Copyright © Yale University Library
The papers are arranged in six series:
Open to qualified researchers.
Gift of the Thomson family.
James Claude Thomson Papers, Record Group No. 24, Special Collections, Yale Divinity School Library.
The catalog record for this collection is available online.
| 1889 | Born in New York. Graduated from Rutgers University and New Brunswick Theological Seminary; received a Ph.D. from Columbia University, and an MPH from Johns Hopkins |
| 1917-1949 | Appointed to China by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. Served as a professor of chemistry, department chairman, then10 years as Dean of the University of Nanking |
| 1933 | Published "A study of Chinese wood oils; with special reference to the isolation and the characterization of isomeric eleostearic acids" |
| 1950-1951 | Held a Fulbright Professorship at the University of Tehran Medical College |
| 1952 | Undertook nutritional survey of Iran |
| 1953-1955 | Director of Nutrition Research at the International Christian University in Tokyo |
| 1955-1957 | Served as a nutrition consultant for the World Health Organization in Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan1957-1958Professor of Nutrition at Yonsei University Medical College, Seoul, Korea |
| 1974 | Died in Pennsylvania |
The James Claude Thomson Papers consist of nine linear feet of material divided into six series:
Though Thomson began his work at the University of Nanking in 1917, the bulk of this collection dates from after 1938.
Series I, Correspondence, contains detailed letters written by J. C. Thomson to his wife and family during his separations from them in 1938-1941and 1949 in China, and later in the 1950s when he was on assignment in Iran and Pakistan. When evacuated from Nanking, Thomson went with the University of Nanking to Chengdu, West China and also spent time in Indochina during the war. Correspondence of Thomson written while in the United States primarily relates to travel and employment arrangements. There are several letters from Daniel Dye, whose papers are also held by the Yale Divinity Library (Record Group No. 22). Additional correspondence of Thomson from the period when he was at the University of Nanking is available in the Archives of the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia, YDL Record Group No. 11.
Series II, Papers, Reports and Speeches, primarily contains material written by Thomson on nutrition and health-related subjects. Series III, Collected Material, includes writings on similar subjects by others, as well as miscellaneous material relating to the Thomsons' travels, and an obituary of Thomson.
Series IV, Photographs, Series V, Slides, and Series VI, Films, contain high quality visual documentation of the areas where Thomson lived and worked. The photographs and slides are individually identified to a large exent. Video use copies of many of the films have been made and are located in the last box of the collection.
| Box | Folder | Contents | Date |
| 1 | 1 | JCT to John Allison, American Embassy in Nanking re. incident at Japanese embassy | 1938 Jun 15 |
| 1 | 2 | JCT to family from Chengtu, Indochina, Kunming, Shanghai | 1939 Jan -Dec 1939 |
| 1 | 3 | JCT to family from Haiphong, Indochina | 1940 Jan |
| 1 | 4 | JCT to family from Haiphong, Indochina | 1940 Feb |
| 1 | 5 | JCT to family from Indochina, Kunming | 1940 Mar - 1941 May |
