William Mansfield Clark Papers, American Philosophical Society

A long-time member of the faculty at Johns Hopkins, the biochemist William Mansfield Clark made significant contributions to the understanding of oxidation-reduction potentials of organic systems. This collection of Clark's professional papers includes drafts of manuscripts and correspondence, especially with James B. Conant and Barnett Cohen, relating to Clark's life and research. Of particular note are Clark's Cutter lectures at Harvard in 1930 and his correspondence with Eric G. Ball, when Ball worked in Otto Warburg's lab in Berlin in 1937-1938. Clark's participation in professional organizations is reflected in correspondence with the Society of American Bacteriologists and with the Journal of Biological Chemistry, as well as with colleagues Stanley Benedict and Rudolph Anderson. There is some material relating to Clark's lectures and papers, and there are four student notebooks (physical chemistry, optics, thermodynamics/physics), and twenty-three miscellaneous scientific notebooks, 1941-1953.

Background note

A pioneer in the field of biochemistry, William Mansfield Clark (1884-1964) was born on August 17, 1884, the only son of Caroline Scoville Hopson (1840-1928) and James Starr Clark (1822-1914), an Episcopal minister from Tivoli Township, New York. The Clarks endowed William and his sisters Margaret, also known as "Daisy" (who later married the biologist Francis B. Sumner), and Anna with an exceptional education. William Clark was first educated first at the Trinity School, which his father had founded and administered, and after receiving a scholarship, he graduated from the Hotchkiss School in 1903. At Williams College, he studied under Leverett Mears, and received a B.A. and M.A. in 1907 and 1908 respectively, before moving to Johns Hopkins as a student of Harmon Morse. Clark received his PhD in 1910 for a dissertation entitled, "A Contribution to the Investigation of the Temperature Coefficient of Osmotic Pressure: A Redetermination of the Osmotic Pressures of Cane Sugar Solutions at 20°." While at Hopkins, Clark spent his summers at the recently established chemistry laboratory at Wood's Hole, Mass., where he served as the assistant to Carl Alsberg and later, Donald D. Van Slyke.

Clark's first professional position came as a research chemist with the Dairy Division of the Bureau of Animal Industry, United States Department of Agriculture, working under the direction of Lore A. Rogers. Before he resigned in June 1920, Clark worked on a variety of problems in dairy bacteriology, and, with his colleague Herbert A. Lubs, started studies in hydrogen-ion concentration. It was through these studies that Clark and Lubs developed and defined the concept of pH, resulting in Clark's seminal book, The Determination of Hydrogen Ions (1920, 1923, 1928). H. B. Vickery writes of the book, "[it] brought about what amounted to a revolution in bacteriological laboratories and exerted a profound influence upon all aspects of biochemistry where the measurement and control of acidity are matters of importance."¹

Remaining in the government service, Clark took a position at the Hygiene Laboratory of the U.S. Public Health Service in July, 1920, where he remained until 1927. As had been the case at the Dairy Division, Clark was given wide latitude in pursuing his research interests, which, as Clark himself wrote, increasingly focused "in measurements of oxidation-reduction potentials and their systematic formulation."² Clark and others undertook the reporting of their findings in a series of papers entitled, "Studies on Oxidation-Reduction," many of which were co-authored with his long-time friend and colleague Barnett Cohen. The first of these articles was published in 1923, the last, number 24, in 1956.

Clark continued his research into oxidation-reduction potentials when he accepted an appointment as DeLamar Professor of Physiological Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. During his 25 years at Hopkins, from 1927 to 1952, Clark expanded his research program into ligand and metalloporphyrin systems, and he developed the concept of a "chemical continuum." In addition to laboratory research, he carried a full load of teaching and administrative responsibilities.

By all accounts, Clark was much respected as both a teacher and administrator. His desire to provide his medical students with a proper background in chemistry led him to write the enormously successful textbook, Topics in Physical Chemistry (1948, 1952). Clark clearly valued his teaching duties, writing, "[t]houghtful easement of the acquirement of knowledge is an essential part of the economics and of the aesthetics of education. It should not be regarded as less than among the tougher of intellectual jobs."³ In addition to teaching, writing, and conducting research, Clark served on the editorial board of the Journal of Biological Chemistry from 1933 until 1952.

During World War II, Clark served as chair of the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, National Research Council; was a consultant to both the Committee on Medical Research of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, and the National Defense Research Committee; was chair, and later a member, of the Committee on Biological Warfare, National Academy of Sciences; a member of the Committee on Quartermaster Problems, National Academy of Sciences; and a member of the National Academy of Sciences Council. Among the more important developments emerging from Clarks's frenzied wartime activity was the testing and development of antimalarial agents for the U.S. military. As a member of the Board for the Coordination of Malaria Studies, Clark was heavily involved in testing the most successful agent of the time, quinacrine, and in searching for new antimalarial compounds.

