| Administrative History | Joseph V Smith was a distinguished mineralogist and the first occupant of the chair of Geology at The University of Chicago. Born and educated in Derbyshire, he emigrated to America on completion of his postgraduate studies in Cambridge. One of the highlights of his academic career was the identification of rock samples from the moon landing in 1969, with collaborators P J Wyllie and W A Elders. See the list of principal investigators and investigations of lunar surface samples on https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap11fj/pdf/a11-press-kit2.pdf |
| Custodial History | Donated to Derbyshire Record Office in July 2007 |