James A. E. Halkett Papers and Sigmund A. Wesolowski, M.D. Papers
name: label: Creator
content: Halkett, James A. E. (physicist)
label: Creator
content: Wesolowski, Sigmund A.
label: Names
content: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
label: Former owner
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Medical Sciences
topic: label: Occupation
content: Surgeons
label: Topic
content: Atomic bomb
label: Topic
content: Biophysics
label: Topic
content: Cancer
label: Topic
content: Civil defense
label: Topic
content: Experiments
label: Topic
content: Heart, Artificial
label: Topic
content: Heart pump
label: Topic
content: Heart -- Surgery
label: Topic
content: Leukemia in animals
label: Topic
content: Medical Equipment
label: Topic
content: Medical radiology
label: Topic
content: Medical sciences
label: Topic
content: Patents
label: Topic
content: Radioactivity
label: Topic
content: Radiation
label: Topic
content: Radiology
label: Topic
content: United States. Navy
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Collection donated by James A. E. Halkett and Adam Wesolow (Sigmund A. Wesolowski), May 6, 1985.
creator: label: Creator
content: Halkett, James A. E. (physicist)
label: Creator
content: Wesolowski, Sigmund A.
setName: label: See more items in
content: James A. E. Halkett Papers and Sigmund A. Wesolowski, M.D. Papers
accruals: label: Accruals
content: An additional 9 cubic feet of archival material documenting the life and work of James A.E. Halkett was donated by Muffie Austin, Kim Gillett, Scott Halkett, and Jan Truitt, children of James A.E. Halkett in 2018.
bioghist: label: Biographical/Historical note
content: James Alexander Elder Halkett was born in 1920 in Scotland to inventor James Nicol Halkett, and Edith Victoria Elder. At age three, Halkett immigrated to the United States with his family. He attended Wooster College from 1938-1942 and graduated as the first student at the university to triple major in math, chemistry, and physics. Upon graduating from Wooster College, Halkett worked for the companies A.S. Campbell and General Electric before becoming a U.S. citizen in 1944 and immediately joining the U.S. Navy. During his time in the Navy, Halkett completed the intensive Electronics Training Program and attended the Pre-Radio School, Bliss Electrical School, and the Radio Materiel School. Halkett was stationed in Panama and served as a radio technician until 1946. 

After discharge from the Navy in 1946, Halkett attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 1946-1948 and earned his master's degree with his thesis titled "An Artificial Heart." At MIT he began to develop the early extracorporeal mechanical heart alongside his colleague Bill Sewell, which in 1948 became the first mechanical heart to successfully bypass the left side of a cat's heart. This work was continued at Tufts University from 1949-1950 alongside Dr. Sigmund A. Wesolowski, M.D. (now named Adam Wesolow), with the pair further modifying the cardiac pump which resulted in the long-term survival of animals after bypass surgery. Neither Halkett nor Wesolowski went on to develop this technology for trials with human subjects.  

Halkett completed a predoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University from 1950-1952, where he expanded his interest in tissue culture and biophysics. Following his time at Johns Hopkins, he served as a Senior Biologist in the field of Radioisotopes at the Boston Veterans Administration Hospital until 1974. At the hospital, he conducted research on radiology, leukemia, and nuclear medicine. He also served as the hospital's Chief of Research in Animal Medicine, Science, and Technology (RILAMSAT) from 1968 to 1972. While working at the Boston Veterans Administration Hospital, Halkett earned his Doctor of Philosophy from Boston University in 1964, where he was also a lecturer. Halkett died in 2015 at the age of 94.

