Members of the Advisory Committee of scientists directing arrangements for the National Geographic Society - U.S. Army Air Force Stratosphere Flight, 1934. Standing left to right: Dr. William George Brombacher (b. 1891), Mr. E. R. Weaver, and Dr. Fred Loomis Mohler (b. 1893), all of U.S. National Bureau of Standards; George W. Hutchison, Secretary, National Geographic Society; Captain Raymond Stanton Patton (1882-1937), Director, U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey; Dr. Floyd Karker Richtmyer (1881-1939), Dean, Graduate School at Cornell University and Member of Research Council, National Academy of Sciences; and Dr. William Francis Gray Swann (1884-1962), Director, Bartol Research Foundation of the Franklin Institute, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Seated left to right: Dr. Frederick Vernon Coville (1867-1937), U.S. Department of Agriculture; Major William Ellsworth Kepner (1893-1982), U.S. Army Air Corps; Dr. Lyman James Briggs (1874-1963), Chairman, Director, U.S. National Bureau of Standards; Captain Albert William Stevens (1886-1949), U.S. Army Air Corps; Dr. Gilbert Grosvenor (1875-1966), President, National Geographic Society; and Dr. Charles Frederick Marvin (1858-1943), former Chief, U.S. Weather Bureau. The committee was advising on the project that resulted in launch of the "Explorer" hydrogen balloon on July 28, 1934.
No access restrictions Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
