Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

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Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Blake W. Corson, Jr., Papers, Ms1990-055, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Blake W. Corson, Jr., Papers were donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 1990.

Biographical Note

Family History
Blake Wilson Corson, Sr., was born in Cumberland Virginia in 1874. Wilson Corson had five sisters. Corson attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1895. Corson married Anne Mason "Annie" White on April 23, 1907.

Blake Wilson Corson, Jr., was born to Blake Wilson Corson, Sr. (1874-1962) and Anne Mason Corson (1874-1968) on October 1, 1908, in Henrico, Virginia. Corson had two youngers sisters Juidith Parker (born July 20, 1911) and Georgina White (born June 26, 1915). Blake W. Corson, Jr., married Shirley Huxter (1921-2014) on December 6, 1947. They had one daughter.

Corson, Sr., died in 1962, and Anne Corson died in 1968. They were buried together at Grace Episcopal Church.

Blake W. Corson, Jr., died at 83 on December 23, 1991. He was survived by his wife and daughter. Corson was burried in Peninsula Memorial Park Newport News. Shirley Corson died in 2014 at the age of 93.

Education and Work
Blake W. Corson, Jr., graduated from John Marshall High School. Corson, Jr., attended the University of Richmond and earned a B.S. in Mathmatics and Physics in 1932. In 1935 Corson, Jr., began working with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and the Natioanl Aeronautical and Space Association. Corson, Jr., retired in 1972.

Patents

Publications

Sources:

Scope and Content

The Blake W. Corson, Jr., Papers are comprised of professional and personal files, correspondence, and published materials from 1861-1984 (bulk, 1934-1979), primarily relating to his career as an engineer at NASA Langley. Topics include aerodynamic performance of aircraft propellers and manned aircraft; wind tunnel fans, jet noise suppression, and tunnel calibration. This collection is organized into five series by material type.

Arrangement

This collection is organized into five series by material type.

Series I: Personal Papers, 1861-1865, 1962-1966, n.d. includes Corson's resume, personal photographs, and materials relating to the Corson family history, genealogy, and copies of family correspondence. This series is arranged by material type.

Series II: Personal Projects, 1941-1979, n.d. consists of research, subject files, patent forms, and extensive notes on a variety of research projects conducted by Corson outside of his work for Langley. The majority of this series surrounds two projects: "Toward Energy Independence" and Corson's interest in environmental clean up in the Newport News area. This series is arranged by project/topic.

Series III: Correspondence/Memorandum, 1938-1978, n.d. contains letters to and from a variety of scientists, researchers, community members, government employees, and some corporations and agencies. In addition, there are extensive memos written reporting on projects of which Corson was a part. There is a list of major correspondents below. This series in in chronological order.

Major correspondents in this collection include:

Series IV: Professional Projects, 1937-1984, n.d. includes a small group of outlines and reports. This series primarily consist of five subseries, organized by topic/project, consisting of a variety of formats from Corson's work as an Aerospace Engineer with NASA.

Subseries A: Research Tunnels includes papers and research relating to a variety of tunnels on which Corson worked (other than the 16 foot Transonic Tunnel (which is its own subseries below).

Subseries B: Propellers and Propeller Research includes notes, graphs, calculations, and subject files on propellers and fan designs.

Subseries C: Nozzles and Nozzle Research includes reports, notes, figures, proposals, and designs for nozzles.

Subseries D: Research Projects contains drawings, calculations, notes, and subject files on topics relating to aspects of flight and engineering, especially certain parts or processes.

Subseries E: 16 Foot Transonic Tunnel and Research includes extensive notes, photographs, calculations, notes, and reports on one of Corson's major projects and research topics. Materials in these series, subseries, and sub-subseries are organized by topic/subject.

Major projects in this series include:

Series V: Publications, Journals, and Reports, 1934-1982 contains published works by Corson or collected by him for research purposes. The majority are directly related to projects on which Corson worked. This series includes six subseries, organized by type of publication (Publications, Reports, Papers, Journals, Articles, and Pamphlets, Brochures, and Directories). Materials in each subseries are organized alphabetically by title.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Aeronautical engineers
• Archives of American Aerospace Exploration (AAAE)
• Becker, John V. (John Vernon), 1913-2020 -- Correspondence
• Bierman, David -- Correspondence
• Blueprints (reprographic copies)
• Correspondence
• Engineering Drawings
• Memorandums
• Physicists
• Physics
• Science and Technology
• United States -- National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics -- Officials and employees
• United States -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Officials and employees
• United States. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
• United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Blake W. Corson, Jr., Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).