John Franklin Carlson (1899-1954) was a Professor of Physics (1946-1954) at Iowa State College (University). He received his education at the University of California, Berkeley, and his doctoral thesis was written under the guidance of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer. He specialized in theoretical physics and co-authored a paper with Oppenheimer titled "On Multiplicative Showers." He was honored as a Fellow by the American Physical Society. Carlson committed suicide in 1954.

Following his death, funds were raised to establish the John Franklin Carlson Lecture Fund. According to the text included at the beginning of each transcript, the fund was created "for the purpose of bringing to Iowa State College each year an outstanding scholar to give the John Franklin Carlson Lecture on some aspect of physical science, its philosophical implications, and its relation to human affairs." The first John Franklin Carlson Lecturer was J. Robert Oppenheimer. Over the years other prominent physicists would be invited to speak at Iowa State, including Neils Bohr, P. W. Bridgeman, and Eugene Wigner.

This collection (1955-1969) contains lecture transcripts, reel-to-reel audio recordings, and a photograph. The audiotapes contain recordings of lectures given by J. Robert Oppenheimer, Neils Bohr, and P. W. Bridgeman. The reel-to-reel tapes are stored in the vault, range 513.

The collection is arranged chronologically.