Thacher (Michael) collection on Mount Wilson, 1903-1970.

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Summary

Title:
Michael Thacher collection on Mount Wilson
Dates:
1903-1970.
Abstract:
Materials related to the history of Mount Wilson and the astronomical observatory located there; including correspondence from Harlow Shapley and other astronomers, photographs, postcards, and historical brochures.
Extent:
2.38 Linear Feet (3 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Michael Thacher collection on Mount Wilson, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

Correspondence, photographs, and ephemera related to Mount Wilson and the observatory located there, collected by writer Michael Thacher. Correspondence includes letters from astronomer Harlow Shapley related to potential talks and appearances, book publication, and salary difficulties for scientists; and letters from a variety of astronomers involved with the Mount Wilson Observatory, either as administrators, visiting astronomers, or lecturers. The collection also includes a photograph album of black and white photographs taken by astronomer and photographer Ferdinand Ellerman; press photographs of Edwin Hubble, James Jeans, Albert Michelson, Seth Nicholson, and John Strong; postcards depicting Mount Wilson Observatory, trails, hotel, and views; and brochures and other ephemera.

Biographical / historical:

Michael Thacher is a writer, space enthusiast, and former communications executive. With his wife Rhonda Rundle, he created the Michael Thacher and Rhonda Rundle Endowed Collection for Astronomy and Planetary Sciences at UCLA Library. Thacher contributed astronomy-related articles, news stories and book reviews to the Los Angeles Times, the Christian Science Monitor, Astronomy Magazine, and other publications. Since 2004, he has conducted public tours and educational outreach at Mount Wilson Observatory.

Mount Wilson is at the peak of the San Gabriel Mountains, located within the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County, California. In the 1860s, Benjamin Davis Wilson built the Mount Wilson Trail up the mountain following an established Gabrielino-Tongva path. A popular hike with local residents, the trail was the predecessor to the Mount Wilson Toll Road.

In 1904, George Ellery Hale founded the Mount Wilson Observatory. Hale brought the Snow Solar Telescope from Yerkes Observatory in southern Wisconsin to the clearer skies of Southern California to continue his studies of the sun. In 1917, the 100-inch Hooker telescope, then the largest in the world, was installed for photographing stars and nebulae. Throughout the 1920s astronomer Edwin Hubble made significant astronomical discoveries using the Hooker Telescope, including the existence of galaxies beyond the Milky Way, and concepts integral to the Big Bang theory of cosmology. From 1910 to 1966 a series of hotels occupied the summit, and from 1967 to 1976 Skyline Park operated with picnic pavilions and a children's zoo. Since the 1940s, Mount Wilson has housed radio and television transmitters for broadcasting in the Greater Los Angeles Area. It remains a popular hiking destination.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Michael Thacher, September 2025, October 2025, and November 2025.
Processing information:

Processed at the time of accessioning by Kelly Kress in June 2026.

Arrangement:

Arranged according to the existing order of the materials.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Kelly Kress
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-06-11 09:21:15 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Michael Thacher collection on Mount Wilson, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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