Finding Aid - Contains Digitized Material

Reference Request

* required
Please succinctly provide us with any information pertinent to your inquiry. If you are writing to us about a research request, provide as much detail as possible about the collections in which you are interested (including collection numbers, box numbers, and folder titles).
(if known)

The Smithsonian Institution Archives is using Constant Contact, a third-party contact management software vendor, to manage contacts and send eNewsletters. Please be advised that Constant Contact's Privacy Statement and Terms and Conditions apply to your use of these services. The Smithsonian Institution Archives has access to your name and email address which is subject to our privacy statement.

Finding Aids to Personal Papers and Special Collections in the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Record Unit 7153

Clayton, Henry Helm, 1861-1946

Henry Helm Clayton Papers, 1877-1949 and undated

Repository:Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C. Contact us at osiaref@si.edu.
Creator:Clayton, Henry Helm, 1861-1946
Title:Henry Helm Clayton Papers
Dates:1877-1949 and undated
Quantity:6 cu. ft. (12 document boxes)
Collection:Record Unit 7153
Language of Materials:English
Summary:

The papers of Henry Helm Clayton document his career as a meteorologist and weather forecaster and his research on solar variation. They consist mainly of professional and personal correspondence, including a large amount with Charles G. Abbot concerning solar research. Also included are weather forecasts, meteorological data, photographs, newspaper clippings, manuscripts, and related materials on meteorology. The small amount of correspondence and meteorological data that postdates Clayton's death in 1946 was compiled by his daughter, Frances Lindley Clayton.

Historical Note

Henry Helm Clayton (1861-1946) was a meteorologist and weather forecaster. He began his career in 1884 as an assistant at the University of Michigan's Astronomical Observatory. In 1885, he was appointed assistant at Harvard University's Astronomical Observatory, and from 1886 to 1891 served as an observer at Harvard's Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory. From 1891 to 1893, he worked as a local forecast official with the United States Weather Bureau. In 1894, Clayton returned to the Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory, where he served as a meteorologist until 1909. Clayton became chief of the forecast division of the Argentine Weather Service in 1913. While in Argentina, Clayton pursued research on a system of weather forecasting based on solar heat changes and began corresponding with Charles G. Abbot of the Smithsonian Institution, who was also conducting research on solar variation. From 1923 to 1926 he conducted research, in cooperation with the Smithsonian, on the effect of solar variation on world weather patterns. Clayton directed a private weather forecasting service and served as a consulting meteorologist for business organizations from 1926 until his death.

Top of Page

Introduction

This finding aid was digitized with funds generously provided by the Smithsonian Institution Women's Committee.

Top of Page

Descriptive Entry

The papers of Henry Helm Clayton document his career as a meteorologist and weather forecaster, and his research on solar variation. They consist of professional and personal correspondence, including a large amount with Charles G. Abbot concerning solar research. Also included are weather forecasts, meteorological data, photographs, newspaper clippings, manuscripts and related materials on meteorology. The small amount of correspondence and meteorological data that post-dates Clayton's death in 1946 was compiled by his daughter, Frances Lindley Clayton.

Top of Page

This collection is indexed under the following access terms. These are links to collections with related topics, persons or places.

Name

Subject

Physical Characteristics of Materials in the Collection

Top of Page

Preferred Citation

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7153, Henry Helm Clayton Papers

Top of Page

Container List

Series 1

GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1886-1949, AND UNDATED. ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY.

This series consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence of Henry Helm Clayton. The correspondence is both professional and personal in nature and concerns meteorological research, Clayton's private weather forecasting service, professional organizations and societies, the publication of monographs and papers, family matters, and personal affairs. Correspondents include meteorologists and astronomers, officials and staff of the United States Weather Bureau and Smithsonian Institution, business associates, family members, and friends. Of special interest is correspondence with Charles G. Abbot concerning research on solar variation and a letter from Orville Wright (March 2, 1928) concerning a controversy between Wright and the Smithsonian Institution.

