1930-1940 correspondence, 1921-1950

This subseries contains correspondence between Shapley and a variety of correspondents, including astronomers from the United States and abroad, such as Walter Sydney Adams, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin and Sergei Gaposchkin, Boris Gerasimovic, Ejnar Hertzsprung, Frank Hogg and Helen Sawyer Hogg, A.O. Leuschner, Knut Emil Lundmark, Willem Jacob Luyten, Donald H. Menzel, S.A. Mitchell, Ernst Julius Öpik, Pieter Johannes van Rhijn, Henry Norris Russell, Frank Schlesinger, and Otto Struve. Correspondence with these astronomers reflects the international cooperation within the astronomical field, as well as Shapley’s eminence amongst his peers. Shapley also corresponded with several professors, many female, and students at women’s colleges, including Smith College, Wellesley College, Mount Holyoke College, Vassar College, as well as several female astronomers. Some of the letters simply discuss astronomical data, but many relate specifically to employment opportunities within the field, and show Shapley’s interest in hiring women at the Harvard College Observatory, as well as helping them obtain jobs at other institutions.

Shapley also wrote to many Harvard University professors and administrators, including Edwin G. Boring, James B. Conant, Jerome D. Greene, David M. Little, Kenneth Ballard Murdock, and Edwin Bidwell Wilson, as well as Harvard University departments, including Harvard Associates in Science, various Harvard committees, the Harvard Dean’s Office, the Harvard College Library, the Harvard News Office, and associated Harvard Clubs. Topics of discussion include updates on the Observatory’s advancements, Observatory budgets, staff salaries, equipment needs and purchases, operations and grounds, including conversations with the Harvard Athletic Association about potentially building a tennis court for Observatory employees, fellowships and scholarships, the astronomy curriculum and professorship decisions, student transcripts, and other administrative issues.

Many of the letters are also with various organizations, such as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for Variable Star Observers, the American Association for the Advancement of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the Bond Astronomical Club, the Boston Public Library, the International Astronomical Union, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Research Council, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Shapley had an active role with many of these groups. For instance, correspondence in folders entitled, “International Astronomical Union,” relates to Shapley’s role as chairman of the Local Committee branch of the organization, further highlighting his involvement in professional groups and his prominence within the larger worldwide scientific community. Correspondence topics within the American Academy of Arts and Sciences letters, between Shapley and AAAS administrators and members, include the election of committee members, salaries, meeting summaries, the scheduling of meetings, budgets and salaries, political issues, such as the Smith Bill, the organization's 1948 hundredth anniversary celebration, lecture topics, and conference planning.

Correspondence with President Herbert Hoover discusses scientific issues as well as the potential appointment of Judge Merrill Otis to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals and demonstrates the influence Harlow Shapley had not just in the scientific community, but within the political realm, as well.

The subseries also contains blueprints of scientific equipment, most notably the 60-inch telescope designed by J.W. Fecker.