The John Bewley Derieux Papers, 1902-1961, contain records relating to Derieux's personal and professional life. The papers include correspondence, certificates, newspaper articles, research notes, graphs, charts, reprints, and photographs, chiefly relating to his research while in the North Carolina State College Physics Department and his involvement in Methodist church work.
John Bewley Derieux was born in Knoxville, Tennessee on June 26, 1881. Derieux taught mathematics, physics, and manual training at Farragut High School in Concord, Tennessee, before taking a job in 1910 as chief electrician for the United States Census Bureau. Derieux received his bachelor of science degree (1908) and master of science degree (1914) in electrical engineering from the University of Tennessee. He then attended the University of Chicago, where he received a doctorate in physics in 1916 while serving as a laboratory assistant there. Derieux began teaching physics at the instructor level at North Carolina State College in 1916. He taught theoretical physics at NC State through 1947, when he retired from the faculty.
Derieux's research topics included a mysterious light on Brown Mountain, North Carolina; the effect of the tread on the resistance to skidding of automobile tires; the mileage of different grades of gasoline at different speeds; and the charge of the electron. Derieux served as president of the North Carolina Academy of Science, the physics section of the State Academy of Science and the Engineering Society of the University of Tennessee. He was a lecturer for Phi Kappa Phi, an academic honor society. Derieux was an active member of Fairmont Methodist Church in Raleigh and served on its board of trustees.
Derieux married Elizabeth Tipton, a Knoxville, Tennessee native. They had no children. Derieux died on March 18, 1948. After his death, his wife established a memorial award in physics in his honor, to be given annually to an NC State junior or senior.
The John Bewley Derieux Papers, 1902-1961, contain records relating to Derieux's personal and professional life. The papers include correspondence, certificates, newspaper articles, research notes, graphs, charts, reprints, and photographs, chiefly relating to his research while in the North Carolina State College Physics Department and his involvement in Methodist church work. They also include a small amount of information about Derieux's relatives.
The collection has been arranged into four series:
The nature of the NC State University Libraries' Special Collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The NC State University Libraries claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials.
The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which North Carolina State University assumes no responsibility.
[Identification of item], John Bewley Derieux Papers, MC 00048, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
The John Bewley Derieux Papers were a gift of Elizabeth Bentley, July 23, 1970; and Richard L. Murray, April 4, 1980.
Stephanie A. Horowitz, April 2005
Stephanie A. Horowitz, April 2005
The collection is organized into four principal series:
This series contains records relating to Derieux's professional life. It mainly concerns his research while in the North Carolina State College Physics Department, but also contains a small amount of information regarding his jobs as a high school teacher in Tennessee and as an engineer for the United States Census Bureau.
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This series includes records relating to Derieux's personal life. Records of particular significance include his involvement with Methodist churches in Raleigh, North Carolina and Knoxville, Tennessee, his personal correspondence with former students, and his schooling at the University of Tennessee and the University of Chicago. This series also contains a small amount of information relating to other members of Derieux's family.
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This series contains photographs of John Bewley Derieux. It also contains some photographs of his family, his professional research topics, the Fairmont Methodist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the North Carolina State College Physics Department.
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This series contains three cross-section drawings.
1 folder
This collection is open for research; access requires at least 48 hours advance notice. Because of the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access to digital files may require additional advanced notice.
For more information contact us via mail, phone, or our web form.
Mailing address:
Special Collections Research Center
Box 7111
Raleigh, NC, 27695-7111
Phone: (919) 515-2273
[Identification of item], John Bewley Derieux Papers, MC 00048, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
The nature of the NC State University Libraries' Special Collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The NC State University Libraries claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials.
The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which North Carolina State University assumes no responsibility.