• Ernst Richard R.,
  Zurich's Contributions to 50 Years Development of Bruker,
  Angewandte Chemie 49, 8310-8315 (2010). DOI: 10.1002/anie.201005067.
• Pavlish Ursula,
  Robert Vivian Pound and the Discovery of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in Condensed Matter,
  Physics in Perspective 12, 180-189 (2010). DOI: 10.1007/s00016-009-0011-z.
• Williams C. Stevens,
  Eulogy of the late Roy H. Bible,
  A recollection of an early NMR enthusiast.
  Stan's Library III May 2010. Free access through DOI: 10.3247/SL3Nmr10.003
• Anonymous, Edited by Sykora S.,
  The Life of Professor Fuchun Yu,
  Biography of a great physicist and co-discoverer of NMR chemical shifts
  Stan's Library III March 2009. Free access through DOI: 10.3247/SL3Nmr09.002
• Fukushima Eiichi,
  Opening Reception Talk, 10th ICMRM and 9th CMNMR Book of Abstracts, pp 17-23.
  International Conference on Magnetic Resonance Microscopy (The Heidelberg Conference) and the Colloquium on Mobile NMR, Aug 30 - Sep 4, 2009, West Yellowstone, Montana, USA.
• Parker Philip M., Editor,
  Electron Spin Resonance: Webster's Timeline History, 1958 - 2007,
  ICON Group International 2009. ISBN 978-0546691450. more >>.
• The Treasures of Eureka, Editors,
  Electron Paramagnetic Resonance
  From Fundamental Research to Pioneering Applications & Zavoisky Award
  Axas Publishing Ltd 2009. ISBN ISBN 978-1877524011. more >>.
• Waugh J.S.,
  Sixty Years of Nuclear Moments,
  Annual Review of Physical Chemistry 60 (January 2009). abstract >>.
• Zeman V.,
  Vzpomínky na NMR v Brnênské Tesle,
  Recollections of NMR development and production in Tesla Brno (in Czech)
  Stan's Library II April 2008. Free access through DOI: 10.3247/SL2Nmr08.003
• Encyclopedia of Magnetic Resonance
  History of the development of magnetic resonance [MRI and NMR] and its key contributors,
  J.Wiley 2002. ISBN 0-470-84784-8. On-line version updated in 2007.
  This resource exists also in a very expensive printed form, but individual items can be purchased at $25 apiece. See the list of topics and expand "Historical Perspectives" (over 210 items).
• Packard M.E., ,
  Packard, Martin E.: Nuclear Induction at Stanford and the Transition to Varian,
  in Encyclopedia of Magnetic Resonance, Volume 1 - Historical Perspectives,
  John Wiley 2007 (see above). DOI: 10.1002/9780470034590.emrhp0136.
• Kessenikh A.V.,
  On Academician E.K.Zavoisky's centenary,
  Phys.-Usp., 50, 977-978; Issue 9 (2007). DOI >>.
  A bio of Evgeny Zavoisky, the discoverer of ESR and the first person to see an NMR signal of a bulk sample.
• Zavoiskaja Natalija E.,
  Istorija odnovo odkritija [History of a discovery],
  Gruppa IDT, Moskow 2007. ISBN 978-5948330495. In Russian only.
  Biography of Evgenij Konstaninovich Zavoisky and his discovery of ESR/EPR.
• Mallard J.R.,
  Magnetic resonance imaging - the Aberdeen perspective on developments in the early years,
  Phys.Med.Biol. 51 n.13, R45-R60 (2006). abstract >>.
• Reinhardt C.,
  A Lead User of Instruments in Science: John D. Roberts and the Adaptation of
  Nuclear Magnetic Resonance to Organic Chemistry, 1955-1975,
  Isis 97, 205-236 (2006). abstract >>.
• Sykora S.,
  Quattro K bastano e avanzano,
  A short story capturing the early days of FT-NMR in Italy (in Italiano)
  Stan's and Lucia's Log Cabin, May 2006. Free access through DOI: 10.3247/ilcl08.004
• Proctor W.G.,
  Reminiscences of the Early Days of NMR at Stanford University,
  Stan's Library I September 2005. Free access through DOI: 10.3247/SL1Nmr05.002
• Roberts J.D.,
  Pople, Schneider, and Bernstein - A truly seminal treatise of NMR,
  Can.J.Chem. 83, 1626-1628 (2005). abstract >>.
