Jones, Arthur Taber, 1876-1951

Arthur Taber Jones, circa 1919

Arthur Taber Jones was born in Vassalboro, Maine on September 6, 1876. Shortly after receiving his B.S. from the University of Chicago in 1899 he joined the teaching staff at Purdue University (1902 - 1910). In 1904 he and Jane Johnson married. A daughter, Esther Elizabeth, was born in 1909. In 1911 he moved to Clark University and was awarded his Ph.D. in 1913. He spent several years at Iowa State College before joining Smith College in 1919.

A prolific researcher and a dedicated polyglot, Jones corresponded with amateur and professional researchers from all around the world. His interests spanned not only the field of acoustics for which he was widely known but also anything that caught his attention from the wheeling of a bicycle to the gliding motions of a snake. Jones' time at Smith is punctuated by many assignments and the rewards of a fruitful academic career: member and chair of many faculty committees, chair of the department, and president of the local chapters of the American Association of University Professors, Phi Beta Kappa, and Sigma Xi.

By the request of his department and the trustees of the college, he postponed his retirement and continued to teach through 1946 until his various colleagues returned from war work. He continued on as Professor Emeritus until his death on February 8, 1951.

After his death, Jones' colleagues in the Department of Physics went through nearly four decades worth of records and arranged for their transferal to the Neilson Library. The collection contains a wealth of intimate detail documenting scholarly discussions of moot points, interested inquiries, and heated debates as well as publications and reprints from international journals, independent publishers, commercial vendors and other unique sources.

From the guide to the Arthur Taber Jones papers 42., 1876 - 1951, 1919 - 1950, (Smith College Archives)