Letter from Robert Huke, Dartmouth College, to Robert Oppenheimer, Princeton University, 9 February 1959

February 9, 1959

Dear Dr. Oppenheimer:

Within the next few days it will be my pleasure to start publicity for your forthcoming lecture at Dartmouth College. You are scheduled to speak on Thursday, the 5th of March at 8:30 p.m. Would you please send a photo that I may use in my publicity and also a title for your lecture. Whatever topic you wish to speak on will be fine with us.

I have reserved a double room at the Hanover Inn in your name and you may stay with us as many nights as you care to. The lecture committee is planning a dinner in your honor for 6 o'clock on the evening of March 5. We would like very much to plan a reception for you either the afternoon of the lecture, the following afternoon, or immediately after your speech, whichever time best suits your already busy schedule.

If you plan to come by air, connections from LaGuardia field to Lebanon, New Hampshire, either directly or by way of Boston are available. If you come by air I shall plan to meet you at the airport. Northeast Airlines has two flights from New York to Lebanon, one leaves at 6:50 a.m. and arrives Lebanon 8:35 a.m.; the other leaves LaGuardia at 4:55 arriving in Lebanon at 6:40 p.m. If you were to come on this flight you should probably come on Wednesday evening. In that case we could plan a reception for you on Thursday afternoon.

There is also railroad transportation from New York to White River Junction, Vermont. However the ride consumes 6 ½ hours and is not a comfortable one. To drive from Princeton to Hanover takes about 7 ½ hours although many of my students claim that they can do it in six hours.

A large segment of the Hanover community is looking forward to your lecture. It will be the high point of our lecture series. Please let me have your title as soon is convenient.

Yours truly,
Robert E. Huke
Chairman
Dartmouth College Lecture Series.

Text and image reproduced here with permission from the papers of J. Robert Oppenheimer, held in the manuscript division of the Library of Congress.