Record Unit 9529

Interview 1: April 9, 1984

Covers his youth, early career at the USGS and USNM, and stories about the Hope Diamond, c. 1899-1929, including: stories about the Hope Diamond; family history and youth; appointment as Chemist at the USGS in 1920; trip from Capetown to Cairo in 1929; appointment as Assistant Curator, USNM, in 1929; the suggestion that Henderson be responsible for the meteorite collection; reminiscences of amateur collector, Stuart H. Perry; reminiscences of USNM colleagues, including Barton A. Bean, A. Remington Kellogg and Herbert S. Bryant.

Transcript, pp. 1-26, of audiotape recording, 1.0 hour.

Recording of Interview: Total Recording Time: 1.0 hour

Interview 2: August 23, 1984

Covers his youth, career at USGS, education, and early years at the USNM, c. 1900-1960, including: his youth on a farm and early interests in agriculture and chemistry; his career at the USGS, including reminiscences of David White, his analysis of the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, and his contacts with the USNM while at USGS; his education at George Washington University; his career at the USNM, including his appointment and the suggestion that he be responsible for meteorites; reminiscences of the Department of Geology when he first arrived; reminiscences of William F. Foshag and Earl V. Shannon; weekend river trips with Secretary Alexander Wetmore; reorganization of the mineral collections; daily routines in the division; public inquiry duties; reminiscences of Roland Wilbur Brown and his etymological dictionary; the official correspondence system maintained by Herbert S. Bryant and Helena M. Weiss; equipment and techniques for care of the meteorite collection, including cutting of specimens; relations between the USGS and USNM; field trips in the U.S. and Canada for specimens; reminiscences of meteorite collector, Harvey Harlow Nininger; his close relationship with amateur collector, Stuart H. Perry; the effects of the Great Depression on the USNM; reminiscences of Secretary Charles G. Abbot; techniques for locating meteorites, including the Prairie Network of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

Transcript, pp. 27-87, of audiotape recording, 1.5 hours.

Recording of Interview: Total Recording Time: 1.5 hours

Interview 3: August 29, 1984

Focuses on his career at the USNM, c. 1935-1957, including: reminiscences of colleagues, including Richard G. Paine and James H. Benn; his 1937 trip to Russia with John Putnam Marble and return via Ceylon and Japan; his routine duties in the USNM; the effects of World War II, especially special projects he worked on, steps to protect the collections during the war, and the post-war surge of interest in meteorites; William F. Foshag's observations of the Paricutin volcano in Mexico; exhibits modernization in the 1950s; pet snakes of museum staff and volunteers; marriage to Rebecca R. Rogers in 1941; reciprocal visits from Russians in 1950s; staff changes at the SI in the 1950s; his trip to Japan with Foshag in 1947 to sort, count, and appraise gemstones recovered by the U.S. Army, and travels within Japan with Mr. Takeo Kume.

Transcript, pp. 88-148, of audiotape recording, 1.5 hours.

Recording of Interview: Total Recording Time: 1.5 hours

Interview 4: September 6, 1984

Covers his career at the USNM, c. 1930-1970, including: The World Is Yours, a Smithsonian radio program during the depression; the working relationship of Secretary Abbot to Chief Clerk, Nicholas W. Dorsey; Smithsonian investment policies for private funds and a review of those policies in the 1970s; procedures for purchasing specimens; establishment of the Edward Porter Henderson Meteorite Fund; reminiscences of USNM director, A. Remington Kellogg, and Assistant Secretary, John L. Keddy.

Transcript, pp. 149-201, of audiotape recording, 1.5 hours.

Recording of Interview: Total Recording Time: 1.5 hours

Interview 5: September 13, 1984

Discusses his collection of and research on meteorites, c. 1935-1960, including: techniques for analyzing meteorites; stories about individual meteorites; his 1955 visit to the Vatican collection and subsequent exchange of specimens; use of the phase rule in meteorite analysis; reminiscences of John Putnam Marble, a research associate who worked on purifying uranium; reminiscences of Harrison Brown of the University of Chicago who compiled a bibliography on meteorites; reminiscences of Walter Nichiporuk, a Russian scientist; United States Air Force contract to study the projectile shapes of meteorites.