• Reinhardt Carsten,
  Chemistry in a Physical Mode: Molecular Spectroscopy and the Emergence of NMR,
  Annals of Science 61, 1-32 (2004). abstract >>.
• Young I.R.,
  Significant events in the development of MRI,
  J.Magn.Reson. 20, 183-186 (2004). abstract >>.
• Mallard J.R.,
  The Evolution of Medical Imaging: From Geiger Counters to MRI - A Personal Saga,
  Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 46, 349-370 (2003). abstract >>.
• Roberts J.A.,
  Negotiated Identities of Chemical Instrumentation.
  The Case of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, 1956-1969,
  Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 988, 257-268 (2003). abstract >>.
• Kriege J.,
  Felix Bloch and the creation of a "scientific spirit" at CERN,
  Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences 32, 57-69 (2002). more >>.
• Bernward J., Shinn T.,
  Instrumentation Between Science, State and Industry,
  in Sociology of the Sciences, Vol.22,
  Springer / Kluwer Academic 2002. ISBN 1-402-00242-4. more >>.
• Grant D.M., Harris R.K., Editors,
  Encyclopedia of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Volume 1 - Historical Perspectives,
  John Wiley 2002. ISBN: 0-471-49082-2. more >>.
• Reinhardt Carsten,
  Instrument der Einheit? Nuclear Magnetic Resonance und chemische Forschung um 1950,
  in Chemie - Kultur - Geschichte. Festschrift für Hans-Werner Schütt anlässlich seines 65. Geburtstages, Edited by A.Schürmann and B.Weiss, GNT-Verlag, Berlin 2002, pp.327-337.
• Jackman J.A., Editor,
  History of NMR Well Logging,
  Concepts in Magn.Reson. 13, Issue 6, 335-343 (2001).
  This special issue contains the following contributions:
  - Brown R.J.S., The Earth's-field NML development at Chevron, p.344-366,
  - Chandler R., Proton free precession (Earth's-field) logging at Schlumberger (1956-1988), p.366-367,
  - Jackson J.A., Los Alamos NMR well logging project, p.368-378,
  - Miller M.N., NUMAR and NUMALOG overview, p.379-385,
  - Paltiel Z., NUMALOG (1985-1991), p.385-389,
  - Prammer M.G., NUMAR (1991-2000), p.389-395,
  - Kleinberg R.L., NMR well logging at Schlumberger, p.396-403,
  - Kleinberg R.L., NMR measurement of petrophysical properties, p.404-406,
  - Prammer M.G., Hydrocarbon saturation measurements by NMR, p.406-408,
  - Prammer M.G., NMR logging-while-drilling (1995-2000), p.409-411,
• Wells P.N.T.,
  Physics and engineering: milestones in medicine,
  Medical Engineering & Physics 23, 147-153 (2001). PDF. abstract >>.
• Woessner D.E.,
  The early days of NMR in the Southwest,
  Concepts in Magn.Reson. 13, 77-102 (2001).
• Bleaney B.,
  Edward Mills Purcell. 30 August 1912 - 7 March 1997,
  Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society45, 438-477 (1999). more info >>.
• Cohen M.S., Bird D.,
  Why Trade?,
  Perspectives on Science 7(2), (1999). abstract >>.
  MRI instruments history used as example in an argument about the stability of Science (?).
• Ernst R.R.,
  The advent of NMR in the light of Sir Peter Mansfield's innovations,
  Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine 9(3), 97-99 (1999). DOI: 10.1007/BF02594602
• Ramsey N.F.,
  Early History of Magnetic Resonance,
  Physics in Perspective 1 (2), pp.123-135 (1999). PDF. abstract >>.
• Forman Paul,
  Molecular beam measurements of nuclear moments before magnetic resonance, Part I,
  Annals of Science 55, 111-160 (1998).
