The papers of Professor Jansky reveal him as a teacher with wide interests and as a respected author and consultant in the field of electrical engineering. Jansky's correspondence covers a period from March 1905 until January 1957, and is arranged by months. Approximately one fourth of the correspondence consists of letters to editors, and another one fourth is family correspondence. One series of letters, between Chief Justice M. B. Rosenberry and Jansky, 1938-1949, and a series between Jansky and Glen Davis, 1950-1956, show Jansky's interest in public affairs, but is not revealing as to the opinions of Rosenberry or Davis. Correspondence with J. A. Whitlow, Vice President of the Oklahoma Public Service Company, reveals Jansky's articulate championship of private ownership for public utilities. From 1919 until 1930 Jansky corresponded frequently with Gisbert Bossard on technical problems in the development of the automatic flasher signal for railroad crossings.
Letters to editors and public officials include such names as William E. Borah, Ralph M. Easley, Hamilton Holt, Robert M. La Follette,Sr., Joseph R. McCarthy, Owen J. Roberts, Theodore Roosevelt, and Alexander Wiley. These express Jansky's opinions on a variety of public affairs, including public utilities, but replies from the recipients are brief and not revealing as to their own views.
Also in the collection are manuscripts of magazine articles by Jansky and a few printed articles, speeches, lectures and addresses, radio talks, seminar outlines, and a group of essays on the history of electricity, intended for publication as a book. A group of mimeographed letters and other material on public utilities by J. A. Whitlow contains references and quotations by Jansky regarding the Tennessee Valley Authority and public ownership of utilities.
There are manuscripts of Jansky's three sons, which have been retained because they relate to Jansky's field of interest. Of the three sons, Karl Jansky became a successful research engineer in radar and high-frequency radio communication. Nelson Jansky was drama critic of the Boston Transcript, and C. Moreau Jansky, one of the founders of Radio Station WHA, became head of an electrical engineering consulting firm. There is also one volume of Jansky's personal accounts.