Box 1

Folder 1 A, general

Box 1 of 12

Folders 2-22 Abbot, Charles G., 1919, 1923, 1927-1946.

Box 1 of 12

Box 2

Folder 1 Allen, Roger A., 1942-1945.

Box 2 of 12

Folder 2 American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1905, 1923, 1931-1936.

Box 2 of 12

Folder 3 American Geophysical Union, 1929-1945.

Box 2 of 12

Folder 4 American Meteorological Society, 1929-1945.

Box 2 of 12

Folder 5 Arctowski, Henryk, 1935-1945.

Box 2 of 12

Folder 6 B, general.

Box 2 of 12

Folder 7 Baldwin, Thomas S., 1908.

Box 2 of 12

Folder 8 Beach, Edward S., 1906-1907.

Box 2 of 12

Folder 9 Bickel, Karl A., 1930.

Box 2 of 12

Folder 10 Brier, Glenn W., 1943-1944.

Box 2 of 12

Folders 11-12 Brooks, Charles Franklin, 1922-1946.

Box 2 of 12

Folder 13 Browne, Herbert Janvrin, 1928-1937.

Box 2 of 12

Folder 14 Brunner, W., 1930-1940, 1945.

Box 2 of 12

Folder 15 Byrnes, Townsend, and Potter, 1931-1932.

Box 2 of 12

Box 3

Folder 1 C, general.

Box 3 of 12

Folder 2 Chapman, S., 1930-1931.

Box 3 of 12

Folder 3 Clayton, Frances Lindley, 1929.

Box 3 of 12

Folder 4 Clayton, Henry Comyn, 1929-1941, and undated.

Box 3 of 12

Folder 5 Clayton, Lawrence Locke, 1930-1943, and undated.

Box 3 of 12

Folder 6 Clayton Family, 1926-1945, and undated.

Box 3 of 12

Folder 7 Clements, Frederick Edward, 1929-1931, 1940.

Box 3 of 12

Folder 8 Clough, Homer Woodworth, 1929-1934, 1943.

Box 3 of 12

Folder 9 Colton, Ferry Barrows, 1933, 1943.

Box 3 of 12

Folder 10 Conrad, Victor, 1931, 1941-1943.

Box 3 of 12

Folder 11 Coville, Frederick Vernon, 1928-1929.

Box 3 of 12

Folder 12 D, general.

Box 3 of 12

Folder 13 Davis, William Morris, 1886, 1911, 1922.

Box 3 of 12

Folder 14 Dewey, Edward R., 1940-1946.

Box 3 of 12

Folder 15 Douglass, Andrew Ellicott, 1929-1943.

Box 3 of 12

Folder 16 E, general.

Box 3 of 12

Folder 17 Edwards, Robert D., 1946.

Box 3 of 12

Folder 18 F, general.

Box 3 of 12

Folders 19-20 Fergusson, Sterling Price, 1911, 1922-1929.

Box 3 of 12

Box 4

Folder 1 Ferraz, J. de Sampaio, 1937-1944.

Box 4 of 12

Folder 2 Fleming, John Adam, 1928-1945.

Box 4 of 12

Folder 3 Free, Edward Elway, 1928-1936.

Box 4 of 12

Folder 4 G, general.

Box 4 of 12

Folder 5 Gallenne, Jean H., 1939-1944.

Box 4 of 12

Folder 6 Galmarini, Alfredo G., 1933-1945.

Box 4 of 12

Folder 7 Gardner, Lester D., 1933-1941.

Box 4 of 12

Folder 8 Gillette, Halbert Powers, 1930-1945.

Box 4 of 12

Folder 9 Gish, Oliver Holmes, 1929-1930.

Box 4 of 12

Folder 10 Gregg, Willis Ray, 1930-1938.

Box 4 of 12

Folder 11 H, general.

