Scope and Contents
The collection includes approximately 475 numbered reprints from professional journals previously bound together in three volumes. The reprints report results of experiments conducted at the Fatigue Lab between 1928 and 1946. Also included are several earlier reprints by L.J. Henderson and others who became key figures in the Lab’s operations. These earlier works, dating back to 1924, report on work conducted at the Medical Laboratories of the Massachusetts General Hospital, the Physiological Laboratories of Harvard Medical School, and elsewhere. Various topics are represented among the reprints, but a recurring theme, especially in the late 1920s and early 1930s, is the search for understanding the relationship between blood chemistry and fatigue. Human and animal experimental physiology are both represented. Results of field trips are summarized. Some studies focus on the effects on the human body of exposure to extreme conditions, or on the performance of clothing in shielding the body from such conditions. Others look at psychological factors as a function of varying environmental conditions. Some reprints from 1941 to 1945 describe war-related physiological research.
The collection also includes approximately 169 numbered reports written between 1941 and 1947. The reports focus primarily, but not exclusively, on research with military applications. For example, one well-represented avenue of research dealt with the effectiveness of various types of clothing and the constituent fibers of clothing for use by soldiers in the field. Another line of inquiry focused on the physiological effects of activities considered especially important to the success of military operations.
Dates
- Creation: 1924-1946
Creator
- Harvard Fatigue Laboratory (Organization)
Language of Materials
Materials in Spanish, French, German, and English.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Materials stored onsite. HBS Archives collections require a secondary registration form, please contact specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu for more information.
Conditions Governing Use
In many cases, Baker Library does not hold the copyright to the materials in its collections. Researchers are responsible for determining copyright status and identifying and contacting any copyright holders for permission to reproduce or publish content from collections. Baker Library has included the names of third-party copyright holders at the folder and item level when known.
Extent
2.5 linear feet (5 boxes)Biographical / Historical
Lawrence J. Henderson, Elton Mayo, and HBS Dean Wallace Donham held extensive discussions in 1926 and 1927 regarding the interdisciplinary study of physiological changes caused by the varying conditions of daily work. Henderson approached the problem from the point of view of a physician and blood chemist. Mayo’s perspective was based upon his work as an industrial researcher. The three men concluded that the combined efforts of psychology, psychiatry, and medicine could yield important information about industry and that HBS was an appropriate location for such studies.
In 1927 the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial gave HBS two grants for the establishment of a Fatigue Laboratory under Henderson’s direction and for the expansion of the industrial research program (under Mayo) into physiological investigations. The original grants ($35,000 to equip the Fatigue Lab and $30,000 per year for four years for the industrial research program) were combined in 1930 into $125,000 per year for seven years to enable a joint study of industrial hazards. This figure was by far the largest component of the overall HBS research budget in the early 1930s.
The Lab was originally housed in the north end of the basement of Morgan Hall. It was expanded in 1941 to include a one-story addition at the rear end of Morgan to accommodate war-related research. Daily operations of the Lab were managed by Harvard School of Public Health Professor Bruce Dill with guidance from Henderson. The staff tested HBS students and volunteers on treadmills while monitoring their respiration and blood chemistry to establish constants for human blood analysis and apply what they had learned to industrial work. The Lab launched field studies as well. Between 1929 and 1940 it conducted several experiments studying the human body’s ability to adapt to extreme conditions of heat, cold, and the thin air of high altitude.
As World War II approached the Lab conducted experiments on volunteers from a local U.S. Army base to understand psychological problems associated with high altitude flight, the effectiveness of protective clothing in extreme climates, and other matters. Some wartime experiments were conducted jointly with the Climatic Research Laboratory in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
In later years, the work of physiological analysis expanded beyond blood chemistry to include chemical investigation of sweat and urine. The scope of research also broadened to include animal experimentation and analysis of fibers and other materials.
The Fatigue Lab continued operations at HBS until 1947, at which time it was transferred to the Harvard School of Public Health.
Physical Location
ARCAD
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection received likely in the 1940s but not formally accessioned until July 2023 as part of an effort to create resource records for all collections.
Creator
- Harvard Fatigue Laboratory (Organization)
- Author
- Baker Library
- Date
- July 2023
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- bak01782
Repository Details
Part of the Baker Library Special Collections and Archives, Harvard Business School Repository
Baker Library Special Collections and Archives holds unique resources that focus on the evolution of business and industry, as well as the records of the Harvard Business School, documenting the institution's development over the last century. These rich and varied collections support research in a diverse range of fields such as business, economic, social and cultural history as well as the history of science and technology.
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