1911-1941. 46 signed letters [34 TLS, 12 ALS] comprising decades of correspondence between Frederick Gardner Cottrell and various notable figures of his day in U.S. politics, the international science community, and academia. All letters are housed in new archival mylar sleeves. Cottrell was a notable chemist, inventor, and philanthropist, best known today for his invention of the electrostatic precipitator - one of the first inventions to combat air pollution - and his founding of the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, which used the revenue from the electrostatic precipitator to fund further scientific research, and continues to do so today. While best remembered for these feats, Cottrell had a long and influential career both in the U.S. Federal Government and as a science consultant. He was well known nationally and internationally - in industry, in government, and in academia - for his support of and contributions to new ideas and new talent within the scientific community. The letters, which span from 1901-1941, track Cottrell over the course of 40 years, and evidence the many relationships he had over that period with some of the most influential people of the time. These include a letter of introduction from Alexander Graham Bell, a discussion of chemistry with Thomas Edison, replies from two Nobel Prize winning scientists - the discoverer of the noble gasses, William Ramsay, and discoverer of the electron, J. J. Thomson - to Cottrell’s request to study in their labs, and exchanges with two presidents, Herbert Hoover and Woodrow Wilson. Other letters show his personal interactions with leading scientists of his day (Robert J. Van de Graaff, Georges Claude, George E. Hale) and heads of industry (Henry L. Doherty, Ivy Lee), and track the path of his career through his time as the director of the Bureau of Mines; to chairman of the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Technology on the National Research Council; to head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Fixed Nitrogen Research Lab, and beyond. These letters, the vast majority of which were sent by these notable figures to Cottrell, evidence his expertise, the depth and breadth of his professional interests, and his eagerness to collaborate and share research and ideas, coming together to trace the life of a man whose work was and continues to be consequential to the advancement of science as a whole. Shelved case 1. More