Scope and Content Note
The papers of Stanford Caldwell Hooper (1884-1955) span the years 1899 to 1955, with the bulk of the material falling between the years 1918 and 1945. The collection is composed primarily of correspondence supplemented by transcripts of tape recordings, newspaper clippings, diaries, notebooks, financial and legal records, research notes, biographical material, speeches and articles, and miscellany. The collection focuses on Hooper’s role as head of the Radio Division of the Bureau of Engineering, 1918-1923, and his tour of duty as technical assistant to the vice chief of naval operations, 1942-1943. The papers are organized into the following series: Correspondence, Transcripts of Tape Recordings, Miscellany and 2023 Addition.
The Hooper Papers document Hooper’s part in the orderly planning and systematic growth of radio communications in government service, including long-life receiving and transmitting tubes, high-power vacuum tubes, simultaneous multiwave communications systems, remote control radio operational techniques, depth finders, sound-oscillated radio systems, directional and navigational guidance systems, the application of long-distance radio techniques to aircraft, submarine sound detection systems, and radio-controlled target practice experiments. Hooper built the shore-detection radio finder systems for the navy and was in charge of the design and construction of many of its high-power radio stations. The original battle radio installations of the fleet were also the result of his studies and recommendations.
Hooper was a delegate to most national and international radio conferences in the 1920s and the 1930s, and the collection includes files on these conferences. Of special interest is Hooper’s role in persuading the government to help establish the Radio Corporation of America. He recommended steps which resulted in the removal of foreign domination from the early control of American radio stations, the formation of an American radio corporation, and a law which required ownership of these stations by Americans.
The Correspondence series provides many valuable insights into the early history of radio development. These files often contain attachments and enclosures such as designs, charts, and specifications for working models of a variety of instruments and inventions. Diagrams and specifications are also in the Miscellany series. Prominent correspondents include William Shepherd Benson, Mark L. Bristol, Richard Evelyn Byrd, Royal S. Copeland, Josephus Daniels, John Hays Hammond (188-1965), James G. Harbord, Hiram Johnson, Emory Scott Land, Thomas A. Marshall, Elihu Root, Daniel C. Roper, David Sarnoff, and Owen D. Young.
The Transcripts of Tape Recordings series contains transcripts of tape recordings by Hooper entitled “History of Radio-Radar-Sonar.” The tapes themselves have been transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division where they are identified as part of Hooper’s papers. A file in the Miscellany series also contains notes concerning the tape recordings. Two undated notebooks entitled “History of Radio” provide further information on this subject.
The Miscellany series also includes drafts and copies of Hooper's speeches and articles, research notes, biographical material, printed matter, newspaper clippings, and research notes.
The 2023 Addition is comprised of a transcript of a 1953 oral history interview with Hooper documenting his colleague Leo C. Young’s contributions to the origin and development of radar.