This collection includes correspondence, manuscripts (lectures and articles), research grant material, research data, and participation in organizations, such as, the American Society of Naturalists (President, 1968), Genetics Society of America (President, 1963), and the National Research Council. Of particular note, are the detailed data related to Drosophila eye pigment, and human chromosomes.

The physicist W.F.G. Swann was a pioneer in high energy physics and the study of cosmic rays. Climbing the academic ranks from the University of Sheffield to the Universities of Minnesota, Chicago, and Yale, Swann was selected as the first director of the Bartol Research Foundation of the Franklin Institute in 1927, and remained there until his retirement in 1959. An able administrator and excellent mentor, he was best known for his popular work on the new physics, The Architecture of the Universe (1934) and for his research on cosmic rays. Avocationally, he was an accomplished cellist and in addition to performing, he helped organize and support the Swarthmore Symphony Orchestra and other local groups. He died at his home in Swarthmore in 1962. The Swann Papers consist of 41 linear feet of correspondence, class notes, lectures, and photographs documenting Swann's career at the Bartol Research Foundation from 1927 until the end of his life. The collection is wide ranging, touching on atmospheric electricity, particle acceleration, atomic bomb defense, atomic energy, electrets, electrodynamics, magnetism, music, quantum theory, radiation, relativity and Einstein, science and civilization, stratospheric flights (by balloon and airplane), thermodynamics, psychic science, and wave mechanics. It is particularly rich for study of the history of cosmic ray research and the Bartol Institute, and for study of the popularization of modern physical sciences.

One of the most influential statisticians of the twentieth century, John Wilder Tukey (1915-2000) played a key role in both the development and study of statistics. Upon receiving his Ph.D. in mathematics in 1939 from Brown University, he joined the faculty at Princeton; in 1945, he also began work at Bell Laboratories. Equally committed to both Princeton and Bell Labs, Tukey chose to work concurrently at both institutions. He was also a consultant for many companies, such as Merck and Company, Xerox Corporation, and the Educational Testing Service, and was a frequent advisor to the government for such programs as the US Census. From 1960 to 1980 he led the statistical component of NBC's election night projections. Among other projects Tukey analyzed Alfred Kinsey's research and examined data on ozone depletion. Tukey made many important contributions to the field of statistics, such as work in time series analysis, exploratory data analysis, and multiple comparisons. Through his work, Tukey developed statistical applications including the Box-and-Whisker Plot, the Stem-and-Leaf Diagram, Cooley-Tukey Fast Fourier Transforms, Tukey's Paired Comparisons and citation and permutated indices. Tukey's influence extends beyond statistics to everyday language: he was the first to use the word "software" in print and coined words such as "bit" and "linear programming." A prolific writer, John W. Tukey penned more than 500 technical papers and reports and published, among numerous other works. His collected papers amount to eight volumes of work. The Tukey Papers provides a comprehensive perspective into Tukey's professional activities from his days as a graduate student until his death in 2000. Among the material is his correspondence and his published and unpublished works. There is abundant material from Tukey's long careers at Bell Laboratories and Princeton University, including extensive lecture notes and syllabi. Also included are copious materials relating to his professional activities with such agencies as the National Research Council, the Army Records Office, Xerox PARC, Merck and Company, the President's Science Advisory Committee, and the National Academy of Sciences.

Thomas F. Anderson (1911-1991) was a biophysicist and electron microscopist whose research included Raman spectroscopy; the physiology of yeast; the biological effects of radiation; the biological applications of electron microscopy; and the genetics of bacteria, bacterial viruses, and bacteriophage. He was a Professor of Biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania and a Senior Member of the Institute for Cancer Research in Fox Chase.

These are chiefly working papers on subjects requiring statistical analysis and letters, reports, and papers relating to professional organizations. There is little personal material.

Sewall Wright ranks among the most influential figures in the field of population genetics during the 20th century, and made important contributions to biostatistics, biometrics, and evolutionary theory. These papers contain much of Wright's professional correspondence, scattered research notes, and drafts of a small number of papers.