| 1 | 6 | JCT in NY incl. to C.A. Evans, Associated Boards for Christian Colleges in China re. transportation of college supplies, and from Daniel Dye | June 1941 |
| 1 | 7 | JCT in U.S. incl. to/from Daniel Dye | 1941 Jul |
| 1 | 8 | JCT in U.S. incl. to/from C.A. Evans, Daniel Dye | 1941 Aug |
| 1 | 9 | JCT in U.S. incl. to/from Daniel Dye, chemical supplies company, Y. G. Chen (President of University of Nanking in Chengtu) | 1941 Sep-Oct |
| 1 | 10 | JCT in U.S. incl. to/from Daniel Dye, Y. G. Chen, Elsie Priest, chemical supplies company | 1941 Nov-Dec |
| 1 | 11 | JCT in U.S. incl. to/from chemical supplies co., Y. G. Chen | 1942 Jan |
| 1 | 12 | JCT in U.S. incl. to Elsie Priest, Y. G. Chen | 1942 Feb-Mar |
| 1 | 13 | C. A. Evans to JCT, incl. memo from M. C. Swen re. preparation of photographic emulsions in China with photographic samples | 1942 Mar 4 |
| 1 | 14 | Incl. from C.A. to JCT in U.S. re. shipment of materials to China | 1942 Apr |
| 1 | 15 | lncl. to Y. G. Chen | 1942 Jun-Dec |
| 1 | 16 | Incl. to Y. G. Chen | 1943 Jan, Mar |
| 1 | 17 | Re. insurance and financial matters | 1944 Apr-Oct |
| 1 | 18 | Incl. from JCT in Hong Kong re. shipment of materials during period teaching in Canton | 1947 Jan-Jun |
| 1 | 19 | JCT to family from Kunming | 1949 Aug |
| 1 | 20 | Incl. JCT to family from West China | 1949 Sep |
| 1 | 21 | Re. shipment of luggage | 1950 |
| 1 | 22 | Incl. re. JCT's nutritional assessment survey in Iran | 1952 |
| 1 | 23 | Re. JCT's work as Director of Nutrition Research at International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan | 1953 |
| 1 | 24 | Incl. to JCT in Japan from wife, incl. re. shipment of luggage | 1954 |
| 1 | 27 | Incl. arrangements for Iran project | 1955 Jul-Oct |
| 1 | 28 | Re. work of JCT in Middle East | 1955 Nov |
| 1 | 29 | Incl. JCT to family from Tehran | 1955 Dec |
| 1 | 30 | Incl. JCT to family from Tehran | 1956 Jan 3-17 |
| 1 | 32 | Incl. JCT to family from Karachi, Pakistan and re. JCT work in Pakistan | 1956 Feb 1-11 |
| 1 | 33 | Incl. JCT to family from Karachi, reports re. work | 1956 Feb 12-29 |
| 1 | 34 | Incl. JCT to family from Karachi, incl. re. WHO assignment in Turkey | 1956 Mar-May |
| 1 | 35 | Re. arrangements for assignment in Turkey | 1956 Jun- Aug |
| 1 | 36 | Re. assignment in Turkey | 1956 Sep-Dec |
| 1 | 37 | Re. reports on work in Middle East, arrangement for Presbyterian Board assignment as Professor of Nutrition at Yonsei University Medical College, Seoul, Korea | 1957 Jan-Jun |
| 1 | 38 | Re. arrangements for travel to Japan and Korea | 1957 Jul -Aug |
| 1 | 39 | Re. arrangements for travel to Japan and Korea | 1957 Sep |
| 1 | 40 | Re. personal effects stored in Shanghai | 1958 Feb - Jul |
| 1 | 41 | Incl. re. disposition of personal effects stored in Shanghai | 1958 Aug -Dec |
| 1 | 42 | Re. disposition of personal effects stored in Shanghai | 1959 Apr to Nov |
| 1 | 43 | Re. disposition of personal effects stored in Shanghai | Dec 1959 |
| 1 | 44 | JCT to "Mohammed" | 1965 Jul 3 |
| Box | Folder | Contents | Date |
| 2 | 45 | Article reprinted from the Journal of the American Chemical Society, entitled "The Action of Thionyl and Sulfuryl Chlorides on Sulfur and Phosphorus" | 1918 May |
| 2 | 46 | Thomson's dissertation for Columbia University, entitled "A Study of Chinese Wood Oils" | 1933 |
| 2 | 47 | Article reprinted from the Journal of the American Chemical Society, entitled "A Spectroscopic Study of Eleostearic Acids from Chinese Wood Oil" | 1934 |
