Finding aid for the Willard E. Caldwell papers

Biography of Willard E. Caldwell

Willard E. Caldwell was born July 10, 1920 in Flushing, Long Island, New York. Caldwell earned his A.B. (Artium Baccalaureatus) and M.A. at the University of Florida in 1941 and 1942 respectively. He attended Cornell University to work on his Ph.D. which he received in 1946. Caldwell was appointed Professor of Psychology at Mary Baldwin College in 1946-1947. In 1947 he was hired as assistant professor of psychology at George Washington University where he remained for 38 years. Caldwell also maintained a part-time private practice in Florida from 1954-1958.

Caldwell was co-editor of the textbook Principles of Comparative Psychology (1960). This book, initiated by Caldwell, represents the combined efforts of a group of psychologists working in the field of animal study to present the data and the interpretations of those data in this area.

Caldwell was awarded Professor Emeritus in 1985 and continued researching and writing into retirement. Caldwell died on December 14, 2008.

Scope and Content

The papers of Willard E. Caldwell document his career as a teacher and researcher. The correspondence in this collection from 1940 through 2007 mostly concerns publishing material or collaborations with colleagues. Caldwell's early interest in comparative psychology is evident in the animal studies that are included in this research. There are lecture notes and outlines for the Comparative Psychology, and History and Systems of Psychology classes taught by Caldwell, as well as newspaper and newsletter articles about his academic activities.

This collection has a large amount of slides and photographic material related to Caldwell's investigation into Corona Discharge Photography or Kirlian Photography, a technique for photographing energy radiated from animate and inanimate objects. A large portion of written and research material are for a book Caldwell wrote after retirement entitled Sudden Infant Death Syndrom: Toward an Integrated Theory of (ARSID) Apnea Related Infant Death Syndrome.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Restrictions on Access

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

Oversized material, including awards, artwork, animal trial records, illustrations, poster presentation, animal studies on ants, ducks, earthworms, goldfish, kittens, racoon and cat, are stored in box M5776 in the oversized stacks; photographs are stored in box V68 of the AHAP Still Images Collection.

Subject Headings

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

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Preferred Citation

Cite as: [identification of item], [folder number, box number], Archives of the History of American Psychology, The Drs. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology - The University of Akron

Acquisition Information

The Willard E. Caldwell papers were acquired by the Center for the History of Psychology in a single accession from Willard Caldwell in 2006.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Mark Bloom in 2007, and revised by Rhonda Rinehart in 2010. Updated by Samantha Hurst, October 2021.

Detailed Description of The Collection