Sigmund Adam Weslowski (1921-1993) was born in Massachusetts and attended Harvard University before servng as a midshipman in the Naval Reserve during World War II and later as a captain during the Korean War in the Army Medical Corps. He received a medical degree from Tufts College of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts and spent one year at Guy's Hospital in London under Lord Russell-Brock where he specialized in thoracic surgery. Wesolowski was Professor of Surgery at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn. In the 1980s' he was chief thoracic surgeon at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Togus, Maine. Wesolowski helped devise a heart pump in the early days of open-heart surgery  at Tufts University from 1949-1950 alongside Dr. James A.E. Halkett. The pair further modified the cardiac pump which resulted in the long-term survival of animals after bypass surgery.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 11 Cubic feet (29 boxes, 1 map folder)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1922-2010
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: Collection transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Medical Sciences (now Division of Medicine and Science), January 23, 1986.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0220
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Diaries
label: Type
content: Manuscripts
label: Type
content: Laboratory notebooks
label: Type
content: Lecture notes
label: Type
content: Masters theses
label: Type
content: Reprints
label: Type
content: Theses
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is organized into three series with subseries.

Series 1: James A. E. Halkett Papers, 1922-2010

Subseries 1.1: Personal, 1938-1966

    
    	
Subseries 1.1.1: Wooster College, 1938-1942

        
Subseries 1.1.2: Henry Ford Trade School, 1941

        
Subseries 1.1.3: Non-Degree Granting Courses, 1943-1944

        
Subseries 1.1.4: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1940-1966

        
Subseries 1.1.5: Tufts University, 1948-1949

        
Subseries 1.1.6: Johns Hopkins University, 1949-1954

        
Subseries 1.1.7: Boston University (PhD Candidate), 1960-1964

Subseries 1.2: Career, 1922-2010

    
Subseries 1.2.1: A.S. Campbell, 1942

        
Subseries 1.2.2: General Electric, 1944

        
Subseries 1.2.3: U.S. Navy, 1940-1946

        
Subseries 1.2.4: Boston Veterans Administration Hospital, 1940-1973

        
Subseries 1.2.5: Boston University (Lecturer), 1957-1961

        
Subseries 1.2.6: Professional Associations, 1950-1974

        
Subseries 1.2.7: Reprints and Reprint Requests, 1922-2010

Subseries 1.3: Index Cards, circa 1930s-1950s

Subseries 1.4: Lantern Slides, circa 1940s-1960s

    
Subseries 1.4.1: Mechanical Cardiac Pump, 1949-1950

        
Subseries 1.4.2: Leukemia in Mice, circa 1960s

        
Subseries 1.4.3: Experiments, circa 1950s

        
Subseries 1.4.4: Civil Defense and Medical and Health Services, circa 1950s

        
Subseries 1.4.5: Effects of the Atomic Bomb, circa 1945

Series 2: H.J. Sugarman Papers, 1950-1951

Series 3: Sigmund A. Wesolowski (Adam Wesolow) Papers, 1951
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Barbara Kemp, 1986. Addendum processed by Sally Johnson, intern; supervised by Alison Oswald, archivist, 2023.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Diaries -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Manuscripts
label: Genre/Form
content: Laboratory notebooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Lecture notes
label: Genre/Form
content: Masters theses
label: Genre/Form
content: Reprints
label: Genre/Form
content: Theses
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: Halkett and Wesolow(ski) materials show the process of technological innovation through laboratory protocols. They also demonstrate the various alternatives explored in the search for effective artificial circulation by using materials which would not damage or clot blood and that could be sterilized. The evolution of the pumping mechanism and power source, the design and materials of the pump itself, and a series of catheters (cannulae) or varying shapes and materials are described as a workable solution is found. Secondly, diversity of techniques developed to solve the problems of artificial circulation and their contributions to that work are documented.

The 2018 addenda documents the life and career of physicist James A.E. Halkett.  It includes papers relating to his education, his U.S. Navy service, his work with various employers, and his research in various fields including radio, metallurgy, ordnance, and radioactivity.  Some of the papers relate to his work with General Electric in developing the proximity fuse.  The papers include correspondence and notes, including lab notes, graphs and charts; reports; drawings; photographs; training and operational manuals; bibliographic card files; journals, conference materials and other publications; and miscellany.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Objects related to this collection (See accession 1985.0101.01–1985.0101.67) are located in the Division of Medicine and Science at the National Museum of American History. The objects relate to Halkett and Wesolow's early mechanical heart, and include valves, valve holders, valve chambers, pumps, pump parts,tubing, stroke chamber stoppers, reservoirs, cannulae, and cam systems.