| 2 | 48 | Article in Nutrition Reviews, entitled "The Food Problems of Free China" | 1943 Jul |
| 2 | 49 | University of Nanking Nutrition Project:: diet record summary and calculations | 1948 |
| 2 | 50 | University of Nanking Nutrition Project:: diet records | 1948 Jun 20-26 |
| 2 | 51 | University of Nanking Nutrition Project: diet records | 1948 Oct 31-Nov 6 |
| 2 | 52 | University of Nanking Nutrition Tables | |
| 2 | 53 | Typed copy of "The Food Problems of Free China" on loose-leaf paper | |
| 2 | 55 | Report for the United Nations World Health Organization on "Nutrition in Iran" | 1952 Oct |
| 2 | 56 | Draft of report for the United Nations World Health Organization on "Nutrition in Iran" | |
| 2 | 57 | Typescript reports re. Iran | |
| 2 | 58 | Nutritional Status Surveys from the Ministry of Health of Iran, copies in English and Persian | |
| 2 | 59 | FAO-WHO report on Nutrition in Turkey | 1956 |
| 2 | 60 | Nutrition in Turkey report continued | 1956 |
| 2 | 61 | Nutrition in Turkey report continued | 1956 |
| 2 | 62 | Nutrition in Turkey report continued | 1956 |
| 2 | 63 | Nutrition in Turkey: Report on a Nutritional Status Assessment Survey of 3288 Schoolchildren | 1956 Nov-Dec 1956 |
| 2 | 64 | Nutrition in Turkey: Schoolchildren report cont. | 1956 Nov-Dec |
| 2 | 65 | Nutrition in Turkey Report: a copy with corrections | 1956 Nov-Dec |
| 2 | 66 | Nutrition in Turkey Report (copy with corrections) & notes | 1956 Oct-Dec |
| 2 | 67 | Nutrition in Turkey: Schoolchildren report, additional copy | 1956 Oct-Dec |
| 2 | 68 | Nutrition in Turkey: Schoolchildren report cont. | 1956 Oct-Dec |
| 2 | 69 | Personal notes of J.C. Thomson taken in preparation for the FAO-WHO Turkey Nutrition Report | 1956 |
| 2 | 70 | Nutrition in Pakistan report: a supplement to the joint FAO/WHO/UNICEF Pakistan Milk Survey | 1956 |
| 2 | 71 | Nutrition in Iran II: WHO report | 1957 Mar |
| 3 | 72 | Clinical and Medical Nutrition, Vol. 1, Lecture 1, "Medical Nutrition" | |
| 3 | 73 | Clinical and Medical Nutrition, Vol. 1, Lectures | 1958 |
| 3 | 74 | Clinical and Medical Nutrition, Vol. 1, "Malnutrition" | |
| 3 | 75 | Clinical and Medical Nutrition, Vol. 1, "An Adequate Diet: Its Criteria and How to Obtain it." | |
| 3 | 76 | Clinical and Medical Nutrition, Vol. 1, "The Vitamins" | |
| 3 | 77 | Clinical and Medical Nutrition, Vol. 1 "Thiamine and Malnutrition" | |
| 3 | 78 | Clinical and Medical Nutrition, Vol. 1 "Riboflavin" | |
| 3 | 79 | Clinical and Medical Nutrition, Vol. 1 "Niacin and Pellagra" | |
| 3 | 80 | Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 2, "Food Prescription in Nutrition" | 1958 |
| 3 | 81 | Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 2, "Hospital Diets" | 1957 |
| 3 | 82 | Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 2, "Nutrition in the Care of the Surgical Patient" | 1957 |
| 3 | 83 | Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 2, "Protein Nutrition in Pediatrics" | 1957 |
| 3 | 84 | Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 2, "The Importance of Water and Hormones" | 1957 |
| 3 | 85 | Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 2, "Folic Acid" | 1957 |
| 3 | 86 | Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 2, "Vitamins" | |
| 3 | 87 | Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 2 "Thiamine and Tubefeeding" | 1957 |
| 3 | 88 | Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 2 "Pellagra" | 1957 |
| 3 | 89 | Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 2 "Riboflavin and Folic Acid" | 1957 |
