Harry Gove papers

Harry Edmund Gove was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, on 22 May 1922. From 1944 to 1945, he served as a lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Navy. He went on to earn his doctorate in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1950. For seven years he was the branch head of nuclear physics at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited in Chalk River, Ontario. In 1963, he became a professor of physics at the University of Rochester where he also served as director of the Nuclear Structure Research Laboratory until 1988. In 1992, he became professor emeritus of physics at the University. Gove eventually moved back to Canada, continuing his work as an adjunct professor of physics at the University of Toronto in 1997.

Gove was renowned in the field of physics for his work in carbon dating using accelerator mass spectrometry. Most notably, he helped to carbon date the Shroud of Turin. In 1996 Gove published a book on the process that he and his colleagues used for the project called Relic, Icon, or Hoax: Carbon Dating the Turin Shroud. (1996). His second book, From Hiroshima to the Iceman. (1998), discusses the process of carbon dating other historical artifacts.

Outside of his academic pursuits, Gove was an energetic advocate for social justice and civil rights. A year after the Rochester riots of July 1964, African-American community leaders including Minister Franklin Florence organized FIGHT. Choosing a name that stood for “Freedom, Integration, God, Honor, Today” (the "I" was changed in 1967 to stand for "Independence"), this activist organization aimed to address Rochester’s de facto segregation and the social problems that resulted from it. FIGHT (referred to in the finding aid by this acronym) aimed to improve African Americans’ opportunities for economic success in Rochester, develop urban neighborhoods, improve education, and inspire political activism and community involvement among African Americans in the city. Gove was a dedicated member of Friends of FIGHT, a separate organization developed by concerned whites in order to show their support for FIGHT. The unclear role that Friends of FIGHT had as a supporting group to FIGHT led to the creation of a new group in late 1968. This organization, called Metro-Act, aimed to advance social justice and racial equality within the city of Rochester and Monroe County, as well as nationally. As president of Metro-Act, Gove served as liaison between Metro-Act, FIGHT, the Community Chest of Rochester (now the United Way), and other activist groups as well as local government.

Gove was a member of the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation in Penfield, New York, and was involved in the Penfield Human Relations Council, among other groups. He was a member of the Friends of the University of Rochester Libraries and served on the Friends Executive Committee as chair of the Faculty and Staff Membership Committee in 1999. In addition, he was a patron of the arts, particularly of film, and he enjoyed travelling and gardening.

Gove died on 18 February 2009.