Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
William Hayward Pickering Collection
Collection number: WHP
Title: William Hayward Pickering Collection
Dates: 1931 - 2009
Extent:
44 Boxes
Repository:
Pasadena Museum of History
Research Library and Archives
470 West Walnut Street
Pasadena, California 91103-3594
Abstract:
William Hayward Pickering was the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Director from 1954-1976. He oversaw the Explorer, Ranger,
Surveyor, Mariner, Mercury, Viking and Voyager missions. Following retirement he was involved in private industry including
the Research Institutes of Saudi Arabia's University of Petroleum and Minerals, the Pickering Research Corporation, and Lignetics,
Inc. He received the National Medal of Science among many other awards.
Languages:
English
Administrative Information
| February 2013 | Machine readable finding aid created by Victoria Brennan. |
| 2013 | Collection processed and description prepared by Larry Dumas. |
Collection is open to the public for research. Use is restricted by rules intended to protect and preserve the materials
in good condition for the future. For additional information please contact Pasadena Museum of History.
Use of the materials is governed by all applicable copyright law. Pasadena Museum of History reserves the right to restrict
any materials from reproduction at any time. Property rights reside with Pasadena Museum of History. Literary rights are
retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. The Museum's physical ownership of the materials in its collection
does not imply ownership of copyright. It is the user's responibility to resolve any copyright issues related to the use
and distribution of reproduced materials. For permission to reproduce or to publish, please contact Pasadena Museum of History.
Suggested citation of these records is: [Identification of item], William Hayward Pickering Collection, Box [#], Folder [#],
Research Library and Archives, Pasadena Museum of History.
Biography/Biographical Notes*:
William H. Pickering (WHP) was born in Wellington, New Zealand, December 24, 1910. He received his Bachelor of Science degree
from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 1932 and his Master of Science degree, (Physics) in 1933. He was
a Coffin Fellow 1933-35 and received his Doctorate degree (Physics) in 1936. He lectured at Caltech and the University of
Southern California (USC) during the intervening years in the fields of physical sciences, electrical engineering, cosmic
rays, microwave propagation, cosmic ray engineering, and cosmic ray sondes. Pickering became a naturalized citizen of the
United States in 1941.
Pickering was invited to join Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in 1944 as a result of his experience in the design
and use of telemetering devices, which he subsequently developed for the Laboratory's high-velocity research vehicles. Beginning
in 1949 he headed the Corporal and Sergeant missile programs, and in 1954 he succeeded Louis Dunn as Director of JPL.
In 1958, a few months after the Soviet Sputnik, JPL successfully launched Explorer I. That same year JPL, which had been
under the direction of the Army, was transferred to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with the responsibility
for unmanned exploration of the moon and planets. Under Pickering's direction, the Laboratory launched the Ranger missions
to the moon, the Surveyor missions to the moon, the Mariner missions to Venus and Mars, and the first gravity assist mission
to Mercury via Venus. JPL also designed the Viking orbiter of Mars and designed and built the Voyagers for the outer planets
mission during his tenure as Director.
Following his retirement from JPL in 1976, he directed the Research Institutes of Saudi Arabia's University of Petroleum and
Minerals. He returned to California in 1978 and established the Pickering Research Corporation for space related projects,
ranging from a report on nuclear safety to an image processing system in China. In 1983, responding to the energy crisis,
he formed Lignetics, Inc., to manufacture wood pellet fuel from wood waste.
Pickering has been awarded many national and international awards and prizes, including the National Medal of Science, Honorary
Knight Commander of the British Empire, Spirit of St. Louis Medal of Science, NASA Distinguished Service Medal, Columbus Gold
Medal, the first Francois-Xavier Bagnoud International Aerospace Prize and the Japan Prize, among others. He was a member
of the National Academy of Sciences and a founding member of the National Academy of Engineering.
* Excerpted and abridged from the JPL archives
The main body of the collection was organized and transferred to the Museum by Douglas J. Mudgway with the permission of William
Pickering's widow, Inez Chapman Pickering, and his daughter, Anne Elizabeth (Beth) Pickering Mezitt. Mudgway worked with Dr.