| 3 | 90 | Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 2 "Anemias" | |
| 3 | 91 | Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 2 "B-12 Vitamin and other B-Vitamins" | |
| 3 | 92 | Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 2 "Vitamin K, Vitamin E, and Misc." | |
| 3 | 93 | Syllabus for Medical Nutrition, Yonsei University Medical School, Seoul, Korea | 1958-1959 |
| 3 | 94 | Syllabus for Medical Nutrition, Yonsei University Medical School, Seoul, Korea | 1958-1959 |
| 3 | 95 | Syllabus for Medical Nutrition, Yonsei University Medical School | 1958-1959 |
| 3 | 96 | Syllabus for Medical Nutrition, Yonsei University Medical School | 1958-1959 |
| 3 | 97 | Syllabus for Medical Nutrition, Yonsei University Medical School | 1958-1959 |
| 3 | 98 | Syllabus for Medical Nutrition, Yonsei University Medical School | 1958-1959 |
| 3 | 99 | Syllabus for Medical Nutrition, Yonsei University Medical School | 1958-1959 |
| 3 | 100 | Syllabus for Medical Nutrition, Yonsei University Medical School | 1958-1959 |
| 3 | 101 | Nutritional Status Surveys, Yonsei University Medical School | |
| 3 | 102 | FAO-WHO Report on Turkey in Turkish | 1962 |
| 4 | 103 | Outlines & notes from articles on nutrition in China | 1923-1935 |
| 4 | 104 | Outlines & notes from articles on nutrition in China | 1936-1937 |
| 4 | 105 | Outlines & notes from articles on nutrition in China | 1938-1940 |
| 4 | 106 | Outlines ¬es from articles on nutrition in China | 1940-1945 |
| 4 | 107 | Notes | 1956 |
| 4 | 108 | Notes regarding nutrition in China | |
| 4 | 109 | Medical Nutrition Lectures, Lecture #1, "Clinical Nutrition: Some Recent Advances in the Science of Human Nutrition" | |
| 4 | 110 | Medical Nutrition Lectures, Lecture #2, "The Modern Concept of Malnutrition" | |
| 4 | 111 | Medical Nutrition Lectures, Lecture 3A "An Adequate Diet: How Can It Be Obtained" | |
| 4 | 112 | Medical Nutrition Lectures, "The Vitamins and Avitaminosis A" | |
| 4 | 113 | Medical Nutrition Lectures, Lecture 5A, "Thiamine and Athiaminosis and the Berberis" | |
| 4 | 114 | Medical Nutrition Lectures, Lecture 5B, "Riboflavin, B2" | |
| 4 | 115 | Medical Nutrition Lectures, Lecture #6 "Niacin, Amounosis and Pellagra" | |
| 4 | 116 | Medical Nutrition Lectures, Lecture #8 "Ascorbic Acid, Scurvy and Avitaminosis C" | |
| 4 | 117 | Medical Nutrition Lectures, Lecture 8B, "Pyridoxine (The Vitamin B6 group)" | |
| 4 | 118 | Medical Nutrition Lectures, Lecture 8C, "Folic Acid" | |
| 4 | 119 | Medical Nutrition Lectures, Lecture #9, "Iron, B-12" | |
| 4 | 120 | Medical Nutrition Lectures, Lecture 9B, "Protein Deficiency" | |
| 4 | 121 | Medical Nutrition Lectures, Lecture #11, "Diagnosis of Nutritional Deficiency" | |
| 4 | 122 | Medical Nutrition Lectures, Lecture #12, "The Role of Proteins in Hormone Metabolism" | |
| 4 | 123 | Speech, "Some Recent Advances and Trends in Nutrition" | 1945 Sep 31 |
| 4 | 124 | Speech, "Our Food and Our Health" | |
| 4 | 125 | Speech, "Foods, Vitamins and Our Health" | 1946 Dec 3 |
| 4 | 126 | Speech, "Our Food and Our Health" at Okaba-Mura | 1953 Sep 11 |
| 4 | 127 | Speech, "Nutrition in China" | 1950 May 11 |
| 4 | 128 | Speech, "The Modern Concept of Nutritional Deficiency Diseases" | |
| 4 | 129 | Speech, "Can the Modern Knowledge of Food and Nutrition Build a Healthier People?" | |
| 4 | 130 | List of Diseases, Department of Medicine, United Hospital Chengtu | |
