Collection Guide
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Hale (George E.) Papers
10142-MS
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
California Institute of Technology Archives and Special Collections
Title: George Ellery Hale Papers
creator:
Hale, George Ellery, 1868-1938
Identifier/Call Number: 10142-MS
Physical Description:
73 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1863-1950
Date (bulk): 1882-1938
Abstract: George Ellery Hale (1868–1938) was an influential astrophysicist and science administrator. This collection of Hale's scientific,
professional, and personal papers documents his roles in inventing the spectrohelioscope; promoting international cooperation
among scientists; and founding major observatories, as well as the California Institute of Technology, Huntington Library,
Astrophysical Journal, and National Research Council.
Most of this collection is available on the web, linked from individual folder records in this finding aid. If you would like
to examine the original paper copies of materials in series 1 through 9, please email archives@caltech.edu to apply for an
appointment. The original Director's Files of the Mount Wilson Observatory are located at the Huntington Library and available
to qualified researchers by application through their Reader Services Department.
Existence and Location of Copies
In 1968, the Carnegie Institution of Washington and the California Institute of Technology used funds from the National Historical
Publications Commission to publish a microfilm edition of 100 rolls that includes most of the contents of the Hale Papers.
In 2018, Caltech, the Huntington Library, and the Carnegie Institution collaborated to digitize this microfilm edition, creating
a web edition which is linked from individual folder records in this finding aid. Both the microfilm edition and the web edition
omit portions of the collection, which are noted throughout the finding aid.
The heart of the Hale collection consists of the personal and organizational correspondence and the Director's Files of the
Mount Wilson Observatory. All three of these groups should be used together. Since Hale's own arrangement of his files was
respected in the organization of the collection, the personal correspondence contains scattered files on organizations. Furthermore,
all three groups of files contain material related to individuals, organizations, and problems in science. For example, a
good deal of information on the Mount Wilson Observatory is in the Robert S. Woodward file, among many others, in the personal
section. Similarly, substantial material on William W. Campbell is to be found in the National Academy of Sciences files in
the organizational section. Cross-checking for material on given subjects must also be done within particular sections. For
instance, the files on international scientific organizations, which deal mainly with the International Research Council and
its associated Unions, may be used together with the records relating to the National Academy of Sciences and the National
Research Council.
George Ellery Hale was born in Chicago in 1868. After receiving his B.S. from MIT in 1890, he quickly established a scientific
reputation for his invention of the spectroheliograph, then made important contributions to the study of solar phenomena,
organized and coedited the Astrophysical Journal, and led the design, funding and construction of the Kenwood, Yerkes, Mount
Wilson and Palomar Observatories. In 1904, Hale became director of the Mount Wilson Observatory and settled in Pasadena, California,
where became deeply involved in local education and culture, including the creation of Caltech and the Huntington Library.
Meanwhile, he revivified the National Academy of Sciences by organizing the National Research Council, obtaining a substantial
endowment, and establishing the National Research Council Fellowships. Before World War I, Hale was a founder of the International
Union of Cooperation in Solar Research, Foreign Secretary of the National Academy of Sciences, and frequent delegate to the
International Association of Academies. After the war, he was instrumental in the establishment of the International Research
Council and served as president of its successor, the International Council of Scientific Unions, from 1931 to 1934. Hale
died in 1938.
At the time of Hale's death his papers were located at the headquarters of the Mount Wilson Obervatory. Within a few years
his secretary, Louise F. Gianetti, separated the papers that she judged to be part of his personal collection from those that
pertained to the affairs of the Observatory. These personal papers, filling some 28 file drawers, were moved to the attic
of Hale's own solar laboratory on Holladay Road in Pasadena. The Observatory papers, occupying some 9 file drawers, remained
at the Mount Wilson headquarters.
Hale's personal papers were placed in the custody of the California Institute of Technology by his heirs in 1966. At that
time, a new administrative building for the Mount Wilson Observatory was planned, and the Hale papers were to be brought together
into one unified collection and housed within that structure. This building was never built. Further, the agreement between
the California Institute of Technology and the Carnegie Institution of Washington for the joint operation of the Mount Wilson
and Palomar Observatories, established in 1948, was dissolved in 1980. A few years later, the Carnegie Institution turned
over its Hale manuscripts, the so-called Director's Files, to the Huntington Library, along with other materials relating
to the Mount Wilson Observatory, including a rare book collection. The remainder of the Hale papers—by far the bulk of the
manuscript material—remained in the custody of Caltech. According to Evelina Hale's original stipulation, they were to do
so until the completion of the new building which would house the collection—a project which was ultimately never completed.
Thus the Hale papers are divided between two neighboring institutions, and each administers its portion.
Existence and Location of Originals
Series 1 through 9 are located at the Caltech Archives. The Director's Files of the Mount Wilson Observatory are located at
the Huntington Library.
In April 1966, with the Hale family's consent, the personal papers and the Mount Wilson files were organized and catalogued
under the direction of Caltech historian Daniel J. Kevles. The project was undertaken with the cooperation and encouragement
of Horace Babcock, Director of Mount Wilson; his predecessor, Ira Bowen; Charles Weiner of the American Institute of Physics'
Center for History of Physics; Lee DuBridge, President of Caltech; and Fred Shelley of the National Historical Publications
Commission. Most of the financial support for the organization of the papers was provided by the Carnegie Institution of Washington
and the California Institute of Technology; the Center for History of Physics provided the remainder of the funds from a grant
made to it by the National Science Foundation to facilitate and encourage the preservation of manuscripts in the history of
science.
The original description of the collection was produced by Kevles and published in the
Guide to the Microfilm Edition of the George Ellery Hale Papers in 1968. This description was revised by Charlotte E. Erwin in February 2000 and again by Peter Sachs Collopy in June 2018
to produce the present finding aid.
Other manuscript collections which contain material relevant to Hale's life include the records of the National Academy of
Sciences National Research Council at the Academy's headquarters in Washington, D.C.; the John C. Merriam Papers at the Library
of Congress; the Harry M. Goodwin Papers at the Huntington Library; and the Robert A. Millikan Papers and Helen Wright Collection
at the California Institute of Technology.
This collection provides a thorough record of George Ellery Hale's activities. A prolific correspondent, Hale kept copies
of most of his letters. The collections contains significant material relating to the theoretical and instrumental development
of astrophysics, the history of the Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories, and the early history of the California Institute
of Technology. It is also of importance for the study of science and government, particularly with respect to the National
Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council.
Unpublished works created by George Ellery Hale are in the public domain and may be reproduced freely. Copyright to works
by others, and to Hale's publications, may be held by their respective creators, those creators' heirs, or their publishers.
If you wish to quote or reproduce such works beyond the extent of fair use, please contact the copyright holder to request
permission.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Astronomical observatories
Spectrohelioscope
Astrophysics
Astrophysicists