Guide to the Charles Donald and Mary Lea Shane papers
MS.270
Alix Norton
University of California, Santa Cruz
2016
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz 95064
speccoll@library.ucsc.edu
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Santa Cruz
Title: Charles Donald and Mary Lea Shane papers
Creator:
Shane, Charles Donald,
1895-1983
Creator:
Shane, Mary Lea Heger, 1897-1983
Identifier/Call Number: MS.270
Physical Description:
11.2 Linear Feet
17 boxes, 5 oversize boxes
Date (inclusive): 1895-1983
Language of Material:
English .
Access
Collection is open for research.
Arrangement
This collection is organized into eight series, with the first seven series containing C.
Donald Shane's papers:
- 1. Alphabetical files
- 2. Personal and biographical
- 3. International trips
- 4. Research
- 5. Speeches
- 6. Photographs and illustrations
- 7. Diplomas, certificates, and regalia
- 8. Mary Lea Shane papers
Materials within each series are arranged in their original order.
Biographical / Historical
Charles Donald Shane and Mary Lea Heger Shane were key figures at the Lick Observatory
during the 20th century. Both were trained in astronomy and were married in 1920, and lived
on Mount Hamilton for several years. Donald served as the director of the Lick Observatory
from 1945 to 1958, and was integral in the planning and development of the 120-inch
reflector telescope, which was named after him in 1978. He is also known in the field of
astronomy for his work supporting the existence of aggregated clusters of galaxies, now
known as superclusters. Donald married Mary Lea Heger in 1920, who had been working at Lick
Observatory since 1919 and went on to earn her Ph.D. in astronomy in 1924. Mary did not
pursue a career as an astronomer, but was very involved in the Mount Hamilton community and
welcomed visitors from all over the world to the Lick Observatory. She later initiated the
preservation and organization of the archives of the Lick Observatory.
Charles Donald Shane was born on September 6, 1895 in Auburn, California. He began his
career in astronomy by attending the University of California, Berkeley, and graduating in
1915 with a bachelor's degree. He subsequently accepted a teaching position in mathematics
and began his graduate work in astronomy, mathematics, and physics. In 1916, he began a
two-year residential fellowship at the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, taught in Oregon
and Washington during World War I, then returned for another Lick Observatory Fellowship
from 1919-1920. In 1920, Shane earned his Ph.D. degree in astronomy and married Mary Lea
Heger, and was also appointed as a professor of mathematics at the University of California,
Berkeley. Later he moved to teaching astronomy, and by 1941 he was the chair of the
astronomy department at Berkeley. From 1942 to 1945, Shane worked on the Manhattan Project
as assistant director for scientific personnel of the Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley and
in Los Alamos, New Mexico. After World War II, in 1945, Shane became the director of the
Lick Observatory and served for 13 years until 1958. In the 1950s, Shane worked with his
assistant Carl Wirtanen to photograph approximately 70% of the night sky with the Lick
Observatory's 20-inch Carnegie astrograph. Shane and Wirtanen counted galaxies on each of
the 1,246 photographic plates, and showed the existence of aggregates of galaxy clusters.
Shane referred to these aggregated clusters as "clouds", and they are now known as
superclusters. After he resigned as director, Shane stayed at Lick as an astronomer until
his retirement in 1963. On March 19, 1983, Shane passed away at the age of 87.
Mary Lea Heger was born on July 13, 1897 in Wilmington, Delaware. She earned her bachelor's
degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1919, then moved to Mount Hamilton to
perform her thesis research at the Lick Observatory. During her time there, she made a
discovery of the presence of sodium atoms in interstellar space. She married C. Donald Shane
in 1920, and earned her Ph.D. degree at Berkeley in 1924. On Mount Hamilton, Mary enjoyed
hosting visitors to the Lick Observatory as the director's wife, and she spent much of her
time doing research on the history of the Lick Observatory and its key historical figures.
Later she began collecting and preserving materials related to the Lick Observatory, and in
1966 these documents were moved to the UC Santa Cruz Library as a research collection. In
1982, a ceremony was held at the library to name this collection the Mary Lea Shane Archives
of the Lick Observatory (now available as the Lick Observatory Records, collection UA.036).
Mary passed away in 1983 at the age of 86.
Preferred Citation
Charles Donald and Mary Lea Shane Papers. MS 270. Special Collections and Archives,
University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.
Finding aid revision statement
This finding aid was revised in the Reparative Archival Redescription Project in 2021-2022.
Previous versions of this finding aid are available upon request.
