Finding Aid for the Helen Wright Collection on George Ellery Hale 1887-1972
Processed by Kevin C. Knox, Caltech Archives Staff.
Caltech Archives
Archives
California Institute of Technology
1200 East California Blvd.
Mail Code 015A-74
Pasadena, CA 91125
Phone: (626) 395-2704
Fax: (626) 793-8756
Email: archives@caltech.edu
URL: http://archives.caltech.edu/
©2006
California Institute of Technology. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Helen Wright Collection on George Ellery Hale,
Date (inclusive): 1887-1972
Collection number: 10175-MS
Creator: Wright, Helen, 1914- ; Hale, George E., 1868-1938
Extent:
6 linear feet
Repository:
California Institute of Technology, Caltech Archives
Pasadena, California 91125
Abstract: The working papers, correspondence, publications, photos and biographical materials of George E. Hale (1868-1938) form the
collection known as the Helen Wright Collection on George Ellery Hale in the Archives of the California Institute of Technology.
Not only was Hale the foremost solar astronomer of his day, but he was also exceedingly energetic in the organization and
promotion of the enterprise of science, both at home and abroad. The materials in the collection reflect both aspects of his
career, as well as his other interests and personal life.
Physical location: California Institute of Technology, Institute Archives
Language of Material:
Languages represented in the collection:
English French German
Access
The collection is open for research. Researchers must apply in writing for access.
Publication Rights
Copyright may not have been assigned to the California Institute of Technology Archives. All requests for permission to publish
or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the
California Institute of Technology Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission
of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Helen Wright Collection on George Ellery Hale, 10175-MS, Caltech Archives, California Institute
of Technology.
Acquisition Information
Papers were compiled by Helen Wright, largely through transcription and the collection of published sources. The were acquired
from Christine Shirley, June 4, 1998.
Processing History
Processed by Kevin C. Knox, Caltech Archives Staff, August 17, 2006
Some material transferred to the Caltech Archives rare book collection. No attempt has been made to correlate the remaining
materials with their original location.
Biography
The daughter of George Ellery Hale's colleague, Frederick Wright, Helen Wright was born in 1914. Following the death of George
Ellery Hale in 1938, the National Academy of Sciences urged that a comprehensive biography be written. However, it was not
until 1951 that Helen Wright was commisioned to pen the work. Although she worked industriously on the project, the biography
was not completed until 1966. Six years later, she co-authored
The Legacy of George Ellery Hale.
Born in Chicago in 1868, George Ellery Hale received his B.S. from M. I. T. in 1890. Active in the development of astrophysics,
he quickly established a distinguished scientific reputation for his invention of the spectroheliograph. He made important
contributions to the study of solar phenomena, organized and co-edited the Astrophysical Journal, and was the leading figure
in the design, funding and construction of the Kenwood, Yerkes, Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories.
Hale was also exceedingly energetic in the organization and promotion of the enterprise of science, both at home and abroad.
In the United States he played a highly influential role in the National Academy of Sciences. He revivified the Academy almost
single-handedly by organizing the National Research Council, obtaining substantial endowment for the NAS, and establishing
the critically important National Research Council Fellowships. A founder of the International Union of Cooperation in Solar
Research, Foreign Secretary of the National Academy of Sciences, and a frequent delegate to the International Association
of Academies, he became deeply involved in the international relations of science before the First World War. Instrumental
in the establishment of the International Research Council after the war, he was president of its successor, the International
Council of Scientific Unions from 1931 to 1934.
Hale settled in Pasadena, California in 1904 to assume the duties of Director of the newly established Mount Wilson Observatory
and became deeply involved in the educational and cultural affairs of the area. Among his most important efforts were the
creation and development of the California Institute of Technology and the Huntington Library.
