Guide to the C. Lloyd Claff Papers, 1935-1968, undated
The collection is stored offsite and must be requested at least 1 full business days in advance for retrieval. Contact Special Collections & Archives before visiting. Otherwise, no restrictions.
C. Lloyd Claff Papers, George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine.
The George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, like all archives and special collections libraries, is the creation of human beings who have collected, organized, and described things in ways that reflect personal, cultural, societal, and institutional biases. Although we strive to preserve and present collections in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections, we acknowledge that our systems are neither neutral nor perfect. We encourage you to let us know if you encounter materials, descriptive language, or practices that are offensive or harmful, particularly those for which inadequate context or warning is offered. We are committed to modifying and updating our descriptive practices to use respectful and inclusive terminology and appreciate your help in this work. We look forward to supporting you in your research and learning together.
Clarence Lloyd Claff was born on October 15, 1895 in Perry, New York. Claff served a brief stint in the navy from 1917-1919 during World War I, graduating from Bowdoin in 1918. In 1920, Claff began working for his father's shoe box factory, M.B. Claff & Sons. He became president of the factory in 1928, a position he held until his death on March 28, 1974, in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Although a successful businessman, Claff is probably more well known as a scientist and inventor. With little in the way of formal scientific training, in 1932 Claff began spending his summers at the Woods Hole Laboratory (now the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute) in Massachusetts studying protozoa and single-cell organisms. In 1940 he became a research fellow in surgery at Harvard Medical School. Claff was responsible for the invention of the Claff Explosion-Proof Heart Defibrillator, the Claff Autotherm for congestion, and the Crescenzi-Claff Membrane Blood Oxygenator for the resuscitation of blue babies. Founder of the Single Cell Research Foundation, Inc., Claff also invented a heart-lung machine for use during cardiac surgery, and he made essential contributions toward the success of Dr. Arnold J. Lande's artificial gill.
Sixteen scientific notebooks, as well as loose notes and one published article from the period of Claff's research at the Woods Hole Research Laboratory in Massachusetts and Harvard Medical School. The topics of the notebooks include protozoology, mammal resuscitation, and most extensively his Cartesian Diver experiments, which led to his work with Dr. Lande on the artificial gill. Seven of the notebooks were compiled for Claff by his research assistants at Woods Hole. Also included are certificates concerning Claff's membership in scientific academies and organizations.
Organized into a single series:Arranged chronologically.
General laboratory notes, exposure data [Woods Hole?], 1935-1936
Loose notes from general lab notebook [Woods Hole?], 1935-1936
Protozoology notebook [Woods Hole], 1936
Loose notes from protozoology notebook [Woods Hole], 1936
Certificate of membership to Sigma Xi, 1939
Glass electrode and malaria notebook [Harvard], 1939-1950
Loose notes from glass electrode and malaria notebook [Harvard], 1939-1950
Chemistry notebook [Harvard], 1940-1941
Loose notes from chemistry notebook [Harvard], 1940-1941
Cartesian diver notebook [Woods Hole], 1941-1954
Loose notes from Cartesian diver notebook [Woods Hole], 1941-1954
Laboratory record compiled by Margaret Weaver, research asst. for Claff; experiments with Scholander Microrespirometer [Woods Hole], 1941
Loose notes from lab record compiled by Weaver [Woods Hole], 1941
Cartesian diver calibrations and notes [Woods Hole], 1945-1954
Laboratory notebook on Cartesian diver by C.V. Hoare [Woods Hole?], 1947-1948
Loose notes from C.V. Hoare notebook [Woods Hole], 1947-1948
"Cartesian Diver Technique" by C. Lloyd Claff and Theodore N. Tahmisian, 1949
Cartesian diver experiment notes compiled by Elisabeth Booth for C. Lloyd Claff [Woods Hole], 1952-1953
Loose graphs from notebook compiled by Elisabeth Booth [Woods Hole], 1952-1953
Experiments concerning cycling in the oxygen consumption of cleaving eggs, using the "micro-diver", 1952-1958
Manual of the Cartesian Diver, ca. 1954
S.C. Pot and "K" studies--notes on mammal resuscitation [Harvard], 1954-1959
Loose notes from the S.C. Pot and "K" study notebook [Harvard], 1954-1959
Certificate of membership to the New York Academy of Sciences, 1956
Photograph of C. Lloyd Claff with unidentified man, ca. 1960
Certificate of membership to the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, 1962
Design for blood inputs and outlets, 1963
Notebook of Arthur Richmond, assistant to C. Lloyd Claff [Woods Hole], 1963
Laboratory notebook of unknown assistant to Claff [Woods Hole], 1964-1967
Laboratory notebook of Arthur Richmond, assistant to Claff [Woods Hole], 1965-1966
Loose notes from Richmond notebook, [Woods Hole], 1965-1966
Gambusia and respiration apparatus notebook [Woods Hole], 1966-1967
Loose notes from gambusia notebook [Woods Hole], 1966-1967
Laboratory notebook of Marianne Broome, assistant to Claff [Woods Hole], March-May, 1968
Laboratory notebook of Marianne Broome, assistant to Claff [Woods Hole], June-August, 1968
Laboratory notebook of Katherine McCusker, assistant to Claff, n.d.
Loose notes from McCusker notebook, n.d.