University of Pennsylvania Department of Astronomy records, 1831-2004 (bulk: 1897-1997).

Format:

Archive

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Olivier, Charles P. (Charles Pollard), 1884-1975.

Olivier, Charles P.

Wood, Frank Bradshaw, 1915-1997.

Wood, Frank Bradshaw.

Barton, Samuel Goodwin, 1882-.

Barton, Samuel Goodwin.

Binnendijk, L. (Leendert).

Binnendijk, L.

Blitzstein, William, 1920-1999.

Blitzstein, William.

Koch, Robert Harry, 1929-2010.

Koch, Robert Harry.

Cook, Gustavus Wynne.

University of Pennsylvania. Department of Physics and Astronomy.

University of Pennsylvania.

University of Pennsylvania. Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

University of Pennsylvania. Flower and Cook Observatory.

Astronomy.

Astronomy--Study and teaching.

Penn Provenance:

The Department of Astronomy records were transferred to the University Archives from the Department between the 1950s and 1990s. The William Blitzstein Astronomy Department History Files were transferred from the Department in 2003 (Accession number 2003:088).

Physical Description:

21.25 Cubic Feet

Arrangement:

Organized into four series: I. General Files, II. Observations, III. Reprints, and IV. The William Blitzstein Astronomy Department History Files. Each series is arranged alphabetically.

Place of Publication:

1831-2004

Biography/History:

Astronomy has been taught at the University of Pennsylvania since the eighteenth century. Between 1779 and 1782 David Rittenhouse (1732 - 1796) served as the first Professor of Astronomy. For most of the nineteenth century astronomy was taught by either the professor of natural philosophy or professor of mathematics. In 1892 Ezra Otis Kendall (1818 - 1899) was appointed the first Flower Professor of Astronomy (having first joined the faculty in 1855 as a professor of mathematics). Reese Wall Flower had bequeathed his farm in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania along with funds to the University for the construction of an astronomical observatory. Construction of the Flower Observatory began in 1895. In 1896 Charles Leander Doolittle (1843 - 1919) was appointed as Flower Professor of Astronomy and the first Director of the Flower Astronomical Observatory. To assist him Henry Brown Evans and Eric Doolittle were appointed as instructors of astronomy. The observatory was officially dedicated on 1897 May 12. The University acquired the Cook Observatory in 1940. This facility was created by amateur astronomer and Philadelphia business man Gustavus Wynn Cook (1868 - 1940) in 1930 on his Wynnewood estate, and willed to the University upon his death. During the 1940s and 1950s the University operated two observatories. Faculty members added to the Astronomy Department during the early twentieth century include Charles Pollard Olivier (1884 - 1975), Samuel Goodwin Barton (1882 - 1958), Frank Bradshaw Wood (1915 - 1997), Leendert Binnendijk (1913 - 1984), William Blitzstein (1920 - 1999), and Robert H. Koch (1929 - 2010). By the early 1950s the observatories in Upper Darby and Wynnewood were beginning to show their age. Facing mandatory retirement in 1954, Olivier (who was chair of the department and Director of the Observatories) convinced the Trustees of the University to purchase 31 acres of undeveloped land in Willistown Township at the intersection of Warren avenue. and Providence Road to construct new observatory, named Flower and Cook Observatory. Wood was recruited as assistant professor and executive director to plan and oversee the construction of the new facility. Blitzstein, who had been a research associate at the observatories in 1950, provided technical assistance to architects. Construction began in 1955, and was completed and dedicated by 1956 July 11. The University would operate the Flower and Cook Observatory until 2004 when the facility was closed and the property sold.

Summary:

The University of Pennsylvania Department of Astronomy records document the activities of the department and the Flower and Cook Observatory (including their predecessor observatories) from the late nineteenth to mid twentieth centuries. The collection has been organized into four series: General Files, Observations, Reprints, and The William Blitzstein Astronomy Department History Files. General Files series consists of correspondence, administrative files, grant proposals, and budget files. Most of the correspondence is to or from Charles Pollard Olivier and Frank Bradshaw Wood in their capacities as department chair and director of the observatory. There are a few course files in the series, as well as course registration information. Administratively there are also files related to the School of Arts and Sciences, and the observatories. There are also files related to the establishment of an observatory in New Zealand, which the University operated with the University of Canterbery from the 1960s through 1975. Given the broad range of the material in this series, General Files was used to avoid confusion on overall contents. The Observations series consists of astronomical observations made by faculty members or students between the late nineteenth and mid twentieth centuries. The bulk of these records are astronomical calculations - though there is a small number of correspondence and reports in material from the nineteenth century. The bulk of the observations were made at the University's observatories, by faculty members Samuel G. Barton, Charles L. Doolittle, and Charles P. Olivier. There are a few observation notebooks for which no location is given, nor any direct title provided outside of a number and/or letter designation. The series does contain one none departmental observation dating to 1831 made by Sears C. Walker that could not be attributed to his work with Ezra Otis Kendall at the Central High School Observatory. The Reprints series consists of publications written by Astronomy Department faculty, as well as a series of numbered publications organized by the Flower and Cook Observatory. The series contains a near-complete run of these numbered publications. A complete list of the publications can be found in the folder "List of Flower and Cook Observatory Reprints" in this series. The William Blitzstein Astronomy Department History Files series consists of files that Blitzstein collected over the years that document the history of the observatories and the faculty involved with them. There are biographical files of several faculty members, correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs (both of individuals and observations), a few publications of faculty, and brief histories of the observatories. The file "Photographs of astronomers" contains 6 unrelated images of individuals, groups, and observations made at within the Philadelphia area. All but one is identified.

OCLC:

1537978442