Chronology
| 1868 |
Birth |
| 1889 |
enters MIT |
| 1890 |
appointed director of Kenwood Astrophysical Observatory |
| 1891 |
appointed professor at Beloit College |
| 1893-1894 |
Berlin |
| 1904 |
Mount Wilson Observatory established |
| 1904 |
Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society |
| 1908 |
60 in. Hooker telescope at Mount Wilson |
| 1917 |
100 in. Hooker telescope |
| 1920 |
California Institute of Technology established |
| 1923 |
retires from Mount Wilson Observatory |
| 1932 |
Copley Medal |
| 1938 |
Death |
Scope and Content
The material from the Helen Wright collection was gathered by Wright over two decades from locations worldwide. Although most
of material can be found either on the microfilm version of the Hale collection or in the Hale Papers that are housed in the
Caltech Archives and Huntington Library, the collection is unique pricipally because the materials are arranged differently.
Wright organized the papers according to topic in accordance with the structure of her biography while she also transcribed
most of the hand-written correspondence. For these reasons, scholars researching the work of Hale may find the collection
very helpful.
The collection is organized into the following series:
- Series 1. Original Correspondence and Documents
- Series 2. Correspondence and Documents assembled by Helen Wright
- Series 3. Organizations
- Series 4. Publications
- Series 5. Biographical
Related Material
The Papers of George Ellery Hale
The Papers of Robert A. Millikan
Records of the Palomar Observatory
Records of the Astronomy Department
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Brashear, John Alfred, 1840-1920
Carnegie, Andrew, 1835-1919
Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955
Larmour, Joseph, Sir, 1857-1942
Millikan, Robert Andrews, 1868-1953
Noyes, Arthur A. (Arthur Amos), 1866-1936
Rutherford, Ernest, 1871-1937
Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924
Container List
Series 1.
Original Correspondence and Documents
Subseries 1.
Helen Wright
Box 1, Folder 1
Book reviews:
Explorer of the Universe &
Legacy of George Ellery Hale
1966, 1972
Box 1, Folder 2
Correspondence re:
Legacy of George Ellery Hale
1972
Box 1, Folder 3
Helen Wright correspondence
1950-1968
Subseries 2.
George Ellery Hale
Box 1, Folder 4
Correspondence and documents
- Breasted, J.H. 1919
- Campbell, W.W. 1933
- Connor, E. undated
- Dunn, G. 1924
- J[?], J. 1924
- Fleming, A. 1919
- Kellogg, A. 1928
- Morgan, T.H. 1928
- National Research Council 1917
- Pearson, H.G. 1936
- Scherer, J.A.B. 1919
- Struve, O. 1947
- Wright, F. 1928
Series 2.
Correspondence and Documents assembled by Helen Wright
Subseries 1.
Chronological Correspondence
Box 1, Folder 5
Chronological correspondence
1887-1889
Box 1, Folder 6
Chronological correspondence
1890-1891
Box 1, Folder 7
Chronological correspondence
1892-1896
Box 1, Folder 8
Chronological correspondence
1897-1899
Box 1, Folder 9
Chronological correspondence
1900-1903
Subseries 2.
Correspondence and Documents by Individuals
Box 1, Folder 10
Breasted, James
1913-1925
Box 1, Folder 11
Breasted, James
1926-1933
Box 1, Folder 14
Carnegie, Andrew
see also: Series 2.3, Carnegie Institution
1904-1935
Box 2, Folder 1
Caulfield, M. – Cross, C.
Box 2, Folder 5
Einstein, Albert
1913-1933
Box 2, Folder 6
Ellerman, F. – Evershed, E.
Box 2, Folder 8
Fleming, Arthur
1915-1935
Box 2, Folder 16
Goodwin, H.M.
1917-1936, 1952
Box 3, Folder 5
Huggins, William
1892-1900
Box 3, Folder 6
Huggins, William
1901-1931
Box 3, Folder 8
Huntington, Henry
1914-1934
Box 3, Folder 12
Macpherson, H. – Mason, M.
