. Magnetic Media
  10. Personal Items and Miscellaneous
  11. Collection Provenance and Information

Scope and Contents

The collection contains professional and personal items of Herman Mark, including publications, pre-prints and drafts, notes, photographs, slides, awards, correspondence, festschrift, government documents, professional contacts, audio and video tapes. The VHS and U-matic tapes were digitized in 2013 and are stored on a local server.

The bulk of the collection relates to Mark's tenure at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (1940-1990), although some documents and photographs detail his early years in Vienna and his final years in Texas. Mark was a beloved figure at Polytechnic and beyond, as documented by his Polytechnic birthday symposia celebrations and birthday wishes from around the world.

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Hans Mark were transferred to New York University in 2016 by Hans Mark. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the Poly Archives. Please contact the Poly Archives, polyarchives@nyu.edu, 646-997-3530.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; Herman F. Mark Collection; RG 002; box number; folder number or item identifier; Poly Archives at Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology, New York University.

Location of Materials

Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology 5 MetroTech Center Brooklyn, New York, 11201 (646) 997-3943 polyarchives@nyu.edu

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Hans Mark in 2016.

Collection processed by

Lindsay Anderberg

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-09-07 12:08:36 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description is written in: Undetermined, Code for undetermined script script.

Processing Information

Finding aid revised and edited by Zoe Blecher-Cohen, Mandy Abokhair, and Aileen Thong in 2021 to update the institutional change from NYU-Poly to NYU and for compliance with DACS Required Elements for Archival Description.

Revisions to this Guide

November 2021: Finding aid revised and edited by Zoe Blecher-Cohen, Mandy Abokhair, and Aileen Thong in 2021 to update the institutional change from NYU-Poly to NYU and for compliance with DACS Required Elements for Archival Description.

Repository

Poly Archives at the Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology, NYU Libraries
Poly Archives at Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology
Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology
5 MetroTech Center
Brooklyn, NY 11201