In 1952, Clark retired from Hopkins and was appointed DeLamar Emeritus Professor and Research Professor of Chemistry. Succeeded as the DeLamar Professor by Albert Lehninger, Clark moved from his laboratory at the medical school to one on the university's Homewood campus, where he continued his research, while maintaining a regular schedule of publication and teaching. His last book, Oxidation-Reduction Potentials of Organic Systems, appeared in 1960. Clark was working on a revision at this book, an exhaustive survey of research in the field, at the time of his death in Baltimore on January 19, 1964. He was survived by two daughters, Harriet Allen (Mrs. Everett B. Gladding) and Miriam Clark, from his marriage, on 14 September 1910, to Rose Willard Goddard (d. 1958).

Clark received a number of honors and awards during his career, including election to the National Academy of Sciences (1928) and the American Philosophical Society (1939); election as President of the Society of American Bacteriologists and of the American Society of Biological Chemists (1933 and 1934); and selection for the Cutter Lectures on Preventive Medicine (1930), as Harvey Lecturer (Fall 1933); and as Remsen Memorial Lecturer (1952). He received honorary degrees from Williams College (1935) and the University of Pennsylvania (1940), and was awarded the William H. Nichols Medal of the New York Section, American Chemical Society (1936), the Borden Award (1944); the President's Certificate of Merit (1948); the Passano Award (1957); and the Award of Merit of the Maryland Section, American Chemical Society (1963).

Footnotes

H. B. Vickery, "William Mansfield Clark," National Academy of Sciences, Biographical Memoirs 39:1-36 (includes bibliography). Another biographical treatment is found in the APS Yearbook 1965:116-120.
William M. Clark, "Notes on a Half-Century of Research, Teaching and Administration," Annual Review of Biochemistry 31 (1962).
Clark, "Notes on a Half-Century of Research, Teaching and Administration," 11.

Scope and content

The William Mansfield Clark Papers (1903-1964) contain correspondence; subject files; research notes by Clark; calendars, engagement books, and appointment notes; manuscripts of published and unpublished works by Clark; manuscripts and research notes by colleagues; and photographs documenting Clark's career as a biochemist.

The papers (17 boxes; 7.5 linear feet) are divided into six series:


Series I	Correspondence: 1903-1964	(7 boxes; 3.50 linear feet)
Series II	Subject Files: 1903-1963	(2 boxes; 1.00 linear feet)
Series III	Research Notes, Notebooks, and Calendars: 1907-1962	(3 boxes; 1.25 linear feet)
Series IV	Works by Clark: 1917-1963	(3 boxes; 1.25 linear feet)
Series V	Works by Others: 1921-[1952]	(1 box; 0.25 linear feet)
Series VI	Photographs: 1929-1945	(1 box; 0.25 linear feet)

Cross referencing to oversized material appears in the container lists of this finding aid. Photographs and negatives have been removed from Series I-V and placed in Series VI. Cross references for photographs appear in the original series.

Administrative information

Restrictions

None.

Provenance

The Clark Papers were donated by Miriam G. Clark in 1977 (Acc. no. 1977-1203ms) after initial contact with the Survey of Sources for the History of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, a joint committee of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. An addition to the collection was donated in 1980 by Miriam G. Clark and her sister, Harriet Clark Gladding, and presented by John T. Edsall on 29 June 1982 (Acc. no. 1982-861ms). Edsall wrote brief reports surveying the material in each donation. The papers donated in 1977 were originally processed by the Library prior to the receipt of the 1980 donation. The second donation, which contained material similar in form and content to the first donation, remained unprocessed until 1996, when both donations were integrated and processed according to current Library practice.

Preferred citation

Cite as: William Mansfield Clark Papers, American Philosophical Society.

Processing information

Catalogued by Scott DeHaven and Tim Wilson, 1996.

Other finding aids

Also described in Lily Kay's Molecules, Cells, and Life,.

Additional information

Separated material

Most reprints have been transferred to the printed materials department of the library. If a reprint was found as an enclosure, a photocopy of the title page was filed in its place in the folder. In cases where a reprint existed in multiple copies, or was significantly annotated, it was left in the collection. To retrieve reprints removed from the collection, consult the card catalog for printed materials

Abbreviations used

AAAS	American Association for the Advancement of Science
ACS	American Chemical Society
JHU	Johns Hopkins University
NAS	National Academy of Sciences
NRC	National Research Council
US	United States