National Air Museum (U.S.) Department of Aeronautics Search this
United States National Museum Section of Aeronautics Search this
National Air and Space Museum (U.S.) Collections and Research Department Search this
National Air and Space Museum (U.S.) Aeronautics Division Search this
Type:
Mixed archival materials
Date:
1933
1933-
Category:
Agency History
Notes:
This is an agency history. It does not describe actual records. The Smithsonian Institution Archives uses these histories as brief accounts of the origin, development, and functions of an office or administrative unit to set that unit in its historical context. To find information on record holdings, please double-click the highlighted field "Creator/Author", which will open on a brief view of relevant records.
Guide to the Smithsonian Archives, 1996
The National Aeronautical Collection originated in 1876, when the Chinese Imperial Commission presented the Smithsonian Institution with a gift of kites at the close of the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. In 1933 Paul E. Garber was appointed the first Assistant Curator of Aeronautics in the Department of Engineering, United States National Museum. In 1946 Congress created a separate National Air Museum.
During fiscal year 1965, the National Air Museum was divided into five departments, one of which was the Department of Aeronautics. Garber, who joined the staff in 1919 and had been Assistant Curator for Aeronautics since 1933, was named Assistant Director for Education and Information. The Department was divided into three sections: Flight Craft, Flight Propulsion, and Flight Material, headed by Curators Louis S. Casey, Kenneth E. Newland, and Robert B. Meyer, respectively. In 1996, the Art Unit from the Exhibits and Public Services Department was moved to the Department of Aeronautics. In 1997, the Department was reorganized as the Aeronautics Division, under the new Collections and Research Department, headed by Ted A. Maxwell, Associate Director, 1998- . The Aeronautics Division was renamed the Aeronautics Department in 2014.
The Aeronautics Department is responsible for the historical research and collecting activities of the National Air and Space Museum related to all aspects of flight in the atmosphere. The goal of the department is to preserve, document, and interpret the history of aeronautical technology within a broad political, economic, and social context. As part of this responsibility, the division acquires, documents, and maintains a collection of historically significant artifacts for public exhibition, study, and reference.
Donald S. Lopez, who had been Assistant Director for Aeronautics since 1971, became Chair in 1980. Lopez served as Chair until 1983 when he became Deputy Director of the Museum, and Edmund T. Wooldridge, Jr. became Chair, serving until 1986. Von D. Hardesty became Acting Chair in 1986 and then Chair, 1986-1988, when Donald S. Lopez became Acting Chair. In 1989 Dominick A. Pisano was appointed Acting Chair. Tom D. Crouch became the Chair of the Department, serving 1990-1999. Russell Lee was Chair from, 2015-2019; and then F. Robert Van der Linden was Chair from 2019-2020. In December 2020, Russell Lee became Acting Chair.
For a history of the larger creating unit, refer to "Forms part of" above.
Repository Loc.:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Capital Gallery, Suite 3000, MRC 507; 600 Maryland Avenue, SW; Washington, DC 20024-2520