• Meyer Leon H.,
  NMR some fifty years later. Personal recollections,
  Chemical Heritage 15, 47-48 (1998).
• Slichter C.P.,
  The Golden Anniversary of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance NMR: Fifty Years of Surprises,
  Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 142 (4), pp.533-556 (1998).
  PDF. abstract >>.
• Lenoir T.,
  Instituting Science: The Cultural Production of Scientific Disciplines,
  Stanford University Press 1997. ISBN 0-804-72642-6. more >>.
  A Chapter contains the paper published in Perspectives on Science (1995), titled Instrument Makers and Discipline Builders: The Case of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (see below).
• Slichter C.P.,
  From Ancient Roots to Modern Times,
  Special Symposium to honor Raymond Andrew, Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL, Jan. 5, 1997
  Solid State Nucl.Magn.Reson. 9, 13-19 (1997).
• Bloembergen N., Editor,
  Encounters in Magnetic Resonances: Selected Papers of Nicolaas Bloembergen,
  in World Scientific Series in 20th Century Physics, Vol.15,
  World Scientific Publishing Company 1996. ISBN 9-810-22505-9. more >>.
• Brey W.S.,
  Magnetic Resonance in Perspective: Highlights of a Quarter Century,
  Academic Press, New York 1996. ISBN 0-121-33145-8. more >>.
• Mattson J., Simon M.,
  The Pioneers of NMR and Magnetic Resonance in Medicine: the Story of MRI,
  Bar-Ilan University Press 1996. ISBN 0-961-92431-4. more >>.
• Slichter C.P., Corey R.L., Curro N.J., DeSoto S.M., O'Hara K., Imai T., Kini A.M., Wang H.H., Geiser U., Williams J.M., Yoshimura K., Katoh M., K. Kosuge K.,
  Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Electron Spins: Some History, Ancient and in the Making,
  Phil.Mag. 74, 545-561 (1996).
• Andrew Edward Ray, Szczesniak Eugeniusz,
  A historical account of NMR in the solid state,
  in Progress in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy 28, 11-36 (1995).
• Emsley James W., Feeney James,
  Milestones in the first fifty years of NMR,
  in Progress in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy 28, 1-9 (1995).
• Lenoir T., Lècuyer C.,
  Instrument Makers and Discipline Builders: The Case of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance,
  Perspectives on Science 3, 245-276 (1995). For personal uses, you may
  download a copy of this article in the PDF format (4 MB).
• Bloembergen N.,
  Retrospective comments on magnetic resonance and relaxation,
  Concepts in Magnetic Resonance A 6, 185-192 (1994). abstract >>.
• Ernst Richard R.,
  ENC, a motor of Progress in NMR,
  Concepts in Magnetic Resonance A 6, 201-229 (1994). abstract >>.
• Gerstein M.,
  Purcell's role in the discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance: Contingency versus inevitability,
  American Journal of Physics 62(7), 596-601 (1994).
• Freeman Ray,
  The Fourier transform revolution in NMR spectroscopy,
  Analytical Chemistry 65(17), 743A-753A (1993).
• Novikov V.D., Zavoiskaja N.E., Editors,
  Magician of experiment: Reminiscences about Academician E.K.Zavoiskij,
  Nauka, Moskow 1993. ISBN 502-0070092. In Russion.
• Shoolery James N.,
  NMR in the Beginning,
  Analytical Chemistry 65(17), 731A-741A (1993).
• Waugh J.S.,
  NMR spectroscopy in solids: A historical perspective,
  Analytical Chemistry 65(17), 725A-729A (1993).
• Bagguley D.M.S., Editor,
  Pulsed Magnetic Resonance: NMR, ESR, and Optics: A Recognition of E.L.Hahn,
  Oxford University Press, Oxford 1992. ISBN 0-198-53962-2. more >>.
• Ernst Richard R.,
  Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Fourier Transform Spectroscopy,
  Nobel Lecture 1992.
• Ernst Richard R.,
  Why just NMR?,
  Israel Journal of Chemistry 32, 135-136 (1992).
  Available online in Chem 525 (Georgetown University).
