Overview
Records in the collection were created or collected by John B. Little during the course of his professional and research activities at Harvard Medical School, the Harvard School of Public Health, and Massachusetts General Hospital. Record types include correspondence, reports, grant applications, newspaper clippings, manuscripts, meeting minutes, agendas, photographs, contact sheets, negatives, slides, 3.5” and 5.5” diskettes, and X-rays. Topics include student activism at Harvard during the 1970s and 1980s, re-organization of the Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health during the 1970s and 1980s, work done at the Kresge Environmental Health Center and Little's faculty and administrative work at Harvard Medical School and the School of Public Health. Also included are records of Little’s activity as an expert advisor at institutions other than Harvard.
Dates
- 1855-2015 (inclusive),
- Majority of material found within 1960s-2000 .
Creator
- Little, John B. (Bertram) 1929-. (Person)
Language of Materials
Papers are predominantly in English with some materials in German, French, Russian, and Chinese.
Conditions Governing Access
Colleciton is open for research. Access requires advance notice. Access to Harvard University records is restricted for 50 years from the date of creation. These restrictions are noted where they appear in Series I, II, III, IV, V, and VI. Access to personal and patient information is restricted for 80 years from the date of creation. These restrictions are noted where they appear in Series I and II. Researchers may apply for access to restricted records. Consult Public Services for further information.
Access to electronic records in this collection (as found in Series I and II) is also subject to the above restrictions. Additionally, access is premised on the availability of a computer station, requisite software, and/or the ability of Public Services staff to review and/or print out records of interest in advance of an on-site visit.
The Papers are stored offsite. Researchers are advised to consult Public Services for further information concerning retrieval of material.
Conditions Governing Use
The Harvard Medical Library does not hold copyright on all materials in the collection. Researchers are responsible for identifying and contacting any third-party copyright holders for permission to reproduce or publish. For more information on the Center's use, publication, and reproduction policies, view our Reproductions and Use Policy.
Extent
58 cubic feet ( (57 records center cartons and 1 flat box) ).5 gigabytes* ( (electronic records))
15 cubic feet (Unprocessed papers in 15 records center cartons)
The collection consists of records created and collected by John Bertram Little during his professional and research activities at the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, and Massachusetts General Hospital. The materials include correspondence, reports, grant applications, newspaper clippings, meeting minutes, agendas, photographs, contact sheets, negatives, slides, 3.5” and 5.5” diskettes, and X-rays. The collection also includes experiment and research records, manuscripts in various states of preparation for publication, faculty records, class syllabi, lecture schedules, grant applications, and project reports. Topics include student activism at Harvard during the 1970s and 1980s (including the Bok Report), the re-organization of the Harvard Medical School and the School of Public Health during the 1970s and 1980s, the work done at the Kresge Environmental Health Center, and Little’s faculty work as a teacher of radiology and physiology. The collection also reflects Little’s activities as a consultant and member of professional organizations such as the Radiation Effects Research Council, the American Cancer Society, and the New England Roentgen Ray Society.
The collection is predominantly in English with some materials in German, French, Russian, and Chinese.
Biographical Notes
John B. Little (1929-2020), B.A., 1951, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts; M.D., 1955, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts. Little interned at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland and the Massachusetts General Hospital. He joined the faculty of the Harvard School of Public Health in 1965. A brief chronology of Little's professional activity follows.
Professional Activity of John B. Little
- 1929
- Born Boston, Massachusetts
- 1951
- B.A. (Physics), Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts
- 1955
- M.D., Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
- 1955-1956
- Intern (Medicine), Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
- 1956-1957
- Assistant Radiologist, United States Army Hospital, Fort Hood, Texas
- 1957-1958
- Chief of Radiology, United States Army Hospital, Landes de Bussac, Bordeaux, France
- 1958-1961
- Resident (Radiology), Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
- 1961-1965
- Clinical Assistant (Radiology), Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
- 1963
- Fellow (Physiology), Harvard University
- 1963-1965
- Instructor (Physiology, Radiobiology), Harvard School of Public Health
- 1965-
- Consultant (Radiology), Massachusetts General Hospital
- 1965-1969
- Assistant Professor (Radiobiology), Harvard School of Public Health
- 1969-
- Lecturer (Radiation Therapy), Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
- 1969-1975
- Associate Professor (Radiobiology), Harvard School of Public Health
- 1975-1987
- Professor (Radiobiology), Harvard School of Public Health
- 1980-1983
- Chairman (Physiology), Harvard School of Public Health
- 1987-
- James Stevens Simmons Professor of Radiobiology, Harvard School of Public Health
- 24 May 2020
- Death, Brookline, Mass.
Series and Subseries in the Collection
- I. Research Records, 1958-2002, undated
- ___ A. Grant Records, 1966-2001, undated
- ___ B. Laboratory Notebooks, 1938-2002, undated
- II. Professional Appointments, 1959-2003, undated
- ___A. Harvard University, 1959-2003, undated
- ______ 1. Teaching Records, 1959-2002, undated
- ______ 2. Committee Service, 1962-2003, undated
- ___ B. MIT Teaching Records, 1966-1979, undated
- III. Consultancies and Professional Service, 1855-2002, undated
- IV. Manuscripts and Publications, 1960-2004, undated
- V. Correspondence, 1962-2003
- VI. Personal Papers, 1969-2006, undated
Custodial History
The collection was donated to the Center for the History of Medicine in 2004 and 2008 by John Bertram Little.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
- Accession number 2004-016. John Bertram Little. 23 February 2004.
- Accession number 2008-083. John Bertram Little. 27 June 2008.
Separations
A box containing glass microscope slides was transferred to the Warren Anatomical Museum (Acc. #2014-012).
Processing Information
Processed by Hanna Clutterbuck-Cook, 2014 March.
Staff at the Center reboxed, refoldered, and listed the collection and created a finding aid to enhance access. Material in three-ring binders was removed from the binders, the binder titles transcribed as folder titles, and the binders discarded. .5 cubic feet of duplicate class materials were discarded. Triplicate copies of these materials were retained in the collection. 3.5" floppy diskettes were imaged using the FTK (Forensic Toolkit) and digital surrogates are available for researcher use; two disks could not be imaged. The original disks were retained in the collection. Researchers should be aware that words in brackets in folder titles were illegible or nearly so on the original folders; in these cases, the original folder tabs have been removed and placed with the refoldered material.
- Cancer cells – Growth.
- Cancer cells.
- Cell Biology
- Cell Growth Processes
- Color slides
- Correspondence
- Cytology Research.
- Floppy disks
- Harvard Medical School
- Harvard School of Public Health
- Laboratory notebooks
- Laboratory notes
- Little, John B. (Bertram) 1929-.
- Personal papers
- Radiation
- Radiation.
- Radiobiologists.
- Radiobiologists.
- Radiobiology
- Radiobiology.
- Research
- Researchers.
Creator
- Little, John B. (Bertram) 1929-. (Person)
- Title
- Little, John B. (Bertram), 1929-2020. Papers, 1855-2006 (inclusive), 1960s-2000 (bulk): Finding Aid.
- Author
- Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine. Center for the History of Medicine.
- Language of description
- und
- Sponsor
- Processing of the John B. Little papers was funded by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine's Lloyd E. Hawes Fund for Radiology.
- EAD ID
- med00183
Repository Details
Part of the Center for the History of Medicine (Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine) Repository
The Center for the History of Medicine in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine is one of the world's leading resources for the study of the history of health and medicine. Our mission is to enable the history of medicine and public health to inform healthcare, the health sciences, and the societies in which they are embedded.