Box 4 of 12

Folder 12 Hand, Irving Forrest, 1941-1946.

Box 4 of 12

Folder 13 Harvard University, 1943-1946.

Box 4 of 12

Folder 14 Haurwitz, Bernhard, 1935, 1942.

Box 4 of 12

Folder 15 Headlee, Thomas J., 1942.

Box 4 of 12

Folder 16 Heines, Neal J., 1941-1946, and undated.

Box 4 of 12

Folder 17 Henderson, Chip, 1937-1946.

Box 4 of 12

Folder 18 Hoxmark, Guillermo, 1928-1946.

Box 4 of 12

Folder 19 Humphreys, William Jackson, 1932-1933.

Box 4 of 12

Folder 20 Huntington, Ellsworth, 1929-1946.

Box 4 of 12

Box 5

Folder 1 I, general.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 2 J, general.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 3 Jaffe, Bernard, 1932-1935.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 4 Jatho, Alfredo, 1930-1936.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 5 Jones, Inigo, 1928-1942.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 6 K, general.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 7 Kincer, Joseph Burton, 1933, 1942-1944.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 8 Kullmer, Charles J., 1934-1943.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 9 L, general.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 10 Lane, Alfred C., 1930-1945.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 11 Life Extension Institute, Inc., 1929-1933.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 12 Luby, John Arthur, 1939-1942.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 13 M, general.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 14 McGrath, Thomas Orrin, 1934-1939.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 15 Manry, Margaret K., 1931-1945.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 16 Mauchly, John William, 1940-1946.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 17 Moore, Alfred Finley, 1920.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 18 Moore, Willis L., 1904, 1913.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 19 Morse, Melvin L., 1928-1932.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 20 Moseley, Edwin Lincoln, 1928-1944.

Box 5 of 12

Folder 21 Mossman, Robert C., 1929-1934.

Box 5 of 12

Box 6

Folder 1 N, general.

Box 6 of 12

Folder 2 Namias, Jerome, 1931-1942.

Box 6 of 12

Folder 3 O, general.

Box 6 of 12

Folder 4 P, general.

Box 6 of 12

Folder 5 Page, Larry F., 1931-1937.

Box 6 of 12

Folder 6 Patterson, John, 1929-1939.

Box 6 of 12

Folder 7 Peterson, William F., 1939-1944.

Box 6 of 12

Folder 8 Prentice, Donald B., 1929-1939.

Box 6 of 12

Folder 9 R, general.

Box 6 of 12

Folder 10 Reichelderfer, Francis Wilton, 1939-1944.

Box 6 of 12

Folder 11 Research Corporation, 1930-1933.

Box 6 of 12

Folder 12 Roebling, John A., 1923, 1929-1946.

Box 6 of 12

Folder 13 Roosevelt, Franklin D., 1932.

Box 6 of 12

Folder 14 S, general.

Box 6 of 12

Box 7

Folder 1 Sarle, Charles F., 1942-1943.

Box 7 of 12

Folder 2 Schell, Irving Israel, 1936-1946.

Box 7 of 12

Folder 3 Schostakowitsch, W. B. , 1931-1937.

Box 7 of 12

Folder 4 Science Service, 1925-1943.

Box 7 of 12

Folder 5 Shapley, Harlow, 1927-1932, 1939, 1944.

Box 7 of 12

Folder 6 Simpson, George C., 1928-1935.

Box 7 of 12

Folder 7 Smith, Edgar Lawrence, 1945-1946, and undated.

Box 7 of 12

Folder 8 Spilhaus, Athelstan, 1934-1940.

Box 7 of 12

Folder 9 Stetson, Harlan True, 1931-1945.

Box 7 of 12

Folder 10 T, general.

Box 7 of 12

Folder 11 Tippenhauer, Louis Gentil, 1926, 1933, 1936.

Box 7 of 12

Folder 12 True, Webster P., 1930-1946.