Box 3, Folder 13
Mathews, S. – Merriam, J.
Millikan, Robert A.
see: Series 2.3, Caltech
Box 3, Folder 16
Wilson, Woodrow
1916-1919
Subseries 3.
Correspondence and Documents by Topic
Box 4, Folder 1
American Astronomical Society
1897-1899
Box 4, Folder 2
Astrophysical Journal
1891-1898
Box 4, Folder 3
Awards and honors
1907-1933
Box 4, Folder 4
Beloit College
1891-1895, 1951
Box 4, Folder 5
Book collecting
1925-1934
Box 4, Folder 6
Caltech
see also: Throop polytechnic
1920-1922
Box 4, Folder 11
Carnegie Institution
1901-1936
Box 4, Folder 12
Children's stories and poetry
ca 1926-1933
Box 4, Folder 16
History and philosophy of science
1925-1933
Box 4, Folder 18
International Astronomical Union
1907-1919
Box 4, Folder 19
International cooperation
1904-1910
Box 4, Folder 20
International cooperation
1911-1915
Box 4, Folder 21
International cooperation
1916-1918
Box 4, Folder 22
International science
1918-1919
Box 4, Folder 23
International science
1922-1931
Box 4, Folder 24
International science
1932-1935
Box 4, Folder 25
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
ca 1880s
Box 5, Folder 1
Mount Wilson Observatory
1902 (1)
Box 5, Folder 2
Mount Wilson Observatory
1902 (2)
Box 5, Folder 3
Mount Wilson Observatory
1902 (3)
Box 5, Folder 4
Mount Wilson Observatory
1903 (1)
Box 5, Folder 5
Mount Wilson Observatory
1903 (2)
Box 5, Folder 6
Mount Wilson Observatory
1903 (3)
Box 5, Folder 7
Mount Wilson Observatory
1903 (4)
Box 5, Folder 8
Mount Wilson Observatory
1904 (1)
Box 5, Folder 9
Mount Wilson Observatory
1904 (2)
Box 5, Folder 10
Mount Wilson Observatory
1905
Box 5, Folder 11
Mount Wilson Observatory
1906
Box 5, Folder 12
Mount Wilson Observatory
1907
Box 6, Folder 1
Mount Wilson Observatory
1908
Box 6, Folder 2
Mount Wilson Observatory
1909
Box 6, Folder 3
Mount Wilson Observatory
1910
Box 6, Folder 4
Mount Wilson Observatory
1911
Box 6, Folder 5
Mount Wilson Observatory
1912-1914
Box 6, Folder 6
Mount Wilson Observatory
1915-1917
Box 6, Folder 7
Mount Wilson Observatory
1918-1919
Box 6, Folder 8
Mount Wilson Observatory
1920-1922
Box 6, Folder 9
Mount Wilson Observatory
1923-1924
Box 6, Folder 10
Mount Wilson Observatory
1925-1949
Box 6, Folder 11
Mount Wilson Observatory: Library list
undated
Box 7, Folder 1
Palomar Telescope: Design and finance
1921-1927
Box 7, Folder 2
Palomar Telescope: Design and finance
Jan-May 1928
Box 7, Folder 3
Palomar Telescope: Design and finance
Jun-Dec 1928
Box 7, Folder 4
Palomar Telescope: Design and finance
1929
Box 7, Folder 5
Palomar Telescope: Design and finance
1930-1933
Box 7, Folder 6
Palomar Telescope: Design and finance
1934-1935
Box 7, Folder 7
Palomar Telescope: Design and finance
1936; 1946-1948
Box 7, Folder 8
Palomar Telescope: Mirror
1905; 1923-1928
Box 7, Folder 9
Palomar Telescope: Mirror
1929
Box 7, Folder 10
Palomar Telescope: Mirror
1930
Box 7, Folder 11
Palomar Telescope: Mirror
1931
Box 7, Folder 12
Palomar Telescope: Mirror
1932
