Charles McGee Heck Papers 1922-1943

Professor Charles McGee Heck was born on May 28, 1881, in the family residence on Blount Street, between Lane and North, in Raleigh, North Carolina. At the age of fifteen he began his freshman year at Wake Forest College and received an A.B. in the year 1900. He continued as a graduate student at Columbia University where he parlayed previous research on the chemistry of alternating current, performed in his attic during preceeding summers, and received an M.A. in 1901.

After spending time in Berlin and China, Heck returned to the United States and took a position at the University of Nebraska as an Assistant Professor of Physics, 1905-1912. After a short period at Colorado College, Heck took a position under William Hand Browne in the fall of 1913 as Associate Professor of Physics in the Electrical Engineering Department at North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (later North Carolina State University). He achieved the title of Professor and Head of the Physics Department in 1917. During his tenure, Professor Heck designed the Physics half of the building that would later be named in honor of Josephus Daniels. He discovered the first known spiral crystal and devised the multiple radiator for meteorological reseach and weather forecasting. Upon his retirement in 1946, he was named Dean Emeritus.

In addition to his academic career, Heck spearheaded a relief effort to save millions of Chinese from starvation shortly after World War I. He also, as a result of his interest in the history and future of North Carolina, compiled materials for young students, to inspire "them to love Raleigh and their state and implant in their young minds a determination to be loyal to and serve this community..."

Heck was married to Maude Williams Heck. They had one son, Charles W. Heck. Charles McGee Heck died on November 23, 1952.

The Charles McGee Heck Papers document Heck's life and work prior to and during his tenure as Professor and Head of the Physics Department at North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering (later North Carolina State University), 1917 - 1946. As a physics professor, Heck discovered the first known spiral crystal and devised the multiple radiator for meteorological reseach and weather forecasting. The papers illuminate Heck's personal life as a child growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina, his relationship with his parents and siblings, thoughts about school and those who inspired him and developed his philosophies throughout his life and work. The collection consists of bulletins, letters, a proposal, a testimonial, a display album of spiral research, and typescripts of The Story of Early Raleigh Its Capitol and Its First Railroad and a seventy-page autobiography.

This collection is organized by type of document.

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[Identification of item], Charles McGee Heck Papers, MC 00030, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC

• North Carolina State University College of Physical and Mathmatical Sciences website
• North Carolina State Archives - Charles M. Heck (1881 - 1952) Collection, Number 236. In the map collection is a bound volume of photostatic documents, dating from 1663 - 1887, which includes the original charter for the colony, early land grants for Raleigh and Wake County, land entries, deeds, maps of Wake County and North Carolina, plans of the city of Raleigh, census records, and letters.

Donated by the Heck family in 1972 and 1977 (Accession 1972-0002, 1977-0002) and by Julian W. Bunn Jr. in 1981 (Accession 1981-0002).

Processed by Laurence Gavin;

Encoded by Laurence Gavin

Updated by Hannah Chapman, 2022 March