Related Materials
Related materials can be found in the following series of Lick Observatory records:
To access the full-text PDFs of the oral histories of Charles Donald and Mary Lea Shane on
eScholarship, click the links below:
Scope and Contents
This collection contains the papers of Charles Donald Shane, director of the Lick
Observatory from 1945-1958, and his wife, Mary Lea Shane. Most of the materials are from
Charles Donald Shane's professional work at the Lick Observatory and with the University of
California, and include professional and personal correspondence, subject and research
files, his autobiography, biographical materials on other astronomers, speeches and essays,
site reports from Chile and other trips outside the United States, photographs of family
members and travels, and some of his original research materials. The series of Mary Lea
Shane papers contain her research on the Lick Observatory, and correspondence related to her
work as the curator of the Lick Observatory Archives throughout the last half of the 20th
century.
Publication Rights
Copyright for the items in this collection is owned by the creators and their heirs.
Reproduction or distribution of any work protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair
use requires permission from the copyright owner. It is the responsibility of the user to
determine whether a use is fair use, and to obtain any necessary permissions. For more
information see UCSC Special Collections and Archives policy on Reproduction and Use.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Astronomy
Shane, Charles Donald,
1895-1983
Lick Observatory
Shane, Mary Lea Heger, 1897-1983
Alphabetical files
1901-1983
Scope and Contents
This series contains Charles Donald Shane's personal and professional correspondence,
subject files, reports, and notes. Materials were arranged alphabetically by last name
or topic by Charles Donald Shane. Descriptions have been derived from notes on original
folders.
Box 1
Project Able
1966-1967
Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence related to Project Able, "a proposal for a large sunlight
reflecting surface in span to illuminate at night a portion of the earth. Would be
harmful to Astronomy. MacVittie Secretary of the AAS and Charles Donald Shane, Chem
USA Nat Committee for Astronomy worked to prevent it. The project was abandoned."
Box 1
Aitken biography
1951-1976
Box 1
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
1971-1982
Scope and Contents
Contains mostly material on committees on History of Physics, and Shane's review of
Man Discovers the Universe by Berendzen et al.
Box 1
American Philosophical Society (APS)
1959-1982
Scope and Contents
Contains proposals of Whitford and Mayall for membership, proposals of Noack for
paper on Hunza, Nicholson papers, correspondence on microfilm of Fraser diary,
proposal of membership for Babcock, material on Condon-Birge dispute, matter of the
Battlefield of Hastings, and proposed bicentennial program.
Box 1
Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP)
1970-1975
Box 1
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)
1958-1963
Physical Description: 3 folders
Scope and Contents
Includes Articles of Incorporation, by-laws, contract, Shane's meeting notes; and
lists of officers, directors, and committees.
Box 1
Australia Site Survey
1961-1962
Box 2
Blanco
1970-1980
Scope and Contents
Includes 1974 report on political conditions in Chile.
Box 2
Chile - Copiapo
1961
Scope and Contents
Includes photos by Carlos Torres of first trip to top of Chico de Plata.
Box 2
Compendium chapter
1964-1978
Box 3
Cooperative Program on Galaxies (Shane, Mayall, Kron)
undated
Box 3
European Southern Observatory (ESO)
1959-1963
Box 3
Edmondson - Chile
1961-1980
Box 3
Ehrmann, Charlie
1976
Scope and Contents
Correspondence with Mary Lea Shane.
Box 3
Handwriting specimens
1901-1974
Box 4
History of Astronomy
1964-1967
Box 4
International Astronomical Union (IAU)
1964
Box 4
Inter-American Astronomy Committee
1959-1974
Box 4-5
Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO)
1960-1980
Physical Description: 5 folders
Scope and Contents
Includes material on reorganizations, Carlos Torres reports and correspondence from
Chile, Harrell & Harrell committee, dedication ceremony, brochures, information on
New Technology Telescope, photographs, maps, and Stock's technical reports from
Chile.
Box 5
Lick Observatory
1959-1982
Box 5
Lick Observatory - 75th Anniversary
1963
Box 17
Lick Observatory - Budget suggestions
1947
Box 5
Lick Observatory - Focus newsletter
1975-1978
Box 5
Lick Observatory - Reorganization and southern telescope
1962-1965
Box 6
Mayall
1940-1982
Physical Description: 6 folders
Box 7
Mayall/Stock
1963-1965
Scope and Contents
Includes correspondence on construction of road to Cerro Tololo.
Box 7
Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy (MIRA)
1977-1982
Box 7
National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
1976-1982
Scope and Contents
Includes Shane's biographical and bibliographical information and information on a
statue of Albert Einstein.
