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Walter S. Adams Papers: Finding Aid
mssAdams papers
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Title: Walter S. Adams Papers
Dates (inclusive): 1901-1956
Bulk dates: 1921-1956
Collection Number: mssAdams papers
Creator:
Adams, Walter S. (Walter Sydney), 1876-1956.
Extent: Approximately 35,000 items in 109
boxes
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection chiefly consists of the administrative, scientific, and personal correspondence of astronomer and
Mount Wilson Observatory Director Walter S. Adams (1876-1956), spanning the years 1921 to 1956, and including his work during
World War II.
There is also material from Adams' retirement years and his astronomical work.
The World War II materials reflect the secret work of Adams and the Observatory staff for the
United States government to help create prisms and optics for various types of binoculars and gun sights;
the staff also assisted with aerial and naval defense and attack strategy.
Language: English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to
quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such
activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is
one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Walter S. Adams Papers, The Huntington Library, San
Marino, California.
Deposit, Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington Collection,
1988. Approximately fifty additional separate collections form the Mount Wilson
Papers of the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington and are
available for research in the Manuscripts Department of the Huntington Library.
Forms part of: The Mount Wilson Papers of the Observatories of the Carnegie
Institution of Washington.
Walter S. Adams (1876-1956) was one of the original staff members of the Mount Wilson Solar
Observatory when it was formed in 1904. He became assistant to George Ellery Hale in
1917 and Director of the Observatory in 1923, a position he held until his
retirement in 1946. His primary interest was the study of stellar spectra. He worked
on solar spectroscopy and co-discovered a relationship between the relative
intensities of certain spectral lines and the absolute magnitude of a star. He was
able to demonstrate that spectra could be used to determine whether a star was a
giant or a dwarf. In 1915 he began a study of the companion of Sirius and found that
despite a size only slightly larger than the Earth, the surface of the star was
brighter per unit area than the Sun and it was about as massive. Such a star later
came to be known as a white dwarf. Along with Theodore Dunham, he discovered the
strong presence of carbon dioxide in the infrared spectrum of Venus. Adams continued
his research at the Hale Solar Laboratory until his death in Pasadena, California, on May 11,
1956.
The collection chiefly consists of the administrative, scientific, and personal
correspondence of Walter S. Adams spanning the years 1921 to 1956, including his
work during World War II. Adams and the observatory staff worked, in secret, with
the United States government and helped create prisms and optics for various types of
binoculars and gun sights; the staff also assisted with aerial and naval defense and
attack strategy. There is also material from Adams' retirement years. The collection
also contains manuscripts and photographs (some of which are of the B-29 bomber),
also dealing with Adams' astronomical work.
Note: In the contents list of this finding aid, handwritten correspondence is noted as "holograph" pieces.
Administrative material
Boxes 1-75 cover the active administrative period of 1921-1945 and consist of over 38,000 items. Folders contain incoming and outgoing correspondence. While nearly all files are arranged alphabetically by author, folders 762-766 in Box 45 contain twenty-five miscellaneous manuscripts by various authors. Note: there are several pieces of correspondence dated prior to 1921. Box 1 contains Adams's personal correspondence and was donated by his sons, Edmund M. Adams and John F. Adams.
Boxes 1-75 cover the active administrative period of 1921-1945 and consist of over 38,000 items. Folders contain incoming and outgoing correspondence. While nearly all files are arranged alphabetically by author, folders 762-766 in Box 45 contain twenty-five miscellaneous manuscripts by various authors. Note: there are several pieces of correspondence dated prior to 1921. Box 1 contains Adams's personal correspondence and was donated by his sons, Edmund M. Adams and John F. Adams.
Retirement period
Boxes 76-80 cover Adams's retirement period of 1946-1956 and consist of over 2,400 items including incoming and outgoing correspondence, a bibliography (1889-1945) and several manuscripts and reprints. This material was collected from the Hale Solar Observatory on Holladay Road in Pasadena, California, which had been built by Dr. George E. Hale for his personal use and where Dr. Adams continued his work after his retirement. This material was organized for archival preservation by Judith R. Goodstein, Archivist, California Institute of Technology. This organization has been maintained.
Boxes 76-80 cover Adams's retirement period of 1946-1956 and consist of over 2,400 items including incoming and outgoing correspondence, a bibliography (1889-1945) and several manuscripts and reprints. This material was collected from the Hale Solar Observatory on Holladay Road in Pasadena, California, which had been built by Dr. George E. Hale for his personal use and where Dr. Adams continued his work after his retirement. This material was organized for archival preservation by Judith R. Goodstein, Archivist, California Institute of Technology. This organization has been maintained.
