Abbot, C. G. (Charles Greeley), 1872-1973, interviewee Search this
Extent:
3 audiotapes (Reference copies). 3 digital .mp3 files (Reference copies).
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Compact discs
Audiotapes
Transcripts
Electronic records
Date:
1973
Introduction:
The Smithsonian Institution Archives began its Oral History Program in 1973. The purpose of the program is to supplement the written documentation of the Archives'
record and manuscript collections with an Oral History Collection, focusing on the history of the Institution, research by its scholars, and contributions of its staff. Program
staff conduct interviews with current and retired Smithsonian staff and others who have made significant contributions to the Institution. There are also interviews conducted
by researchers or students on topics related to the history of the Smithsonian or the holdings of the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Dr. Abbot was interviewed for the Oral History Program because he made significant scholarly and administrative contributions to the Smithsonian during 78 years of service.
Descriptive Entry:
Abbot was interviewed on October 5 and 12 and November 16, 1973, by Miriam S. Freilicher, shortly before his death at 101 years of age. The interviews consist of reminiscences
of Samuel P. Langley and the Astrophysical Observatory, Robert H. Goddard's early work in rocketry, and Joseph G. Cannon of the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations
Committee. Abbot discussed his philosophy of life and his work in solar observations, meteorological predictions and inventions.
For additional Charles Greeley Abbot interview, see Record Unit 7005, Charles G. Abbot Papers, Box 209.
Historical Note:
Charles Greeley Abbot graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1894 and came to work as an assistant to Samuel P. Langley at the Smithsonian Astrophysical
Observatory on June 19, 1895. The following year he was placed in charge of the Observatory and in 1907 was made director of the Observatory, a position he held until 1944.
He served as Assistant Secretary from 1918 to 1928 and as Secretary of the Smithsonian from 1928 to 1944. He continued as a Research Associate of the Institution until his
death in 1973. Abbot pioneered solar observation and meteorological prediction and refined the bolometer.
National Association of Rocketry - Correspondence (Associates)
Collection Creator:
National Aeronautic Association (U.S.) Search this
Container:
Box 163, Folder 2
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1960-1964
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
National Aeronautic Association (NAA) Archives (1918-1976), Acc. XXXX-0209, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
This collection consists of files for eight different projects related to rockets conceived by Hermann Oberth, Rudolf Nebel, Franz Mengering, Reinhold Tiling, and some unattributed work. The rockets discussed the project files includes Mirak and Doppelstaber (this may be another name for the Repulsor), as well as several other types. The files contain drawings, notes, and photographs. All materials are in German. There is also a set of photocopies of many of the images which includes a small amount of caption information for some of the images.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
This collection consists of material in German and English documenting Oberth's life and career in the field of astronautics. The information includes six photographs, an article written by him for Space Journal, correspondence between Dr. Oberth and the donor Anton Palmai, and four books, three of which are in German.
Biographical / Historical:
Hermann Oberth (1894 - 1989) was known as the Father of Astronautics. Born in Rumania in 1894, he received his German citizenship in 1941. After extensive studying at Gottingen, Heidelberg, Klausenbury, Munich and Vienna, he became a teacher, having at one time Dr. Wernher von Braun as his pupil. In 1923 he published his first work, The Rocket to the Planets, the first book to treat the theory of rockets as applicable to space flight in a scientific manner. Oberth was one of the three great rocket pioneers of the world, along with Professor Goddard of America and Professor Ziolkovsky of Russia.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Anton Palmai, Gift, 1989, 1989-0091, NASM
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of copies of material gathered or written by Milton Lehman for his authorized biography of Robert H. Goddard, This High Man, 1963. The collection contains the following: a typed transcript of Goddard's diary, 1898-1930; a typed transcript of Goddard's "Red Idea Notebooks" (1-10) covering the years 1924-1942; Goddard's patents and patent correspondence between Goddard and Charles T. Hawley, 1926-1945; and typed interview notes with Goddard's contemporaries, including: Hermann Oberth, Hugo Gernsback, G.R. Gladding, L.A. Gore, Charles T. Hawley, Andrew G. Haley, George Bode, Rear Admiral Calvin C. Bolster, Homer A. Boushey, Col. Henry Breckenridge, Dr. William Cole, Richard B. Dow, Rear Admiral Delmer Fahrney, Harry Guggenheim, Al Campbell, Clarence Hickman, Charles Lindbergh, Edward Pendry, and Inez Powers.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Mildred Lehman, gift, 1997, 1997-0040, unknown
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of Peenemunde documents, including the following: memorandums, correspondence, telegrams, and reports. These documents are in German, and some of the documents have signatures of General Dornberger, Wernher von Braun, and Hermann Oberth. This collection also contains a few translated documents from the Wright Field Collection.