Box 7
National Science Foundation (NSF) - Committee proposals for
support
circa 1948
Box 7
New Zealand correspondence
1964-1972
Physical Description: 2 folders
Box 7, Box 17
New Zealand site survey
1961-1964
Box 7
Neyman and Scott
1955-1981
Box 8
Organization of Lick Observatory and relation to the University of California
- Brode Report
1963
Box 8
Orders - miscellaneous
1938-1947
Box 8
Other observatories
1960-1961
Box 8
Peebles
1973-1977
Physical Description: 2 folders
Box 8
Peebles reprints
1973-1978
Box 8
Radio Astronomy Laboratory committee
1959-1962
Box 8
Radio frequencies
1959-1962
Box 9
Ryerson, Knowles
1967-1979
Box 9
Santa Cruz campus
1964-1970
Box 9
Space Science Board - Committee on International Relations
1965-1968
Box 10
University problems
1975-1980
Box 10
Venezuela
1961-1976
Scope and Contents
Includes material on instruments, reports and recommendations, Sky & Telescope
1978 magazine issue with report on progress, and Shane journal of 1961 and 1962
visits.
Personal and biographical
1920-1983
Scope and Contents
This series contains Charles Donald Shane's biographical materials, including
interviews, his autobiography, and bibliography. Also included are handwritten reports
on his time with AURA and ESO, biographical information he wrote on other astronomers,
planning materials from his 80th birthday, and some personal correspondence.
Autobiography
1979-1982
Scope and Contents
Contains handwritten drafts of "Chapters in the life of C.D. Shane" in their original
order. Listed dates refer to the date of writing, and titles are original to the
creator.
Box 10
Table of Contents
1980-1982
Box 10
Childhood and Early Years
1982
Box 10
Grammar and High School
1980
Box 10
Student Years in Berkeley
1982
Box 10
Life on Mount Hamilton and Personalities
1980
Scope and Contents
Includes handwritten manuscript "William Wallace Campbell as I Knew Him".
Box 10
The University Years
1980
Box 11
Years of World War II
1980
Box 11
After 1945 - Foreign Trips with Mary, Lick Observatory,
Personalities
1981
Box 11
Shane and Neubauer 1916 Sierra Trip
1979
Box 11
Shane and Futhey Families
1979-1980
Interviews of Charles Donald Shane
1967-1982
Scope and Contents
Contains transcripts of interviews of Charles Donald Shane. Folder titles are named
for the interviewer, or the name of the project for which Shane was interviewed.
Box 12
Helen Wright Greuter; Elizabeth Calciano
1967-1968
Box 12
AURA; Bert Shapiro; David DeVorkin
1977-1980
Box 12
Conversations with Scientists (Carla Reiter)
1982
Box 12
Robert Dale Hall
1981 September 11
Scope and Contents
Topics include reception of relativity/quantum theories by astronomers and teaching
of astrophysics at UC Berkeley.
Box 11
Personal correspondence
1920-1983
Scope and Contents
Labeled "of personal interest"
Box 11
European Southern Observatory (ESO)
1980
Box 11
My Last Year with AURA
1979
Box 11
Jurgen Stock; A.E. Whitford
1980
Box 11
Miscellaneous comments
1966-1981
International trips
1916-1980
Scope and Contents
This series contains handwritten and typed reports of Charles Donald Shane's travels
outside the United States, which mostly centered around visiting observatories, planning
and advising, and attending conferences. Included are site reports, correspondence, and
notes from Shane's role as an advisor for the development of the Cerro Tololo
Inter-American Observatory in Chile.
Box 12
Trip reports (various)
1916-1962
Box 12
Kuiper Mathais - 1961 trip to Chile
Box 12
Conferences and meetings; Kuiper's general report no.1
1959-1961
Box 12
Chile Observatory - History of beginning; Chile legislation
correspondence
1961-1980
Box 17
Venezuela - Meeting of Astronomers, Caracas
1961-1962
Box 13
Iceland; Prague
1967-1968
Research
1920-1946 and undated
Box 13
Echelle spectrograph material
1946
Box 13
Galaxy counts by C.D. Shane and C.A. Wirtanen
circa 1954
Physical Description: 2 microfilm reels
Speeches
1950-1973 and undated
Box 13
Tom Fraser and the building of the Lick Observatory
1954
Box 14
Lick Observatory 75th anniversary talk
1963
Box 14
Chit Chat Club - Mars Experience
1973
Box 14
Interferometer Theory
undated
Box 14
Miscellaneous essays
undated
Photographs and illustrations
1901-1970
Scope and Contents
This series contains photograph albums, loose photographs, and some illustrations
collected by the Shanes. Subjects include members of the Shane family, astronomers and
their families at Lick Observatory, and travels to Chile and other parts of South
America.
