Elmer Gates Papers
name: label: Creator
content: Gates, Elmer, 1859-1923
topic: label: Topic
content: Psychology
label: Topic
content: Psychologists
label: Topic
content: Inventors
label: Topic
content: Inventions
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: This collection was donated by Mary P. Gardner and C. Lee Humphries in 2008.
creator: label: Creator
content: Gates, Elmer, 1859-1923
setName: label: See more items in
content: Elmer Gates Papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: Papers document the life of Elmer Gates (1859-1923), an independent American inventor and psychologist. Gates developed ideas related to experimental psychology and inventions in fields such as metallurgy, electricity, microscopy, X-rays, and pedagogy. Papers include correspondence, photographs, patents, articles and clippings, writings, and estate documents.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Elmer Gates (1859-1923) was an experimental psychologist and inventor active at the turn of the twentieth century. Having worked independently from a personal laboratory, Gates remains a largely obscure figure in the history of science. In his day, however, Gates was known for his original ideas linked to experimental psychology, as well as his numerous and eclectic inventions for which he received more than forty patents. A sampling of Gates's inventions and innovations include a foam fire-extinguisher, an improved electric iron, methods for magnetic separation, and educational toys. In the field of psychology, Gates promoted a concept that he termed psychurgy, or the "art of more efficiently using the mind."1 

Elmer Gates was born near Dayton, Ohio, in 1859, to Jacob and Phebe Gates. At an early age, Elmer displayed a marked curiosity for the sciences. While in school, he was also taught by private tutors and his parents (his father was a teacher). By the late 1870s, Elmer had begun to develop ideas about experimental psychology. He believed that scientific experiments should be applied to the processes of the mind. The purpose of "psychurgy" would be to use the mind more effectively and efficiently. By training the mind through intense introspection and concentration and by attempting to observe corresponding physiological phenomena in the brain, Gates sought to demonstrate that the mind is in effect the body, and vice-versa. The ultimate aim—philosophical and moral—was to harness the mind's potential in order to advance new ideas and to improve emotional well-being and personal character.


1 Gates, Elmer. "Can Will Power Be Trained?" Success (March 1900): 93.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1.5 Cubic feet (5 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1894-1988
label: Date
content: bulk 1894-1910
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.1123
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Writings
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Patents
label: Type
content: Personal papers
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Articles
label: Type
content: Diaries
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is divided into six series.

Series 1, Personal Papers, 1879, 1922, 1981-1988  

Series 2, Correspondence, 1894-1924, 1970s

Series 3, Photographs, 1890s-1910

Series 4, Patents, 1896-1928

Subseries 1, United States Patents (issued), 1896-1928

Subseries 2, United States Patent Applications, 1896

Subseries 3, British Patent, 1901

Series 5, Articles and Clippings, 1894-1910, 1923, undated

Series 6, Writings, 1893-1916, 1971, undated

Subseries 1, Articles by Elmer Gates, 1895-1906, undated

Subseries 2, Notes, 1911

Subseries 3, Diary, 1911

Subseries 4, The Concept of Omnicosm (notes), 1893 

Subseries 5, "Originality and Invention Applied to Livelihood and Business," 1981

Subseries 6, Periodicals, 1896, 1903

Subseries 7, Books, 1905-1916, 1971, undated
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Processed by Christopher Ruggiero (intern), June 2008; supervised by Alison Oswald, archivist.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Writings
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 1900-1910
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 1890-1900
label: Genre/Form
content: Patents
label: Genre/Form
content: Personal papers -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Personal papers -- 19th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence -- 19th-20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Articles
label: Genre/Form
content: Diaries -- 20th century
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Elmer Gates Papers contain documents about Gates's scientific pursuits and his personal life. Included are six series: Personal Papers (1879, 1922, 1981-1988), Correspondence (1894-1924, 1970s), Photographs (1890s-1910), Patents (1896-1928), Articles and Clippings (1894-1910, 1923, undated), and Writings, 1893-1916, 1971, undated. The majority of papers date from Elmer Gates's most active period, 1894-1910. The papers are arranged into six series.