World War II correspondence
Boxes 81-87 contain the correspondence and material (more than 3,200 items) specifically relating to the classified work and research carried on by the staff of the Mount Wilson Observatory under government contracts during World War II (1940-1945). This work was performed under contracts with the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), the National Defense Research Committee of the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD/NDRC) in cooperation with the Army Air Force, Army Ordnance, and Naval Research Laboratory. Astronomical research was curtailed to a very minimal basis and the shop facilities were delegated to and expanded for the production of critically needed optics--primarily the manufacture of roof and triple-mirror prisms. Critical research concerned the logistics of gunnery functions and bomber formations and pursuit curve characteristics. Classified materials were officially declassified by the authority of the General Services Administration, National Archives and Records Service, Washington, D.C.
Boxes 81-87 contain the correspondence and material (more than 3,200 items) specifically relating to the classified work and research carried on by the staff of the Mount Wilson Observatory under government contracts during World War II (1940-1945). This work was performed under contracts with the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), the National Defense Research Committee of the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD/NDRC) in cooperation with the Army Air Force, Army Ordnance, and Naval Research Laboratory. Astronomical research was curtailed to a very minimal basis and the shop facilities were delegated to and expanded for the production of critically needed optics--primarily the manufacture of roof and triple-mirror prisms. Critical research concerned the logistics of gunnery functions and bomber formations and pursuit curve characteristics. Classified materials were officially declassified by the authority of the General Services Administration, National Archives and Records Service, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Charlton Miner Lewis Files (World War II work)
Boxes 88-101 are an addendum containing supplementary files on the war work performed by the Observatory staff under the direct supervision of Charlton M. Lewis (formerly Research Associate, Biology Department, Stanford University) was recruited by Dr. Theodore Dunham, Jr. (Chief, Section 16.1, Optical Instruments, National Defense Research Committee) to directly oversee the projects to be performed under government war contracts at the Mount Wilson Observatory for the NDRC. This series covers the research and production performed by the staff of the Observatory during the period 1942-1945 and contains over 7,700 items that were maintained separately by Lewis.
Boxes 88-101 are an addendum containing supplementary files on the war work performed by the Observatory staff under the direct supervision of Charlton M. Lewis (formerly Research Associate, Biology Department, Stanford University) was recruited by Dr. Theodore Dunham, Jr. (Chief, Section 16.1, Optical Instruments, National Defense Research Committee) to directly oversee the projects to be performed under government war contracts at the Mount Wilson Observatory for the NDRC. This series covers the research and production performed by the staff of the Observatory during the period 1942-1945 and contains over 7,700 items that were maintained separately by Lewis.
Supplemental files
The four boxes (Boxes 102-105) that make up the "supplement" are made up of correspondence (arranged alphabetically by author) and manuscripts (arranged by topic). The sub-series includes the same authors that can be found in the larger Adams Collection boxes. The manuscripts (which include reports, speeches, articles, press releases, etc.) are written by several different people including Walter Adams, George Ellery Hale, Albert Michelson, F. E. Wright and many others. The majority of the manuscripts are related to astronomy and Mt. Wilson. There is one manuscript about Albert Einstein's visit to Mt. Wilson. There is also one folder of photographs and one folder of ephemera.
The four boxes (Boxes 102-105) that make up the "supplement" are made up of correspondence (arranged alphabetically by author) and manuscripts (arranged by topic). The sub-series includes the same authors that can be found in the larger Adams Collection boxes. The manuscripts (which include reports, speeches, articles, press releases, etc.) are written by several different people including Walter Adams, George Ellery Hale, Albert Michelson, F. E. Wright and many others. The majority of the manuscripts are related to astronomy and Mt. Wilson. There is one manuscript about Albert Einstein's visit to Mt. Wilson. There is also one folder of photographs and one folder of ephemera.
Special/Oversize Files
Three larger cases containing special and oversize materials, numbered in a separated series preceded by SP (Boxes SP1, SP2, SP3).
Three larger cases containing special and oversize materials, numbered in a separated series preceded by SP (Boxes SP1, SP2, SP3).
Earlier version of finding aid
The original typescript finding aid,
completed in 1984 by archivist Helen S. Czaplicki and updated by Huntington staff in 2013, on which this electronic finding
aid is based, is available as a PDF:
The collection is arranged in the following order:
- Boxes 1-75: Administrative material (1921-1945)
- Boxes 76-80: Retirement period (1946-1956)
- Boxes 81-87: World War II correspondence
- Boxes 88-101: Addenda - files of Dr. Charlton Miner Lewis (World War II work)
- Boxes 102-105: Supplement to collection (correspondence and manuscripts)
- Boxes SP1-SP3: Special/Oversize files (mostly photographs)
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
.