Transcript, pp. 202-241, of audiotape recording, 1.0 hour.

Recording of Interview: Total Recording Time: 1.0 hour

Interview 6: September 19, 1984

Covers the development of the meteorite collection and reminiscences of colleagues, c. 1920-1970, including: Smithsonian support for the meteorite collection; Merrill's creation of the collection; competition with other museums; South American collectors, such as Clay Preston Butler and Mark C. Bandy; post-World War II surge of interest in meteorites and the growth of the collection; techniques for separating iron and nickel and improving analyses of meteorites; reminiscences of Foshag, especially his research interests, Paricutin observations, and health problems; unsuccessful attempts to acquire the Nininger collection of meteorites; evaluation of meteorite collections in other museums; meteorite collecting trips in the U.S.; reminiscences of Secretary Abbot, including his investments in platinum and diamonds and his preaching at the Congregational Church; reminiscences of Foshag as Head Curator of the Department of Geology; reminiscences of G. Arthur Cooper as Head Curator of the Department of Geology, including establishment of a fund for tektites, the split of the Department of Geology into the Department of Paleobiology and Department of Mineral Sciences in 1963, and acquisition in 1963 of the electron microprobe; reminiscences of field work with Brian H. Mason of the American Museum of Natural History and his appointment as Curator at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH).

Transcript, pp. 242-282, of audiotape recording, 1.0 hour.

Recording of Interview: Total Recording Time: 1.0 hour

Interview 7: September 27, 1984

Describes the gem collection and preservation of meteorites, c. 1929-1984, including: the state of the gem collection when Henderson arrived in 1929; security in exhibition cases; identification of gems for the public, including Otis Beall Kent and Chauncey Mitchell DePew; acquisition of a star sapphire; development of cultured pearls by Kokichi Mikimoto; donation and trading of gems with dealers; stories concerning the Hope Diamond; security in the gem collection; development of the gem collection by Curator Paul E. Desautels; techniques developed for preserving meteorites, including enclosures and air conditioning.

Transcript, pp. 283-333, of audiotape recording, 1.5 hours.

Recording of Interview: Total Recording Time: 1.5 hours

Interview 8: October 5, 1984

Covers international contacts concerning meteorites, grants, honors, and Henderson's retirement in 1965, c. 1937-1965, including: relations with Russia, especially 1960 trip, exchanges, visitors to Washington, D.C., meteorite fall movie, and colleagues; exchanges with European collections; field work in Australia with Brian H. Mason; grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to purchase collections, acquire an electron microprobe, and analyze lunar samples; receipt of an honorary degree in 1963 from University of Bern, Switzerland, and the Lawrence Smith Medal of the National Academy of Sciences in 1970; his retirement in 1965; establishment of the Henderson Meteorite Fund.

Transcript, pp. 334-390, of audiotape recording, 1.5 hours.

Recording of Interview: Total Recording Time: 1.5 hours

Interview 9: March 22, 1985

Covers his reminiscences of life in the Natural History Building, c. 1929-1985, including: the switchboard telephone system; the supply requisition system; security procedures; work with federal agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations and United States Customs Bureau; Smithsonian vehicles for field work; museum shops; dining facilities; shipping procedures, especially for large meteorites; the USNM versus the central Smithsonian Institution; staff interaction when museum was smaller; staff socializing, including watermelon parties; reminiscences of colleagues, especially Ales Hrdlicka, Jessie G. Beach, Doris Mable Cochran, Paul Marchand and Ray S. Bassler.

Transcript, pp. 391-492, of audiotape recording, 2.5 hours.

Recording of Interview: Total Recording Time: 2.5 hours