Box 16
Unidentified album
undated
Box 18
Lick Observatory views and personnel, and other views (Jeffers)
1919-1920
Box 19
Lick Observatory, Mount Hamilton
1919-1955
Scope and Contents
Includes early photographs of life on Mount Hamilton including Lick astronomers and
families.
Box 19
Lick Observatory Astronomers, etc.
circa 1950
Scope and Contents
Includes photographs of astronomers visiting and working at Lick Observatory.
Box 20
Chile, South America
circa 1960
Scope and Contents
Includes photographs of Shane and others, landscapes, and observatory.
Box 14
Chile
circa 1960-1970
Scope and Contents
Includes photographs of La Peineta.
Box 14, Box 22
Family, travel, and unidentified
1901 and undated
Scope and Contents
Includes photographs of Dean Shane, early school photographs of C.D. Shane and Ethel
Haskett Shane (first wife of C.D. Shane), group travel photographs in Europe and
Canada, and some negatives.
Box 14
Mount Stromlo Observatory
undated
Box 14
Illustrations
undated
Scope and Contents
Includes 1951 Christmas card from F.G. Gustafsson with watercolor illustration of
Lick Observatory and Mount Hamilton.
Diplomas, certificates, and regalia
1895-1978
Box 14, Box 17
Diplomas and certificates
1895-1957
Physical Description: 3 folders
Scope and Contents
Includes birth certificate, Oakland High School diploma, Naval Institute certificate,
California Academy of Sciences Fellow certificate, and University of California Senior
Alumnus certificate.
Box 22
Oversized diplomas and certificates
1915-1978
Scope and Contents
Includes honorary degree of doctor of laws, Ph.D., and bachelor's diplomas from UC
Berkeley, as well as certificates from the National Academy of Sciences, Royal
Astronomical Society, and the American Philosophical Society. Also includes
certificates commemorating the naming of the Shane Telescope at Lick Observatory in
1977.
Box 21
Regalia
undated
Scope and Contents
Commencement regalia includes two hoods and a cap.
Mary Lea Shane papers
1949-1986
Related Materials
More materials created by and related to Mary Lea Shane can be found in the
"Astronomers and key figures" section of the Lick History series of the Lick Observatory
Records:
Scope and Contents
This series includes Mary Lea Shane's research notes on the history of Lick Observatory
and its prominent figures, drafts of writings, personal correspondence, and
correspondence pertaining to the archives of the Lick Observatory and her role as
curator.
Box 14
American Institute of Physics - Joan Warnow
1969-1972
Box 14
Harvard College Observatory history
1972
Box 14
Moore, Cora Keeler
1949-1971
Box 14
Royal Astronomical Society
1977
Box 14
Stirling, Josie (Mrs. James)
1956
Box 16
Tucker, Jane S.
1949-1986
Box 14
Notes on reflectors and refractors
1968
Box 14
Notes on Henry Mathews
1949-1971
Box 14
Lecture notes on history of Lick Observatory
circa 1978
Box 14
Research notes for history of Lick Observatory
circa 1980
Box 14
Research notes for talks and historical writings
1950-1966
Box 14
Miscellaneous correspondence
1971-1980
Box 15
History of Lick Observatory, draft
1976 June
Box 15
Notes on scrapbooks
undated
Box 15
Notes on W.H. Wright and R.G. Aitken
undated
Box 15
Correspondence with Winnie Heron
1974-1981
Box 15
Kono Tayee, Clear Lake, and Floyd family history
1972-1981
Box 15
Dart/Wright correspondence
1976-1977
Box 15
Gopcevic
1956-1982
Physical Description: 2 folders
Scope and Contents
Includes correspondence with Helen Wright Greuter.
Box 15
Greuter correspondence
1976
Box 15
Goeble, Marion
1971-1979
Scope and Contents
Lake County Chamber of Commerce, Clear Lake
Box 15
Clagett, Brice M.
1971-1972
Scope and Contents
Descendant of Richard Floyd and William McAdoo
Box 15
Keane, Augustin
1959-1968
Scope and Contents
Attorney for Marian Gopcevic estate
Box 16
Index card notes
undated
Scope and Contents
Contains information on letters of historic interest in Mary Lea Shane's
research.