Henry W. Kendall, along with his colleagues Jerome Friedman and Richard Taylor, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1990 for their pioneering work on subatomic particles, including the discovery of quarks. Dr. Kendall attended the award ceremonies in Stockholm in December 1990, gave several lectures, traveled in the region and met with Scandinavian colleagues during his stay. Photographs and documentation of the occasion, along with the expanded press coverage, correspondence, and public advocacy activities related to and fostered by the prize, formed the basis of the Henry W. Kendall Nobel Prize archive collected by Dr. Kendall himself.
In 1991, Dr. Kendall was invited to return to Stockholm for the Nobel Jubilee, honoring the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the prize. There, he participated in a variety of activities, including the Great Nobel Debate, in which Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Dr. Kendall presented the supporting and opposing positions on the question of “whether, in balance, mankind is harnessing his intelligence to build a better world.”
Henry Kendall wisely used the visibility and access offered by the Nobel Prize in service of his work and advocacy in causes of disarmament, peace, and environmental responsibility, including initiating and gathering signators to the 1992 World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity in 1992 and subsequent public declarations.
In 1998, Dr. Kendall engaged an archivist to assemble and catalogue the materials he had saved relating to the Nobel Prize, including correspondence, photographs, memorabilia and press coverage. Additional items were found after Dr. Kendall’s death and added to the original archive he had commissioned. The Nobel Prize archive includes:
- The formal prize notification and the Nobel Prize certificate awarded to Henry W. Kendall
- Formal documents, programs and invitations
- The Nobel Lecture in physics, on the discovery of quarks, written and presented by Kendall, Friedman and Taylor, and transparencies accompanying it
- Correspondence between Kendall and others around plans for and activities surrounding the 1990 Nobel Prize ceremony and 1991 Nobel Jubilee, and around related advocacy
- Citations and correspondence congratulating Dr. Kendall on his achievements and requesting his comments or endorsements
- Magazine, journal and newspaper articles, press releases and press clips related to the work in physics for which the prize was awarded, his receipt of the prize, activities surrounding it, and events in his honor
- Photographs of the prize ceremonies, the Nobel Jubilee, other Nobel-related activities, and of Dr. Kendall’s engagements elsewhere in Sweden
- Videotapes of Nobel events, 1990 and 1991, including the prize ceremony and the Great Nobel Debate
- Books and articles about the Nobel Prize collected by Kendall
- Related posters, artworks, and memorabilia
nct-archive.org 