Box 8, Folder 1
Palomar Telescope: Mirror
1933
Box 8, Folder 2
Palomar Telescope: Mirror
1934
Box 8, Folder 3
Palomar Telescope: Mirror
1935-1936
Box 8, Folder 4
Palomar Telescope: Site
1928-1935
Box 8, Folder 5
Palomar Telescope: Mounting
1928-1936
Box 8, Folder 6
Palomar Telescope: Auxiliary instruments
1929-1942
Box 8, Folder 7
Palomar Telescope: Shopwork
1929-1932
Box 8, Folder 8
Palomar Telescope: Dedication
1948
Box 8, Folder 9
Poetry (by GEH)
ca 1911-1922
Box 8, Folder 10
Rockefeller Foundation
1919
Box 9, Folder 1
Smithsonian Institution
1906-1914
Box 9, Folder 2
Throop Polytechnic
see also: Caltech
1907-1908
Box 9, Folder 3
Throop Polytechnic
1909-1919
Box 9, Folder 7
Yerkes Observatory
1892-1895
Box 9, Folder 8
Yerkes Observatory
1895-1896
Box 9, Folder 9
Yerkes Observatory
1899-1903
Box 10, Folder 1
National Academy of Sciences
1903-1913
Box 10, Folder 2
National Academy of Sciences
1914-1915
Box 10, Folder 3
National Academy of Sciences
1915-1916
Box 10, Folder 4
National Academy of Sciences
1918-1922
Box 10, Folder 5
National Academy of Sciences
1923-1935; 1950-1951
Box 10, Folder 6
National Research Council
1915-1916
Box 10, Folder 7
National Research Council
1917
Box 10, Folder 8
National Research Council
1918
Box 10, Folder 9
National Research Council
1919
Box 10, Folder 10
National Research Council
1920
Box 10, Folder 11
National Research Council
1921
Box 10, Folder 12
National Research Council
1922
Box 11, Folder 1
National Research Council
1923
Box 11, Folder 2
National Research Council
1924-1926
Box 11, Folder 3
National Research Council
1927-1929
Box 11, Folder 4
National Research Council
1931-1934
Box 11, Folder 5
National Research Council
1935-1938
Box 11, Folder 6
National Research Fund/Fellowships
1917-1919
Box 11, Folder 7
National Research Fund/Fellowships
1924-1925
Box 11, Folder 8
National Research Fund/Fellowships
1926-1928
Box 11, Folder 9
National Research Fund/Fellowships
1929-1932
Box 13, Folder 4
Autobiographical notes
ca 1933
Box 13, Folder 5
Works about Hale: Abetti, Giorgio
1910; 1938
Box 13, Folder 6
Works about Hale: Adams, Walter
1938; 1947
Box 13, Folder 7
Works about Hale: Aitken, Robert
1916
Box 13, Folder 8
Works about Hale: Babcock, Harold
1938; 1939
Box 13, Folder 9
Works about Hale: Carew, H.D.
1928
Box 13, Folder 10
Works about Hale: Connor, Elizabeth
1962
Box 13, Folder 11
Works about Hale: Dunham, Theodore
1938
Box 13, Folder 12
Works about Hale: Fox, Philip
1938
Box 13, Folder 13
Works about Hale: Goodwin, H.M.
1920
Box 13, Folder 14
Works about Hale: Hale, William
1939
Box 13, Folder 15
Works about Hale: Mosgroveer, Ellie
1950
Box 13, Folder 16
Works about Hale: Newell, H.F.
1933
Box 13, Folder 17
Works about Hale: Seares, F.H.
1938
Box 13, Folder 18
Works about Hale: Stratton, F.J.M.
1938
Box 13, Folder 19
Works about Hale:
The Telescope
1936
Box 13, Folder 20
Works about Hale: Turner, H.H.
1904
Box 13, Folder 22
Miscellaneous biographical
ca 1900-1940