Box 7 of 12

Folder 13 United States Department of Agriculture, 1936. Concerns Clayton's manuscript "Weather Changes of Long Period and Methods of Forecasting." Includes manuscript and research data.

Box 7 of 12

Folder 14 V, general.

Box 7 of 12

Folder 15 W, general.

Box 7 of 12

Folder 16 Wallace, Henry A., 1937-1939.

Box 7 of 12

Folder 17 Wallis, A. H., 1935-1944.

Box 7 of 12

Box 8

Folder 1 Ward, Robert DeC., 1903, 1907, 1930-1931.

Box 8 of 12

Folder 2 Wasserfall, K. F., 1927-1939.

Box 8 of 12

Folder 3 Watts, Harvey M., undated.

Box 8 of 12

Folder 4 Wehrle, Ph., 1930-1938.

Box 8 of 12

Folder 5 Weightman, Richard Hansen, 1939-1940.

Box 8 of 12

Folder 6 Wentworth, Henry A., 1939.

Box 8 of 12

Folder 7 Wetmore, Alexander, 1931, 1944-1946.

Box 8 of 12

Folder 8 Wheeler, Mary E., 1926-1939, and undated.

Box 8 of 12

Folder 9 Wheeler, Raymond Holder, 1938-1941.

Box 8 of 12

Folder 10 Wiggin, Jorge O., 1915, 1929.

Box 8 of 12

Folder 11 Wigglesworth, Richard B., 1935-1943.

Box 8 of 12

Folder 12 Wood, Sidney Makepeace, 1936-1946.

Box 8 of 12

Folder 13 Woodward, Robert S., 1911 and undated.

Box 8 of 12

Folder 14 Woolard, Edgar William, 1937-1946.

Box 8 of 12

Folder 15 Wright, Orville, 1928. The letter of March 2, 1928 concerns a dispute between Wright and the Smithsonian Institution.

Box 8 of 12

Folder 16 Wright, Wilbur, 1912.

Box 8 of 12

Folder 17 Yates, Donald Norton, 1945.

Box 8 of 12

Folder 18 Young, Louise, 1930-1946.

Box 8 of 12

Folder 19 Z, general.

Box 8 of 12
WEATHER FORECASTS, METEOROLOGICAL DATA, PHOTOGRAPHS, NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS, MANUSCRIPTS, AND RELATED MATERIAL ON METEOROLOGY, 1877-1949, AND UNDATED.

This series consists of weather forecasts made by Henry Helm Clayton for the Smithsonian Institution using solar radiation data, 1923-1925; meteorological data prepared and collected by Clayton; photographs of Clayton and meteorological phenomena; newspaper clippings regarding Clayton, meteorology, and weather forecasting; manuscripts and papers of Clayton; and a copy of Clayton's bibliography. Also included are oversize meteorological charts.

Box 9

Folders 1-4 Weather forecasts for New York City, October 1923- November 1925. These forecasts were made by Clayton for the Smithsonian Institution, based on solar radiation data gathered at Montezuma, Chile and Mount Harqua Hala, Arizona.

Box 9 of 12

Box 10

Folders 1-4 Ocean and land pressure data, 1933, 1937-1939.

Box 10 of 12

Folder 5 Sunspot data issued by the United States Naval Observatory, 1946-1947.

Box 10 of 12

Box 11

Folder 1 Sunspot data issued by the United States Naval Observatory, 1948-1949.

Box 11 of 12

Folders 2-8 Miscellaneous meteorological data.

Box 11 of 12

Box 12

Folder 1 Photographs. Includes photographs of sunspots, cloud formations, and Clayton making sunspot observations.

Box 12 of 12

Folders 2-3 Newspaper clippings. Clippings concern Clayton's research, meteorology, and weather forecasting.

Box 12 of 12

Folders 4-5 Manuscripts and papers, 1877-1943, and undated.

Box 12 of 12