Biographical / Historical:
The Peenemunde Research and Development Station, Germany, was established in the mid-1930s. By the late 1930s, the research station was dedicated to the study and development of rocket driven projectiles, notably the V-2. Peenemunde was also the location of the V-1 test flying program and the test site for several other secret projects including the Messerschmitt 163 rocket-propelled aircraft.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Various sources, gift/transfer, 1994, 1991-0083, unknown
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of the oral history recordings and transcripts for the PeenemĂ¼nde Interviews Project, which examined the development of the German PeenemĂ¼nde complex from the early 1930s through World War II.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of 39 hours of interviews with 13 individuals (in both audio cassette and transcript formats).
Arrangement:
The PeenemĂ¼nde Interviews Project is arranged alphabetically by interviewee. Boxes 1, 2 and 3 contain the interviews on cassette tapes; box 4 contains the edited transcripts of the audio.
Historical note:
The collection consists of the oral history recordings and transcripts for the PeenemĂ¼nde Interviews Project, which examined the development of the German PeenemĂ¼nde complex from the early 1930s through World War II. This project constitutes one of several oral history projects conducted within the Department of Space History, NASM. The principal investigator for this project was Michael Neufeld and the following individuals were interviewed: Werner Dahm; Konrad Danneberg; Walter Haeussermann; Karl Heimberg; Helmut Hoelzer; Fritz Mueller; Herman Oberth; Eberhard Rees (with Mrs. Rees); Gerhard Reisig; Arthur Rudolph; Bernhard Tessman (with Karl Heimburg); Georg von Tiesenhausen; and Walter Wiesman.
Provenance:
Space History, NASM, Transfer, 1999, 1999-0038, Varies
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
This collection consists of six feet of material documenting Porter's many scientific contributions. The following types of material are included: photographs, lecture notes, correspondence, trip notes, newspaper clippings, symposium programs, papers, and periodicals, circa 1930s-1980s.
Scope and Content:
The Richard Porter Collection reflects Porter's career as an electrical engineer, rocketry expert, and a corporate manager and consultant. Almost the entirety of this collection consists of materials related to his professional work. This includes correspondence, memoranda, meeting minutes, reports, notes, speeches, photographs, brochures, pamphlets, programs, magazines, newsletters, papers, articles, newspaper clippings, miscellaneous materials (directories, mailing lists, transcript, etc.), as well as a scrapbook. It is worth singling out a few of the aforementioned materials for their particular historical significance pertaining to the development of rocketry and space exploration. Some of the correspondence, memoranda and notes reveal the inner workings of Operation Paperclip: the U.S. plan to seek out, debrief, recruit and evacuate German rocket scientists from war-torn Germany to America. Additionally, other examples of correspondence and notes give candid appraisals of some key figures in the aerospace field, as well as to illustrate exchanges between Porter and such scientific luminaries as Carl Sagan, Wernher von Braun, Simon Ramo, Holger Toftoy, Fred Durant III, Edith Goddard and Clyde Tombaugh.
The Porter Collection is arranged both chronologically and alphabetically. Correspondence, memoranda, meeting minutes, notes, notebooks, speeches, photographs, brochures, pamphlets, programs, magazines, journals, articles, newspaper clippings and miscellaneous materials are organized by the former method. Reports are arranged alphabetically by organizational name while newsletters and papers are grouped alphabetically by title and then chronologically.
The reader should note that the Porter Collection was exposed to a fire in Porter's office sometime during the late 1970s. The fire, along with the subsequent dousing of water from the firefighters, destroyed much of this collection. All that remained are the materials described here. While the surviving materials generally suffered only minor damage (mainly to their original folders), scorch marks can be occasionally observed on some correspondence, speeches, reports, etc.. More serious problems exist with seven folders containing photographs. For conservation purposes, they have been separated from the rest of the photographs in this collection and are currently unavailable to researchers.
Arrangement:
The Porter Collection is arranged both chronologically and alphabetically. Correspondence, memoranda, meeting minutes, notes, notebooks, speeches, photographs, brochures, pamphlets, programs, magazines, journals, articles, newspaper clippings and miscellaneous materials are organized by the former method. Reports are arranged alphabetically by organizational name while newsletters and papers are grouped alphabetically by title.
Biographical/Historical note:
As an established authority on rockets, GE placed Porter in overall charge of the company's guided missiles department in 1953. By the mid-1950s, his great knowledge in this field also lead to a position as head of a panel of scientists tasked with developing a U.S. space program in time for the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-58. On February 1, 1958, Porter was given the honor of announcing to reporters that the U.S. had launched its first satellite, Explorer 1, the previous night. The booster employed for this endeavor, an Army Jupiter-C, was designed and built mainly by the German rocket scientists (including their leader, Wernher von Braun) Porter helped to bring to America thirteen years earlier. By this time, GE assigned him as a company-wide consultant. Besides serving as leader of the U.S. IGY effort, he also served on many other boards and panels such as the International Relations Committee of the Space Sciences Board, U.S. National Academy of Science, the U.S. Academy in the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) and the U.S. delegation for the U.N. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. During his long career in engineering and aerospace development, Porter was also the recipient of numerous honors and awards. These included the Coffin Award, Goddard Award and the Scientific Achievement Award given by Yale University.