| 4 | 131 | Speech, "Some Recent Important Contributions of Chemistry to the Field of Food and Nutrition" | |
| 4 | 132 | Speeches, "Vitamins in Health," and "Recent Advances in Nutrition"notes | |
| 4 | 133 | Speech, "Changing China and the Chinese Christians" | |
| 4 | 134 | Speech, "A Short Talk on Food and Health for Mothers and Teachers" held in Canton, China | 1949 Jun 18 |
| 4 | 135 | Speech, "Vitamins and Health" | |
| 4 | 136 | Speeches, "The Influence of Milling, Preserving and Cooking on Food Values" & "Calcium and Phosphorus Requirements" | |
| 4 | 137 | Speech, "Mineral Elements in Nutrition," related notes | |
| 4 | 138 | Medical Nutrition Lectures | 1950-1959 |
| Box | Folder | Contents | Date |
| 5 | 139 | "Chinese Method of Infant Feeding and Nursing" by B.S. Platt and S.Y. Gin | Dec 1938 |
| 5 | 140 | "A Student Church in Kunming," article in The Chinese Reporter | Feb 1940 |
| 5 | 141 | "A Study of the Woburn Iodine Absorption Method" by J.D. von Mikusch and Charles Frazier | 1941 |
| 5 | 142 | University of Nanking newsletter | July 1944 |
| 5 | 143 | "Some Demographic and Health Characteristics of 173 Villages in a Rural Area of Iran," by M.B. Mashayekhi and Guy S. Hayes | 1952 |
| 5 | 144 | "Some Demographic..." cont. | 1952 |
| 5 | 145 | "Some Demographic..." cont. | 1952 |
| 5 | 146 | "Some Demographic..."cont. | 1952 |
| 5 | 147 | Political map of Pakistan | 1953 |
| 5 | 148 | World Food Congress Commission Health in Relation to Nutrition and Working Efficiency in Turkey by Iskender Bayka | 1963 |
| 5 | 149 | Tourist information about Kashmir | |
| 5 | 150 | Media Area Retired Men's Association; Old Guard Retirement Club | 1963,1966 |
| 5 | 151 | Circular letters of others re. missions, obituary of JCT (1974), visas of JCT and MCT (1949) | 1941-1974 |
| Box | Folder | Contents | Date |
| 5 | 152 | Two prints of a caravan in Iran, one print of J.C. Thomson with women and a child in Nahmatabad, Iran | 1951 |
| 5 | 153 | One print of a Tehran classroom (the Rahnama High School) with an American Fulbright teacher; one print of a Fulbright teacher conducting a class on agriculture at the Near East Foundation near Tehran; one print of students of the rural teacher-training school near Tehran learning how to work manure into the soil for proper fertilizing | |
| 5 | 154 | Print of J.C. Thomson examining a little girl during a health tour of Nahmatabad, Iran; print of a boy taken in Vahnabad; one print of women weaving; J.C. Thomson and Iranian counterparts | |
| 5 | 155 | Print of J.C. Thomson with Dr. Hachiro Yuasa, president of the International Christian University, and Dr. Iwao Ayusawa, faculty member greeting Thomson at Haneda Airport near Tokyo; print of J.C. Thomson shaking hands with Dr. Yuasa; print of an eye examination given to a co-ed of the ICU College of Liberal Arts by J.C. Thomson; print of Thomson, Dr. Stanley I. Stuber, and Russell L. Dirgin; print of ICU faculty members during a conference of the ICU Foundation in New York |
| Box | Folder | Contents | Date |
| 6 | 156 | China Slides: slide carousel #5, slides of Nanking, Kuling, Canton, Hong Kong and Macao; slide carousel #6, slides of Yunnan and Sikang, incl. leprosy colony, market scenes, Lolo country, Nosu people | 1948-1949; 1949 |
| 7 | 157 | Metal box containing slides of China and Hong Kong; slide carousel #4 containing slides of Peking, Great Wall of China, Summer Palace, Western Hills, etc. | circa 1949 |