• Feeney James,
  Development of high resolution NMR spectroscopy as a structural tool, pp 199-216,
  in Invisible Connections; Instruments, Institutions, and Science, Editors Bud R., Cozzens S.,
  SPIE Optical Engineering Press, Bellingham, Washington 1992.
• Slichter C.P., Barrett S.E., Becerra L., Durand D.J., Klug C.A., Martindale J.A.,
  Pennington C.H., Ross J.H., Shore S., Wang Z., Zax D.B.,
  Pulsed NMR in Solids - Then and Now,
  in Pulse Magnetic Resonance: NMR, ESR, and Optics - a recognition of Erwin L.Hahn,
  Editor D.M.S.Bagguley, Oxford University Press 1992.
• Pines Alex,
  Solid state NMR: Some personal recollections,
  Israel Journal of Chemistry 32, 137-144 (1992).
• Wehrli Felix W.,
  The origins and future of nuclear magnetic resonance imaging,
  Physics Today 45: June, 34-43 (1992).
• Blume S.S.,
  The Constitution of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Insight and Industry, pp 191-224,
  in On the Dynamic of Technological Change in Medicine,
  MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass. 1991. ISBN 0-262-02332-6. more >>.
• Ernst Richard R.,
  Without computers - no modern NMR, in Computational Aspects of the Study of Biological Macromolecules by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Edited by J.C.Hoch et al. Plenum Press 1991, pages 1-25. more >>.
• Hahn E.L., Mansfield P.,
  NMR and MRI in Retrospect [and Discussion] in
  Phil.Trans. No.1632 on NMR Imaging: Recent Developments and Future Prospects,
  Philosophical Transactions: Physical Sciences and Engineering 333, 403-411 (1990). more >>.
• Marsden K., Rae Ian D.,
  Nuclear magnetic resonance in Australia 1952-1986,
  Historical Records of Australian Science 8, 120-150 (1990).
• Abragam A.,
  Time Reversal: an Autobiography,
  Oxford University Press 1989. ISBN 0-198-53926-6. more >>.
  Translated from French by the Author.
• Fukushima E., Editor,
  NMR in Biomedicine: The Physical Basis, in Key Papers in Physics,
  AIP Press 1989. ISBN 0-883-18609-8. more >>.
• Von Hippel E.,
  The Sources of Innovation,
  Oxford University Press, USA 1988. ISBN 0-19-504085-6. more >>.
  Paperback Edition 1994, ISBN 0-195-09422-0. more >>.
  Contains a very interesting Section on the history of NMR instrumentation.
  The book is also available for a free download.
• Zandvoort Henk,
  Nuclear magnetic resonance and the acceptability of guiding assumptions,
  in Scrutinizing Science: Empirical Studies of Scientific Change,
  Edited by A.Donovan et al, Kluwer, Dordrecht 1988, pp.337-358.
• Abragam Anatole, Freeman Ray,
  Reflections of a Physicist,
  Oxford University Press 1986. ISBN 978-0198519645. more >>.
• Rigden John S.,
  Quantum states and precession: the two discoveries of NMR,
  Reviews of Modern Physics 58, 433-448 (1990).
• Zandvoort Henk,
  Models of Scientific Development and the Case of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance,
  Springer 1986. ISBN 978-9027723512. more >>.
• Andrew Edward Ray,
  Introduction to Felix Bloch memorial issue,
  Bull.Magn.Reson., 7 (2-3), 81 (1985). Available online. PDF.
• Hahn Erwin L.,
  Felix Bloch and Magnetic Resonance,
  Bull.Magn.Reson., 7 (2-3), 82-89 (1985). Available online. PDF.
• Packard Martin,
  Felix Bloch - Reminiscences of a Graduate Student,
  Bull.Magn.Reson., 7 (2-3), 90-93 (1985). Available online. PDF.
• Ramsey N.F.,
  Early History of Magnetic Resonance,
  Bull.Magn.Reson., 7 (2-3), 94-99 (1985). Available online. PDF.
• Rigden John S.,
  The birth of the magnetic resonance method,
  in Observation, Experiment, and Hypothesis in Modern Physical Science,
  Edited by P.Achinstein and O.Hannaway, Cambridge University Press 1985, pp.205-37.
