Records of the Secretary Treasurer of the Ballistocardiograph Research Society

The collection was assembled by three of the Society's secretary treasurers, Abraham Noordergraaf (1965-1967), N. Ty Smith (1967-1970), and Edward W. Bixby, Jr., (1970-1976), and it presents a comprehensive view of the duties of that office as well as of the history of the Society.

The existing official minutes of the annual meetings of the BRS, 1963-1976, are contained in Series 1. No minutes for meetings before 1963 have survived (with the exception of a copy of the 1958 meeting's minutes preserved in Series 2), and there are no minutes for the years 1965, 1969, and 1975, when the Society's annual meeting was superceded by the international meetings. Reports of the secretary and treasurer are attached to the minutes. One folder of drafts of minutes for 1972-1976 is also included.

Series 2 contains the correspondence of the secretarytreasurers from 1963 to 1977. This series, the bulk of the collection, illustrates the variety of responsibilities of the office, particularly organizational matters, publication of proceedings of the annual meetings, preparation of minutes, membership and financial affairs, preparations for the annual meetings, and correspondence with speakers. Figures who are featured prominently in the correspondence include: Donald M. Cunningham, Ernst K. Franke, Walter Kirby Harrison, Jr., William R. Scarborough, Isaac Starr, Aleksandr Aleksandrevich Talakov, and Zdenek Trefny.

In addition to these general files, a few subject specific files of correspondence exist: S. Karger AG, the publisher of the Society's proceedings, 1965-1974; the Cardiovascular System Dynamics Society, 1976 and 1978; Historical Information, 1956-1970; and World Congresses on Ballistocardiography and Cardiovascular Dynamics, 1964-1969. The file of historical information includes lists of officers and copies of material concerning the organization of the BRS, including minutes of the 1958 session.

Proceedings of each annual meeting of the BRS from 1962 to 1974 are housed in Series 3. These files contain abstracts of papers presented to the Society with related correspondence, programs, and agenda. There are no proceedings from the international meetings in 1965, 1969, and 1975. Although the Society met in 1976, the purpose of the meeting was to determine the fate of the BRS; no scientific business was presented.

Most of the material relating to payment of BRS membership dues was discarded during processing. Membership lists from 1963 to 1976, however, have been retained in Series 4. Also in Series 4 are two editions of an informal newsletter which was produced by the Society president, Don M. Cunningham, in 1971.

Although the BRS was dissolved in 1976, some funds remained. These were entrusted to Edward W. Bixby, Jr., the last secretary treasurer, who eventually used the funds to establish an Isaac Starr Memorial Fund in 1980. Correspondence concerning the fund and some financial records, 1980-1981, are preserved in Series 5. This small fund may still be active.