| 8 | 158 | Slides of Iran: peoples of Shiraz, Isfahan, other sites in Iran, labeled and unlabeled slide boxes | 1951, 1952, 1953 |
| 9 | 159 | Slides of Japan: Inoshima, Kamakca, Bentenjima, Uji-Yamada, Nojiri, Hokkaido, labeled slide boxes | 1953, 1954, 1958 |
| 10 | 160 | Slides of Korea: Palace and Secret Garden, country trip, Nan San Han Shan trip, city scenes of Seoul, Autumn in the Secret Garden, Seoul, and slides of Swat | 1959 |
| 11 | 161 | Slides of Iran: carousel tray #1, Persia, WHO, Beirut, Damas, Tehran, Qum, Isfahan; carousel tray #2, Persia | 1966 |
| 12 | 162 | Slides of Iran and Herat, Afghanistan in a carousel slide tray | 1966 |
| 13 | 163 | Slide boxes labeled China, Japan, Iran, Persia, Korea, HK |
| Box | Folder | Contents | Date |
| 14 | 164 | Thomson family: four 3 1/2 inch, 16mm reels (1928-1933); twelve 2 3/4 inch 16mm reels (mostly family footage - see list of reels in Box 18, Folder 169) | 1928-1957 |
| 15 | 165 | Thomson family: one 5 inch 16mm reel:#1)"Jimmy and family in USA, 1931-1933"; five 7 inch 16mm reels:2)"Summer trip to USA, 1931"; 3)"Jimmy, Princeton, 1931"; 4)"DAR Picnic, 1941"; 5)"Jim, Cambridge, 1954"; 6)"Heath/ South Kent, 1956" | 1931-1956 |
| 16 | 166 | Thomson family / Nanking footage: three 3 1/2 inch 16mm reels: #1) "Nanking, Christmas at Mills, 1930"; 2)"Sun Yat-sen memorial, MIng tombs, etc. 1930 or 1931"; 3) "John's party, Hillcrest track meet, our house and University buildings - Nanking, 1931" | 1930-1931 |
| 16 | 166 | Thomson family / Nanking footage: three 4 3/4 inch 16 mm reels:# 4) "Dr. Bowen, Robin Hood - Nanking, 1929"; 5) "The trip from SG to Honolulu, Nanking and Hillcrest, 1933"; 6) "Hillcrest and Nancy's Commencement, Shanghai American School, Lotus Lake, Purple Mountain -1936" | 1929-1936 |
| 16 | 166 | Thomson family/ Nanking footage: four 2 3/4 inch 16mm reels: #7) "Nanking, 1933 - Emily C??"; 8) "Kuling, Nanking - swimming, camping, 1934"; 9) "Kuling, 1934"; 10)"Nanking, 1934 - Lotus Lake, Sun Yat-sen tomb, family" | 1933-1934 |
| 17 | 167 | Footage mostly of Nanking: nine 7 inch 16mm reels: #1) "Fall 1930 -Nanking"; 2) "Winter 1930 - Nanking, family, Ginling College, rural scenes, city walls, New Year scenes"; 3) "Nojiri?/ Nanking - 1930"; 4) "China Diary -1930-1931"; 5) "Hangchow, Chinkiang, Niagara - 1931"; 6) "Ginling"; 7) "Ginling College - Winter 1931"; 8) "Summer 1933 - Trip to China"; 9) "Unzen, our garden, Lotus Lake, Hillcrest Fair - 1935" | 1930-1935 |
| 18 | 168 | Footage mostly of Nanking/ China: ten 7 inch 16mm reels: #1) "Nanking - 1935"; 2) "Hillcrest, Shanghai American School - 1936"; 3) "Nanking, Peking, Summer Palace, Ming Tombs, Great Wall, Shanghai - 1937-1938"; 4) print of #3; 5) "Nanking, Shanghai, Hanoi, Hong Kong - 1938"; 6) "Nojiri - 1938"; 7) "Shanghai American School - 1938-1939"; 8) "Nojiri - 1939"; 9) "Mt. Rest, Smith - 1942 ?SAS Commencement 1939?"; 10) "Unzen - 1954" | 1935-1954 |
| 18 | 169 | Peggy Thomson's catalogue of the slides/film contained in the collection; catalogue by J.C. Thomson of the China slides; historical notes on Peking by Margaret Seabury Thomson, the wife of J.C. Thomson | |
| 18 | 170 | Handwritten notes of J.C. Thomson on index cards, concerning the history of Iran and the sites of the slides he took; another series of handwritten notes concerning sites in Herat, Afghanistan and Iran which he captured on film; handwritten notes concerning China and Iran | |
| 19 | 171 | Videotape use copies of the films contained in boxes 16 - 18 |