Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Charles W. Trigg Papers

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0411
Creators:
Trigg, Charles W., 1898-1989 (chemist)
Dates:
1834-1961
Languages:
Collection is in
English
. Some materials in
German
and
French
.
Physical Description:
4.5 Cubic feet
13 boxes, 1 oversized folder
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Most material in this collection was generated by Trigg early in his career as an industrial research fellow at Mellon Institute, Pittsburgh, 1916-1920. It includes laboratory notebooks; formal weekly reports (typewritten) on his investigations; correspondence with his industrial sponsors; a few personal letters and some correspondence relating to his interest in coffee processing; his patents and correspondence relating to them; clippings and reprints of technical articles on tea and coffee processing and culture, 1883-1963; U.S. patents relating to these subjects, 1834-1921; foreign patents--British, French and German--1855-1918. Pamphlets contain technical articles on coffee and related subjects, including U.S. Department of Agriculture and Canadian government publications. Trigg's personal file of more than 5000 4" x 6" cards (mainly hand-written, arranged chronologically) reflect his extensive reading of technical literature; they contain bibliographical data and Trigg's brief abstractions.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged into six series.
Series 1: C.W. Trigg Work At Mellon Institute
Series 2: Personal Data and Patents of C.W. Trigg
Series 3: Abstracts From Technical Articles on Coffee and Tea
Series 4: Patents and Patent Abstracts
Series 5; Technical Publications
Series 6: Trigg Card File

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Charles W. Trigg (1898-1989) was born in Baltimore, Maryland. he graduated from the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute(1914); B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh (1917); and a M.A., University of Southern California (1931). He was an Industrial Research Fellow at Mellon Institute, Pittsburgh, 1916-1920, doing original research on processes for producing instant coffee. In 1920, he joined King Coffee Products Corporation, Detroit, as chief chemist. He later served in various college teaching positions; dean of instruction and lecturer, University of Southern California (1950-1963). During World War II, Trigg served as Lt. Cmdr., USNR. He published numerous articles in trade journals, was granted five patents related to coffee processing and was book review editor of the Journal of Recreational Mathematics. Trigg was considered one of the foremost recreational mathematicians of the twentieth century.

Administration

Author
Don Darroch
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection donated by Mrs. Charles W. Trigg, 1991, May 8.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Don Darroch, Archives Center volunteer.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Charles W. Trigg Papers, 1834-1961, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Related Materials
Materials at Other Organizations
University of Calgary Library
Charles W. Trigg fonds,1894-1986, predominant 1940-1986
11.7 m of textual records consisting of correspondence; research material on a broad range of mathematical topics; manuscripts of mathematical articles, notes, calculations and solutions to mathematical problems; and published work.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Caffeine Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Detroit (Mich.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chemists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographic prints Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Notes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Clippings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Laboratory notebooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Reprints Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Patents Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Publications Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Reports Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Coffee, Instant Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tea Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Coffee Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Coffee -- Processing Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence -- 1930-1950 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pamphlets Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Abstracts Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Typescripts -- 1910-1920 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Notebooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Carnegie-Mellon Institute (Pittsburgh, Pa.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
King Coffee Products Corporation Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
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