• Andrew Edward Ray,
  A historical review of NMR and its clinical applications,
  in Steiner R.E., Radda G.K., Nuclear magnetic resonance and its clinical applications,
  Brit.Med.Bull 40, 115-119 (1984).
• Bodenhausen Geoffrey,
  A retrospection on ten years of two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy,
  Chimia 38, 215-218 (1984).
• Günthard H.H.,
  Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich:
  Zur Entwicklung der physikalischen Chemie in den letzten 25 Jahren,
  Swiss Chem. 3, 37-49 (1981). PDF.
• Gutfreund H., Hofstadter R., Chodorow M., Rorschach H.E., Schawlow A.L., Editors,
  Felix Bloch and Twentieth Century Physics,
  William Marsh Rice University, Houston, Texas 1980. ISBN 0-892-63254-2.
• Jonas Jiri, Gutowsky Herbert Samuel,
  NMR in Chemistry - An Evergreen,
  Annual Rev.Phys.Chem. 31, 1-28 (1980). doi:10.1146/annurev.pc.31.100180.000245
• Packard M.,
  The Varian Story, paper presented at the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry,
  Pittsburg (1980).
• Slichter C.P.,
  Some scientific contributions of Herbert S. Gutowsky,
  J.Magn.Reson. 17, 274-280 (1975).
• Gutowsky Herbert Samuel,
  Chemical aspects of nuclear magnetic resonance,
  J.Magn.Reson. 17, 2281-294 (1975).
• Slichter C.P.,
  Some scientific contributions of Herbert S. Gutowsky,
  J.Magn.Reson. 17, 274-280 (1975).
• Pines D., Slichter C.P.,
  The 1972 Nobel Prize for Physics,
  Science 178, 489-491 (1972).
• Goudsmit S.A.,
  De ontdekking van de electronenrotatie,
  Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Natuurkunde 37, 386 (1971).
• Bible Roy H.,
  NMR Instrumentation since the Varian A-60,
  Appl.Spectroscopy 24, 326-332 (1970).
• Van Vleck John H.,
  A third of a century of paramagnetic relaxation and resonance,
  in Magnetic Resonance, Edited by C.K.Coogan et al, Plenum Press 1970, pp.1-10,
  Proceedings of the International Symposium on Electron and Magnetic Resonance
  held in Melbourne, August 1969,
• Reeves L.W.,
  NMR and EPR Spectroscopy,
  J.Am.Chem.Soc. 83, 3924 (1960). DOI.

NMR History Web Links

Most of these linked pages are just brief attempts at telling a story which the respective Author has himself read somewhere else. Slowly, however, I keep discovering original stories told directly by the protagonists.

• About History of NMR. References and links collected by Stan Sykora. URL of this page.
• An Early History of Varian Associates.
• A Moment In the History of Magnetic Resonance. A brief excerpt from the book The Pioneers of NMR and Magnetic Resonance in Medicine: The Story of MRI by J.Mattson and M.Simon.
• Articles with historic notes on Stan's NMR Blog:
  - W.G.Proctor's Reminiscences of the Early Days of NMR at Stanford.
  - A graph of NMR-books publishing activity.
  - The departure of Paul C. Lauterbur.
  - Who has built the first NMR locks?r
  - Chemical Shifts and Shyness about the whereabouts of the discoverers of chemical shifts.
  - Spin Resonance and Warfare about NQR explosives detection.
  - Field-Cycling NMR and History of Superconductivity.
  - NMR and Antarctica.
  - The story of Fu Chun Yu, co-discoverer of chemical shifts.
  - FFT and the Cold War, a glimpse regarding the Cooley-Tuckey FFT algorithm.
  - Biography of Fu Chun Yu, co-discoverer of chemical shifts.
  - In memory of Roy Bible, an early NMR enthusiast.
  - Magnetic Resonance and General Relativity, an obituary to Robert Vivian Pound.
• Articles with historic content in Stan's Library:
  - Reminiscences of the Early Days of NMR at Stanford University by Warren G. Proctor
     Commented transcript of a preserved presentation note (?) written by W.G.Proctor.
