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William Firth Wells papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS-0065

Scope and Content Note

This collection contains William Firth Wells writings including some of his wife and collaborator, lectures, and photographs related to his research on sanitation, public health, and oystering. There are also papers related to his military service.

This collections is divided into five series: Series 1: Lectures and Course Work; Series 2: Miscellaneous Documents; Series 3: Oystering; Series 4: Personal Papers; Series 5: Public Health and Sanitation.

Dates

  • Creation: 1892-1950

Access restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Publication rights

Copyright has not been assigned to Washington College. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Washington College as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Biographical Information Note

William Firth Wells (1887-1963) was born August 25 in Boston, Massachusetts to Obadiah F. Wells (1855-1936) and Helen Davis Wells. He received his bachelor’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1910. Wells taught at Harvard University in both the School of Public Health and the Engineering College. During World War I he served with the 79th Division in the Division Surgeons Office Sanitary Corps., he received the rank of Captain. Wells studied matters relating to sanitation and public health and wrote papers including “Airborne Contagion and Air Hygiene. An Ecological Study of Droplet Infections” and “Artificial Purification of Oysters: A Report of Experiments Upon the Purification of Polluted Oysters by Placing Them in Water to Which Calcium Hypochlorite Has Been Added”. William married fellow scientist, airborne disease specialist, and co author to some of his work, Mildred Weeks (1892- ). He died September 1, 1963 in Washington D.C.

Extent

3.6 Cubic Feet (7 boxes and 1 oversize folder)

Language of Materials

English

Physical and Technical Access Restrictions

None.

Custodial history

Papers were found in the Patrick Henry House.

Acquisition information

Unknown.

Title
Finding Aid to the William Firth Wells Papers
Author
L. Sheldon
Date
2022
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Washington College Archives & Special Collections Repository

Contact:
300 Washington Avenue
Chestertown MD 21620