Knox Family papers

The papers of the Knox family of New Bedford, Massachusetts, document the personal and professional life of professor and chemist, Dr. William J. Knox Jr., who helped develop the atomic bomb; his brother, Clinton E. Knox, who served as Ambassador to Haiti from 1969-1973; and their sister, Alberta Mary Knox Eatmon, a school teacher. The collection includes correspondence, collected news clippings, photographs, and yearbooks.

Correspondence consists of letters to and from Dr. William J. Knox, Jr. (1941-1989) and includes letters of note from Knox's Harvard classmates, writer and professor, Cecil Archibald Blue, and sociologist, William Boyd Allison Davis.  A small amount of Alberta Knox Eatmon's correspondence is contained within the collection and consists of mainly letters from various family members and former students. Additional correspondents include: Harold C. Urey, Director of War Research, Atomic Bomb Project; Hugh Morris Gloster, President of Morehouse College; and Christopher Edley, lawyer and President of the United Negro College Fund.

Biographical data is available for Clinton Everett Knox including his resume (circa 1973). Collected memorabilia programs document the family's activities, such as commencement exercises, panel discussions, and church services. Programs of note include the 1925 Harvard Class Day program that belonged to William J. Knox Jr. and his program from the 1929 graduation exercises at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as Alberta Knox Eaton's program from Rutgers University's commencement in 1931. Additional materials include certificates and yearbooks.

A small amount of the clippings relate to Clinton Knox's kidnapping while serving as the United States Ambassador to Haiti. Also of interest are clippings concerning accomplishments made by Rochester's African American citizens including, Frederick Douglass, Frank Robinson, Cab Calloway, and William Warfield. The contributions of Dr. Walter Cooper, research scientist at Eastman Kodak are highlighted within the news clippings and a collected speech and curriculum vitae is also available within the collection.

Photographs include studio portraits, professional, and amateur shots. Among noted individuals found within the photographs are German Ambassador General Raymond Huesch and Pope Pius XII. Lastly, the collection contains a scrapbook that celebrates the retirement of educator, Alberta Knox Eatmon.