GROOM, Professor Percy (1865-1931)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0098 B/GROOM
Held at	: Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/recordsandarchives ›
Full title	: GROOM, Professor Percy (1865-1931)
Date(s)	: Created 1917-1927
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 6 boxes
Name of creator(s)	: Groom | Percy | 1865-1931 | botanist

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Born, 1865; educated at Mason College, Birmingham; University of Bonn; studied natural science, Trinity College Cambridge; Frank Smart Student of Botany, Gonville and Caius College, 1888-1889; Professor of Botany and Arboriculture, Imperial College, Wampoa, China, 1889-1892; Mandarin of the White Button, 1892; joined Exeter College Oxford, 1892-1898; Lecturer in Plant Physiology, Edinburgh University, 1898; head of the Biological Departments, Royal Indian Engineering College, Coopers Hill, 1899-1905, and University College Reading; Lecturer in Botany, Northern Polytechnic Institute, Holloway, 1907-1908; Assistant Professor of Botany, Imperial College, 1908-1911; Professor of the Technology of Woods and Fibres, Imperial College, 1911-1931; elected Fellow of the Royal Society; died, 1931.
Publications: include: Elementary Botany (G Bell & Sons, London, 1898); Trees and their Life Histories ... Illustrated from photographs by Henry Irving (Cassell & Co, London, 1907); Bell's Science Series 7 vol editor with George Minchin (George Bell & Sons, London, 1900-1909).

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers of Professor Percy Groom, [1917-1930], comprising files of correspondence, reports and papers relating to timber technology, notably concerning machinery and apparatus, tests and test machines, 1918-1927; Royal Aircraft Establishment reports, 1918; supply of aeroplane timbers to Egypt, 1917; correspondence with Indian Munitions Board, Royal Air Force (India) concerning the use of timbers for aircraft construction, 1918-1919; types, properties and testing of timber, 1917-1920; use of plywood in aircraft construction, 1917; work for the Manilla Hemp Association, [1920]; dry rot, 1925-1926; wood pulp; seasoning and Powell process of seasoning, 1917; specific gravity of wood; water in wood, including warping tests; preservation of mine timbers, [1917]; analyses of infected imported timbers, 1920-1927; fireproofing, 1917-1927; home grown timbers, [1919].

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

The files are arranged according to the original file number.

Conditions governing access:

Researchers wishing to consult the Archives should first contact the College Archivist, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, for an appointment.

Conditions governing reproduction:

A photocopying service is available at the discretion of the Archivist. Photocopies are supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Archivist.

Finding aids:

A catalogue is available at the College Archives.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

The files were transferred from the Botany Department to the College Archives by Dr J Levy. The original file covers were in poor condition and destroyed, but the file numbers were retained.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Correspondence, 1909-1924 (KB), held at Imperial College.

National Register of Archives: Click here to view NRA record

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Sources: Who Was Who (A & C Black, 1947, volume III); National Register of Archives; British Library On-Line Public Access Catalogue 97. Compiled by Julie Tancell as part of the RSLP AIM25 project.

Rules or conventions:
General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal Place and Corporate Names 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
December 2000