| Name | Henry B. Peters Papers |
| Dates | 1940-1997 |
| Extent | 6 cubic feet |
| Historical Note | Henry Buckland Peters was born in California in 1916 and died there in 2000 after a long and distinguished career in optometry. Peters obtained the Doctor of Optometry degree from the University of California-Berkeley in 1938 and a master’s of education from the University of Nebraska in 1939. During World War II Peters served in the South Pacific as an advanced radar officer on navy destroyers. Following the war, Dr. Peters returned to California and began the practice of optometry in his father’s office. In 1947 he received an appointment as a clinical professor of optometry at UC- Berkeley. In 1959 Peters was co-author of the ground-breaking “Orinda Study,” the “premier study in childhood vision screening” which “paved the way for school-based vision screening” across the U.S. In 1962 he received an appointed as an associate professor, as assistant dean, and as director of the optometry clinics at UC-Berkeley. In 1969 Dr. Peters was recruited to Birmingham as the founding dean of the UAB School of Optometry; he would retain that position until 1986 when he returned to the teaching faculty in the school. In 1987 Peters retired from the school’s active faculty and was appointed dean emeritus and professor emeritus by the University of Alabama Board of Trustees. From 1987 until 1988 Peters also served as the first executive director of the UAB Research Foundation. In 1994 he authored a photographic history of the school upon its 25th anniversary and that same year the School of Optometry Building at UAB was renamed in his honor. Active in regional and national professional organizations, Peters served as the president of the National Health Council, the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry, and the American Academy of Optometry. |
| Scope and Contents | Contains correspondence, publications, certificates, appointment books, scrapbooks, photographs |
| Arrangement | Organized into eight discrete series: 1) Correspondence; 2) Orinda Study; 3) Reprints; 4) Speeches & Lectures; 5) Scrapbooks; 6) Certificates, Awards & Plaques; 7) Appointment Books; and 8) Photographs (see artificial collection PMC104) |
| Accession Number | M1998-21 |
| Provenance | Material maintained by Dr. Peters in his offices at UAB until his departure from campus, and later transferred to the UAB Archives in June 1998 by Dr. Arol R. Augsburger, dean of the School of Optometry . |
| Copyright | Check with archives staff. |
| Fnding Aid | Printed descriptive guide by Tim L. Pennycuff available in repository. |
| Access Points | Peters, Henry B., q (Henry Buckland), d 1916-2000. Optometrists z Alabama z Birmingham . Optometry z Alabama z Birmingham . University of Alabama at Birmingham. b School of Optometry . University of Alabama in Birmingham. b School of Optometry . |
| Document Types | Correspondence, Certificates, Photographs, Audio tapes, Speeches, Scrapbooks. |
| Location | Manuscript Stacks |
| Related Series | PMC104, Henry B. Peters Photographs, 1944-1994 (consult archives staff for information on Dr. Peters’ university records) |
| Physical Condition | Items have been placed in acid free folders and acid free boxes. Metal fasteners have not been removed. |
This page created 29 October 2008.
Copyright: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.