Aside from his career, Porter had a busy personal life. In 1946, he married Edith Wharton Kelly. The couple had two daughters and a son. Porter enjoyed horticulture -- especially growing orchids, as well as skiing and playing the clarinet. He died on October 6, 1996 at the age of 83.
General note:
Dr. Porter had a fire that destroyed most of his papers. These six boxes are all that remain.
Provenance:
Susan Porter Beffel and Thomas Andrew Porter, Gift, 1997, 1997-0037, NASM
National Association of Rocketry (U.S.) Search this
Stine, G. Harry (George Harry), 1928-1997 Search this
Extent:
12.49 Cubic feet ((11 records center boxes) (1 flatbox))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Brochures
Newsletters
Clippings
Correspondence
Photographs
Date:
[ca. 1950s-1970s]
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of Stine's collection of archival material relating mainly to his involvement in rocket associations, including the NAR, and his association with model rocket manufacturers. The following mediums are included: photographs from model rocket meets, correspondence, magazine and newspaper articles, newsletters, galley proofs, committee minutes, model rocket drawings, and model rocket manufacturers' brochures.
Biographical / Historical:
G. Harry Stine (1928 - 1977) is a renowned rocket expert and a pioneer in the development of the aerospace hobby of model rocketry. Stine graduated from the University of Colorado, and first worked as an civilian scientist at White Sands Proving Ground as chief of the Controls and Instruments Section of the Propulsion Branch. In 1955, Stine went to work for the U.S. Naval Ordnance Missile Test Facility at White Sands as head of the Range Operations Division and Navy Flight Safety Engineer. Stine later worked as an engineer for Stanley Aviation Corporation and the Huyck Corporation. Stine was the founder of Model Missiles, Inc., which was the first company to produce and market model rockets. He has also served as a freelance consultant for different organizations, including the National Air and Space Museum. Stine is a prolific author of both articles and books on science, astronautics and model rocketry, and he has also written science fiction under the pseudonym, Lee Correy. In 1957, Stine founded the National Association for Rocketry (NAR), and he has remained an active member. He is also a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astroanutics, the British Interplanetary Society, and the Explorer's Club.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
G. Harry Stine, Gift, 1973, XXXX-0573, unknown
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection includes material on the rocket and space activities and interests of Durant during the period circa 1953-1963. The collection consists of business and personal correspondence, articles, reports, pamphlets, manuscripts, color transparencies and photographs. Some of the contents are not in English. In April 2000, an additional six boxes were transferred to the Archives, which included film, video tapes, audio tapes, correspondence, pamphlets, and photographs. This material covers Durant's space activities and interests during the 1980s-1990s.
Biographical / Historical:
Frederick Clark Durant, III was trained in chemical engineering. He held numerous positions related to rocket and air technology. The positions which he held are: Director of Engineering at the Naval Air Rocket Test Station 1948-1951; Director of Maynard Ordnance Test Station 1954-1955; and executive at AVCO-Everett Research Laboratory 1957-1959; Director of public and government relations in the research division of AVCO Corporation 1959-1961 and senior representative of Bell Aerosystems Company 1961-1964. In 1964 he became assistant director of astronautics at the National Air Museum (later the National Air and Space Museum), Smithsonian Institution.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Frederick C. Durant, III, gift, XXXX-0084, Not NASM
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of engineering drawings for the V-2. The material consists of a complete set of production blueprints for the V-2 rocket powerplant and directly related accessories. The drawings are identified as 'Engineering Records File Copy' (in English).
Biographical / Historical:
The V-2 was a short-range ballistic missile designed by Germany for use against Southern England in 1944-45. The missile carried a 2000 lb. (910 kg) conventional warhead at supersonic speeds. The vehicle was fueled with sufficient alcohol and liquid oxygen for c.65 seconds of powered flight, giving a maximum range, including unpowered ballistic trajectory, of c.220 miles (352 km). A number of V-2s were captured intact by the Allies and used for rocketry experiments in the late 1940s. In addition, the V-2 design team, headed by Werner on Braun, was captured by the United States Army and returned to the United States, where it formed the core of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and National Aeronautics and Space Administration launch vehicle design teams.
General:
Access note: Only eight of the drawings have been translated.
NASMrev
Provenance:
NASM SS&E, Transfer, 1987, 1987-0089, not NASM
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
National Association of Rocketry - Correspondence (Associates)
Collection Creator:
National Aeronautic Association (U.S.) Search this
Container:
box 163, folder 2
folder 2
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1960-1964
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
National Aeronautical Association (NAA) Archives (1918-1976), Acc. XXXX-0209, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
PeenemĂ¼nde Interviews Project, Acc. 1999.0038, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
PeenemĂ¼nde Interviews Project, Acc. 1999.0038, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
PeenemĂ¼nde Interviews Project, Acc. 1999.0038, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
