Papers of Charles Phelps Smyth

Charles Phelps Smyth (1895-1990) was an American physical chemist. Born in Clinton, New York on February 10, 1895, Smyth earned his A.B. in Chemistry (1916) and his M.A. in Chemistry (1917) from Princeton University. After earning his master’s degree, he worked as a Chemist at the National Bureau of Standards (1917-1918), where he worked on electroplating. Smyth served as an officer in the United States Army during the latter stages of World War I (1918-1919). Rising to the rank of First Lieutenant, he served in the Chemical Warfare Service of the U.S. Army’s Ordnance Corps. After his discharge from the military, Smyth attended graduate school at Harvard University, earning his Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1921. At Harvard, he studied under Nobel Laureate Theodore William Richards.

In 1920, Smyth accepted a teaching position at Princeton University’s Department of Chemistry, where he went on to enjoy a distinguished career. At Princeton, he became a recognized pioneer in the study of dielectrics and his chemical research was directed towards the increased knowledge of the structure of matter. He rose through the ranks of the Department of Chemistry’s faculty hierarchy, serving as Instructor (1920-1923), Assistant Professor (1923-1927), Professor (1938-1958), and David P. Jones Professor of Chemistry (1958-1963). Smyth retired from Princeton in 1963 and continued his association with the university as Professor Emeritus for many years afterwards (1963-1990).

Smyth was also noted for his contributions to the American war effort during World War II. From 1943 to 1945, he worked on the Manhattan Project at Princeton University. In 1945, he served on the highly secret Project ALSOS, an Anglo-American intelligence operation that sought to determine the state of Germany’s nuclear program and to keep the program’s assets and personnel from falling into the hands of the Soviet Union. In this capacity, Smythe discovered a centrifuge in Celle, Germany, which was used for uranium enrichment. He also assisted in locating and questioning several scientists involved with the German nuclear effort, including Paul Harteck, Paul Herold, Eberhardt Elbel, and Werner Osenberg.

Charles Phelps Smyth was the author of two books: Dielectric Constant and Molecular Structure (1931) and Dielectric Behavior and Structure (1955). He also served as the editor of Journal of Chemical Physics (1933-1936, 1952-1954) and authored numerous scientific journal articles. Smyth was an active member of several professional organizations, including the American Chemical Society, the American Philosophical Society, and the National Academy of Sciences. He was also a recipient of the Medal of Freedom (1947), the American Chemical Society’s Nichols Medal (1954), and an honorary degree from the University of Salford (1970).

Charles Phelps Smyth passed away in Bozeman, Montana on March 18, 1990.

Sources

Papers of Charles Phelps Smyth, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Charles Phelps Smyth Papers, Princeton University Library Special Collections, Princeton, New Jersey. - Charles Phelps Smyth Papers, 1918-1985 - Finding Aids (princeton.edu)

Kauzmann, Walter and John D. Roberts, Charles Phelps Smyth, 1895-1990. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences, 2010. - Smyth_Charles.pdf (nasonline.org)

Oral History with Charles P. Smyth, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. - https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/4j03d097t