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Harvard University -- Astronomy

 Subject
Subject Source: Local sources

Found in 5 Collections and/or Records:

Records of Harvard College Observatory Director Joseph Winlock

Collection Identifier: UAV 630.10
Overview: Joseph Winlock (1826-1875) was an astronomer and mathematician who served as the third director of the Harvard College Observatory from 1866 until his death on June 11, 1875. The records document Joseph Winlock's tenure as director, and primarily consist of Winlock's incoming and outgoing correspondence files. The letters relate to Observatory publications, relationships with other scientific institutions, and discussions of astronomical and meteorological information. The records also...

Records of the Harvard College Observatory Chronometric Expedition

Collection Identifier: UAV 630.349
Overview: In the mid-nineteenth century, the Chronometric Expedition was carried out by the Harvard College Observatory, under the direction of William Cranch Bond and in conjunction with the United States Coast Survey. The expedition used chronometers that were made by William Bond & Son, the Bond family's private business, to determine differences of longitude between the observatories in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Liverpool, England. The records primarily consist of notebooks, data sheets,...

Records of the Harvard College Observatory Time Service

Sub-Fonds Identifier: UAV 630.377
Overview: In 1872, under Director Joseph Winlock, the Harvard College Observatory established the world’s first public time service, which it provided as a commercial service until 1892. The Observatory sold its time service to railroads and businesses by sending hourly signals over Boston’s fire alarm system and distributing time across the region via Western Union telegraph lines; this work eventually resulted in the establishment of the country's first time zone. The Records of the Harvard College...

Margaret Mayall personal archive

Collection Identifier: HUM 294
Overview: Margaret Walton Mayall (1902-1995) was an American astronomer. After receiving her MA from Radcliffe College in 1928, she began working at the Harvard College Observatory. This collection contains 35 black and white photographs, which depict the Harvard College Observatory staff camping in southeastern Maine to watch the total solar eclipse on August 31, 1932. Also includes Mayall’s 1957 G. Bruce Blair Award and a copy of Mayall’s 1970 Manual for Observing Variable...

Photographs of Boyden Station in South Africa

Collection Identifier: HUY 178
Overview: Boyden Station was established by Harvard University in 1889 to allow for observations from the Southern Hemisphere. The observatory was originally located in Arequipa, Peru, but was relocated to a spot near Bloemfontien in the Orange Free State, South Africa in 1927 due to better weather. The collection includes 182 photographs, which probably date from the 1930s to 1950s. The images depict Boyden Station, as well as its surrounding areas, including employees, equipment, and local South...