Pickering from 2002 until his death in 2004 during the preparation of his book,
William H. Pickering - America's Deep Space Pioneer (NASA SP-2008-4113).
The material in the collection came mainly from Dr. Pickering's personal office in Altadena, California, from the holdings
of family members, and from material collected by Douglas J. Mudgway in the course of research for his book. Mudgway's holdings
were transferred to the Museum in a series of shipments in 2008. Each box in the shipments contained a separate category of
records, usually arranged in chronological order. This organization has been preserved in the Museum's collection, with minor
rearrangement to facilitate the location of items of interest by researchers. Anne Elizabeth (Beth) Pickering Mezitt later
facilitated the transfer of other family mementos and the extensive collection of honors and awards.
Documents in the collection include records related to JPL and the military, NASA/JPL photos, business affairs, India/Arabia/China
interactions, speeches and publications, correspondence, professional society activities, clippings, mementos, and books.
Included are the files of Victoria L. Melikan, Special Assistant to the Director, JPL and the Harold Wheelock Collection of
speeches. The collection of speeches, dating from the early 1950s to the early 2000s, offers a comprehensive survey of his
thoughts on scientific research, space exploration, energy production and usage, the effect of science and technology on society,
and forecasts for the future in these areas. Audiovisual material includes radio and TV appearances by Pickering and extensive
late life interviews of Pickering by Mudgway. Certificates, trophies, and other mementos in the collection honor Pickering
as a scientist, a leader in the exploration of space, and a vital force in community and professional affairs.
Key to Arrangement/Container List:
The collection is organized in 15 subgroups by subject or material.
| Subgroups: | Box |
|---|---|
| JPL and the Military | 1-3 |
| Background Biographical Information | 3 |
| NASA/JPL Photos | 4 |
| Business Affairs | 5-14 |
| India/Arabia/China | 15-16 |
| Speeches and Papers | 17-23 |
| Honors, Citations, and Awards | 24-25 |
| Professional Society Records | 26-27 |
| Miscellaneous Projects and Correspondence | 27-29 |
| Mementos, Clippings and Remembrances | 29-30 |
| Reports, Booklets and Brochures | 31-33 |
| Awards, Trophies and Miscellaneous | 34-39 |
| Scrapbooks and Photo Albums | 40-43 |
| Audiovisual | 44 |
A portion of the names, corporations and places found in Pasadena Museum of History's Library and Archives local finding aid.
Allen, Lew
Amhurst, Gillian
Anderson, Carl David
Anderson, Senator Ken
Avery, R. Stanton
Beckman, Arnold O.
Brown, Dr. Harold
Brown, Gov. Edmund
Davis, Gov. Gray
Dennis, Michael Aaron
DeVorkin, David H.
Digby, J.
DuBridge, Dr. Lee A.
Dumas, Larry
Duncan, Capt. John G.
Dunn, Louis
Farrero, Councilman John
Ford, President Gerald R.
Gardner, Dr. John W.
Gillespie, Rollin
Hall, R. Cargill
Harford
Hibbs, Dr. Albert R.
Horner, Richard E.
Hunt, Lee
Kellogg, Will
Kelly, Paul
Lanterman, Frank
Logsden, George
Logsden, John
MacLean, William B.
Malina, Frank
McLean, William B.
Megerian, G. K.
Melikan, Victoria L.
Mezitt, Anne Elizabeth (Beth) Pickering
Millikan, Robert
Moss, Senator
Mudgway, Douglas J.
Murray, Bruce
Myers, Dale
Naugle, Dr. John E.
Neal, Roy
Needell, Allan
Neher, H. Victor
Niemirowicz
Ordway, Federick I.
Parks, Robert
Pickering, Inez C.
Ramo, Simon
Rechtin, Eberhart
Rubenstein
Russell, Senator Newton R.
Siverstein, Abe
Stewart, Homer J.
Stoller, Morton J.
Stone, Ed
Taft, Senator
Thomas, Shirley
Tucker, Ken
Tunney, Senator
Van Allen, J. A.
von Braun, Werner
von Karman, Theodore
Wayland, Harold
Webb, James E.
Wheelock, Harold
Williams, Ulric
Yang, Dr.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
California Institute of Technology
California
Pasadena, California