Rudolf and Hilda Conrady Kingslake papers

Collection

Identifier: D.333

Staff Only

Biographical / Historical note

Rudolf Kingslake was one of two founding faculty members of what was to become the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester in 1929, the other being A. Maurice Taylor of Cambridge University. The faculty was completed in that first year by Brian O’Brien. These three taught geometrical, physical, and physiological optics respectively. Hilda Kingslake was also highly qualified in optics, and was briefly employed in optical design and research. She devoted most of her prodigious energy to civic betterment, especially the concerns of women, and to providing reading material for shut-ins, as well as raising the two Kingslake sons. She was very influential in the establishment of the Optical Society of America, and served as its president (as did Rudolf.) She chronicled the history of OSA, as well as the history of the Institute of Optics. By her wishes, few of her personal papers remain. The original name of the Kingslake family was Klickmann, which father Martin Klickmann changed to Kingslake in May 1917, due to strong anti-German sentiment in Great Britain during the first World War, vide M8. This finding aid was compiled by Martin L. Scott, for many years a friend of the Kingslakes. He is writing a biography based on these papers, and would welcome contributions at mscott@rochester.rr.com of letters and reminiscences from others who knew the Kingslakes.

Scope and Contents

The Kingslake Archive contains the papers and related items of two giants in the field of optics, Rudolf Kingslake and his wife Hilda Conrady Kingslake. Dr. Kingslake kept detailed records of almost everything he did, much of which is preserved in this Archive. This chronicle begins at his birth with an extraordinary book kept by his father, vide M38. Correspondence, publications, teaching records, technical and historical presentations, awards and distinctions, and family papers are here. The records of his work at Eastman Kodak Company as Director of Optical Design are not here, and probably were destroyed by the company as part of its curiously-named Record Retention Program. In his retirement years Rudolf made an extensive index of objects in the Technology Collection of George Eastman House, the International Museum of Photography and Film, and these are filed as the K# series at that Rochester, NY institution. The extent of his influence in the field of optics may be judged by there being in early 2008 more than 16,500 citations of his name in the popular Internet search engine, Google.

The series included in this collection are: A series, which contains miscellaneous correspondence. CFL series contains the Christmas Family Letters from their inception in 1963 through 1970. These documents were produced by Martin Kingslake, compiling contributions he solicited from his six living children scattered over the world. Each child wrote up the year’s activities of themselves, their spouses, and offspring. Each CFL contains up to 70 typed pages printed by offset lithography, drilled, covered, and string-bound. Final copies were sent by Father Kingslake to all contributors. FC series consists of correspondence relating to the Kingslakes’ family and friends, and sorted by years. Many of the letters are with their original mailing envelopes, some of which have interesting notes by the recipients. M series contains miscellaneous papers, books, and objects found in desk drawers and various places in the home. They are listed in the order found, but there was no apparent original order. P series contains personal papers: birth, medical, marriage, education, recreation, travel, social, financial. S series covers mainly, but not exclusively, the years of RK’s retirement.

Dates written thus: DDMonYY are 20th century. Others are DDMon18YY or DDMon20YY with the millennium indicated in full.

The abbreviations used in this finding aid are:

AEC: Alexander Eugen Conrady, father of HGK, tutor of RK and HGK, Married Annie Bunney, daughter of an inn-keeper, Apr01, died 16Jun44, (Annie, 28May41). Hilda oldest of four daughters with Doris, Rene, Mable

BJT: Brian J. Thompson, literary executor for RK

EK, EKCo: Eastman Kodak Company

HGK: Hilda G. Kingslake, wife of RK, daughter of AEC

IO: Institute of Optics, University of Rochester

MLS: Martin L. Scott, indexer of this collection

OSA: Optical Society of America

RK: Rudolf Kingslake

SMPTE: Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers

SPIE: Society of Photo-Instrumentation Engineers

SPSE: Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers, later IS&T (Society for Imaging Science and Technology)

Creator

Dates

Creation: 1903-2003

Language of Materials

English

Extent

27 box(es)

Access

The Kingslake Papers is open for research use. Researchers are advised to contact the Rare Collections & Preservation Department prior to visiting. Upon arrival, researchers will also be asked to fill out a registration form and provide photo identification.

Use

In consultation with a curator, reproductions may be made upon request. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from a curator. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Beginning in 2002, the Kingslake papers were gathered and placed in the Rare Books and Special Collections Division of the Rush Rhees Library of the University of Rochester by Dr. Brian J. Thompson, Rudolf’s literary executor. He was a long-time friend of the Kingslakes, a former Director of the Institute of Optics, and is now (2009) Provost-Emeritus of the University.