Adams, Walter S.
(Walter Sydney), 1876-1956 -- Archives.
California Institute of
Technology.
Carnegie Institution of
Washington.
Mount Wilson and
Palomar Observatories -- History -- Sources.
Mount Wilson
Observatory -- History -- Sources.
Yerkes
Observatory.
Astronomers -- United States --
Archives.
Astronomical observatories --
California -- Wilson, Mount (Mountain)
Astronomy -- Photographs.
Astronomy -- Research.
Astronomy -- United States -- History
-- 20th century -- Sources.
Astrophysics -- History -- 20th
century -- Sources.
B-29 (Bomber)
Cosmic rays.
Nebulae.
Planets.
Stars -- Spectra.
Telescopes -- Design and construction
-- History -- Sources.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Equipment and
supplies.
Sun --
Observations.
Venus
(Planet)
Astronomical photography -- 19th
century.
Astronomical photography -- 20th
century.
Letters (correspondence) -- United
States -- 20th century.
Manuscripts -- United States -- 20th
century.
Abbot, C. G. (Charles Greeley),
1872-1973.
Abetti, Giorgio, 1882-1982.
Baade, Walter, 1893-1960.
Babcock, Horace W.
Bowen, Ira Sprague, 1898-1973.
Bush, Vannevar, 1890-1974.
Campbell, William Wallace, 1862-1938.
Cannon, Annie Jump, 1863-1941.
Davis, Dorothy N.
Day, Arthur L. (Arthur Louis),
1869-1960.
Dugan, Raymond Smith, 1878-1940.
Dunham, Theodore, 1897-.
Eddington, Arthur Stanley, Sir,
1882-1944.
Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955.
Ellerman, Ferdinand, 1869-1940.
Fleming, J. A. (John Adam),
1877-1956.
Fox, Philip, 1878-1944.
Gale, Henry Gordon, 1874-1942.
Gilbert, Walter M.
Goddard, Robert Hutchings, 1882-1945.
Hale, George Ellery, 1868-1938.
Hertzsprung, Ejnar, 1873-1967.
Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964.
Hubble, Edwin Powell, 1889-1953.
Humason, Milton L. (Milton La Salle),
1891-1972.
Jeans, James Hopwood, Sir, 1877-1946.
Jones, H. Spencer (Harold Spencer),
1890-1960.
Joy, Alfred H. (Alfred Harrison),
1882-1973.
Kuiper, Gerard P. (Gerard Peter),
1905-1973.
Leuschner, Armin Otto, b. 1868.
Lundmark, Knut, 1889-1958.
Luyten, Willem Jacob, 1899-1994.
Mees, C. E. Kenneth (Charles Edward
Kenneth), 1882-1960.
Menzel, Donald H. (Donald Howard),
1901-1976.
Merriam, John C. (John Campbell),
1869-1945.
Michelson, Albert A. (Albert
Abraham), 1852-1931.
Miller, Dayton Clarence, 1866-1941.
Millikan, Robert Andrews, 1868-1953.
Mitchell, S. A. (Samuel Alfred),
1874-1960.
Moffitt, George Wilbur, 1887-.
Moore, Charlotte Emma, 1898-.
Moore, J. H. (Joseph Haines),
1878-1949.
Oort, Jan Hendrik.
Pankhurst, Christabel, Dame,
1880-1958.
Pease, F. G. (Francis Gladheim), b.
1881.
Pettit, Edison, 1889-1962.
Pickering, William H. (William
Henry), b. 1858.
Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin
Delano), 1882-1945.
Ross, Frank E. (Frank Elmore),
1874-1960.
Russell, Henry Norris, 1877-1957.
Schlesinger, Frank, 1871-1943.
Seares, Frederick Hanley, 1873-1964.
Shapley, Harlow, 1885-1972.
Stebbins, Joel, 1878-1966.
Struve, Otto, 1897-1963.
Swope, Henrietta Hill, 1902-.
Whipple, Fred L. (Fred Lawrence),
1906-2004.
Wright, F. E. (Frederic Eugene),
1877-1953.
American Association for the
Advancement of Science.
American Astronomical Society.
Bausch & Lomb Optical Company.
California Institute of Technology.
Carnegie Institution of Washington.
Eastman Kodak Company.
Griffith Observatory.
Henry E. Huntington Library and Art
Gallery.
International Astronomical Union.
Mount Wilson and Palomar
Observatories.
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
National Research Council (U.S.)
Pasadena Public Library.
Popular astronomy.
United States. Air Force.
United States. Navy.
United States. War Dept.
Yerkes Observatory.