  - Quattro K bastano ed avanzano by S.Sykora.
     A short story capturing the early days of FT-NMR in Italy (in Italiano)
  - Vzpomínky na NMR v Brnênské Tesle by V.Zeman.
     In Czech [Recollections of NMR development and production in Tesla Brno]
  - The Life of Professor Fuchun Yu: biography of a co-discoverer of NMR chemical shifts.
• C.P.Slichter's Research Achievements. A brief summary.
• Albert W.Overhauser, a biographical article by by Solomon Gartenahaus.
• Early History of NMR. Nearly complete list of references from prior art up to 1959, collected by Stan Sykora.
• Early MAS in Prague by Danica Doskocilova and Bohdan Schneider.
• Early years of NMR Spectroscopy in Germany by Harry Pfeifer (Leipzig).
• Edward Mills Purcell's biography at National Academy of Sciences.
• Edward Mills Purcell on Answers.com.
• History of NMR page at Uni Sheffield. Mentions C.J.Gorter's negative attempt. Very brief.
• Felix Bloch on Answers.com.
• Landmark Instruments: Varian A-60.
• Life Sciences als Techno Sciences by A.Westermann (in german).
  Contains a photo of young Richard Ernst at the console of a 1964 instrument.
• Museum of Eastern Block NMR at Institute of Scientific Instruments in Brno (Czech Republic).
• Norman Ramsey Abstract in IEEE History Center and a Norman Ramsey interview PDF.
• Oral History Transcript - Dr. Robert Pound. An interview by John Rigden. A great reading!
• Oral History: Robert Pound An interview by John Bryant on IEEE Global History Network.
• Purcell's Role in the Discovery of NMR: Contingency versus Inevitability by Mark Gerstein.
• Robert Pound's obituaries in Physics Today, Washington Post, The New York Times,
  and The Times.
• The discovery of the electron spin. A first-hand account by S.A.Goudsmit. Translated by J.H. van der Waals. Original: De ontdekking van de electronenrotatie (see the references).
• The Hebel-Slichter effect by S.Sykora. DOI: 10.3247/SL2Nmr08.001.
  Summary of a historic milestone in field-cycling NMR relaxometry.
• Why Just NMR? A reflection by Richard Ernst (Israel J.of Chemistry 32, 135, 1992).

History of MRI (though it is still too early for that):

• A Life-Saving Window on the Mind and Body:
  The Development of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, an article on Beyond Discovery (US National Academy od Sciences).
• Early MRI physics references collected by Stan Sykora (PDF, 2267 KBytes).
  270 titled, historic references from the beginning of MRI up to the spring of 1984.
• Early MRI instrumentation references collected by Stan Sykora (PDF, 399 KBytes).
  76 titled, historic references from the beginning of MRI up to the spring of 1984.
• History of MRI, a simple primer page at Uni Manchester.
• History of MRI from European perspective on EMRF pages. 54 references.
• History of MRI page at Radiology/School of Medicine/Uni Nagasaki.
• MRI Hardware: A two decade retrospective by Joseph P. Hornak.
• Raymond Vahan Damadian on Wikipedia. Review of a Nobel price controversy.
• Tesla Memorial Society MRI page is inaccurate but their other stuff on Nicola Tesla is not bad.
• The National Science Foundation's history of MRI. A recount at SRI International.

Pages of Nobel Prize winners in the Nobel Prize Organization archives:

• Otto Stern (1943, physics, discovery of the magnetic moment of proton)
• Isidor I.Rabi (1944, physics, NMR in molecular rays)
• Felix Bloch (1952, physics, detection of NMR in bulk matter)
• Edward M.Purcell (1952, physics, detection of NMR in bulk matter)
• Nicolaas Bloembergen (1981, physics, theory of NMR relaxation)
• Richard Ernst (1991, chemistry, Pulsed techniques and Fourier transform methods)
• Kurt Wütrich (2002, chemistry, NMR methods of protein structure analysis)
• Paul C.Lauterbur (2003, medicine, magnetic resonance imaging)
• Sir Peter Mansfield (2003, medicine, magnetic resonance imaging)