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

Accession 18-058

Lecar, Myron

Myron Lecar Papers, 1956-2010

Repository:Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C. Contact us at osiaref@si.edu.
Creator:Lecar, Myron
Title:Myron Lecar Papers
Dates:1956-2010
Quantity:6 cu. ft. (6 record storage boxes)
Collection:Accession 18-058
Language of Materials:English
Summary:

This accession consists of materials that document the professional and personal life of SAO astrophysicist, Myron Lecar. A significant portion of the records consist of materials related to Lecar's work on the planning and construction of the Florence and George Wise Observatory in Israel. The other significant portion consists of personal journals that Lecar kept that documented his personal life, his thoughts, and his interactions with the people around him. Materials include correspondence, memoranda, grant proposals, reports, financial records, publicity materials, press releases, journals, brochures, images, curriculum vitae, clippings, and other related records.

Descriptive Entry

Myron "Mike" Lecar was born on April 10, 1930 in Brooklyn, New York. He received an S.B. in industrial engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1951 and an M.S. in industrial engineering from Case Institute of Technology in 1953. From 1954 to 1958, Lecar served as an officer in the U. S. Navy, developing and teaching nuclear weapons technology and working on Project Vanguard.

Later he studied astronomy at Yale University and received his Ph.D. in 1963 carrying out some of the earliest computer modeling of stellar atmospheres. As a graduate student, Lecar was one of the founding members of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies at Columbia University in 1962.

Acting on an invitation of Fred Whipple, Lecar joined the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) in 1965. While at SAO, Lecar's research interests included gravitational dynamics, planet formation, and the dynamics of our solar system. The author or co-author of more than 90 scientific articles, Lecar was also the principle investigator on a grant from the Smithsonian Institution to collaborate with Tel Aviv University in the planning, construction and commissioning of the Wise Observatory in the Negev desert in Israel. Before his retirement as Senior Astrophysicist in 2009, Lecar was a founding member of the Harvard Origins of Life Initiative.

On May 30, 2005, Lecar married Rosemary Johnson in Belmont, Massachusetts after having been a part of each other's lives for some 27 years. At the age of 81, Lecar passed away in 2011.

This accession consists of materials that document the professional and personal life of SAO astrophysicist, Myron Lecar. A significant portion of the records consist of materials related to Lecar's work on the planning and construction of the Florence and George Wise Observatory in Israel. The other significant portion consists of personal journals that Lecar kept that documented his personal life, his thoughts, and his interactions with the people around him. Materials include correspondence, memoranda, grant proposals, reports, financial records, publicity materials, press releases, journals, brochures, images, curriculum vitae, clippings, and other related records.

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Preferred Citation

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 18-058, Myron Lecar Papers

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Container List

Box 1

George and Florence Wise Observatory - Israel

Correspondence, 1965

Box 1 of 6

Correspondence, 1967

Box 1 of 6

Correspondence, 1969

Box 1 of 6

Correspondence, 1970

Box 1 of 6

Correspondence, 1971

Box 1 of 6

Correspondence - Photometer and Spectrograph, 1971

Box 1 of 6

Correspondence, 1972

Box 1 of 6

Correspondence, 1973

Box 1 of 6

Correspondence - Perkin-Elmer Corporation, 1973

Box 1 of 6

Correspondence - United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation, 1973-1974

Box 1 of 6

Correspondence, 1974

Box 1 of 6

Correspondence, 1975

Box 1 of 6

Correspondence, 1976

Box 1 of 6

Correspondence, 1977

Box 1 of 6

Correspondence, 1978

Box 1 of 6

Correspondence, 1979

Box 1 of 6

Correspondence, 1983-1984

Box 1 of 6

Grant - SFC-8-7006 - A Study of Collective Behavior of Self-Gravitating Systems, 1968-1971

Box 1 of 6

Grant - SFC-8-7006 - Renewal proposal, 1976

Box 1 of 6

Grant - SFC-8-7006 - Work Plan, 1977

Box 1 of 6

Grant - SFC-1362 - Construction of Stellar Models of Evolving Stars, 1971-1972

Box 1 of 6

Proposal - EC 20-11-69 - An Astronomical Observing Program in Israel, 1969 (2 folders)

Box 1 of 6

Proposal - Smithsonian Research Foundation, Excess Foreign Currency Program - Continuation of the Construction of Stellar Models of Evolving Stars (continuation of grant SFC 1362) - Proposal EC 23-3-70, August 1970

Box 1 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - An Astronomical Observing Program in Israel - Progress Report no. 1, November 15, 1969 through November 14, 1970; December 1970

Box 1 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Progress Report no. 1, November 15, 1969 through November 14, 1970 - Appendices, December 1970 (2 folders)

Box 1 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Amendments, 1970-1971

Box 1 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Progress report no. 2 - November 15, 1970 to November 14, 1971; 1971

Box 1 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Television system, 1971-1972

Box 1 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Progress report no. 3 - November 15, 1971 to November 14, 1972; March 1972

Box 1 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Instrumentation - Observing Time, 1972-1973

Box 1 of 6

Box 2

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Progress report no. 4 - November 15, 1972 to December 31, 1973; June 1974

Box 2 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Progress report no. 5 - January-December 1974; February 1975

Box 2 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Progress report no. 6 - January-December 1975; February 1976

Box 2 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Progress report no. 7 - January-December 1976; February 1977

Box 2 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Progress report no. 8 - January-December 1977; February 1978

Box 2 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Progress report no. 9 - January-December 1978; July 1979

Box 2 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Progress report no. 10 - January-December 1979; May 1980

Box 2 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Financial report, 1971

Box 2 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Financial report, 1972

Box 2 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Financial report, 1973

Box 2 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Financial report, 1974

Box 2 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Financial reports - General, 1970-1972

Box 2 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Finances, 1969-1973

Box 2 of 6

Grant - SFC-0-3005 - Disbursements, 1971-1975

Box 2 of 6

Grants - SFC-0-3005 and SFC-8-7006 - David O. Le Conte, 1972-1974

Box 2 of 6

Proposal - 40-inch wide Field Ritchey-Chretien Reflecting Telescope for Mount Wilson/Palomar Observatories - Boller & Chivens Division, Perkin-Elmer Corporation, October 1969

Box 2 of 6

Drawing - 40-inch telescope - Boller & Chivens Division, Perkin-Elmer Corporation, March 2, 1970

Box 2 of 6

Discussion of 40-inch and 60-inch telescope, 1973

Box 2 of 6

60-inch telescope - Science, 1973

Box 2 of 6

60-inch telescope - Finance, 1973

Box 2 of 6

Proposal - Submitted to the Smithsonian Research Foundation for the Continuation of an Astronomical Observing Program in Israel (Continuation of grant SFC-9-3005), October 28, 1975

Box 2 of 6

Proposals - United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation, 1976

Box 2 of 6

The National Committee for Astronomy of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities - Report on Astronomy Activity in Israel, August 1970 to August 1973

Box 2 of 6

Scheduling Committee - Meeting minutes, 1974

Box 2 of 6

Telescope dedication, 1971

Box 2 of 6

Images - Dedication, 1971

Box 2 of 6

Images - February 1971

Box 2 of 6

Wise Observatory - Publicity materials, 1971

Box 2 of 6

Press releases, 1971

Box 2 of 6

Scientific Council of the Wise Observatory, 1971

Box 2 of 6

Establishment of operational expenses for the Wise Observatory after SFC-0-3005 grant ends - Meeting minutes, January 20, 1972

Box 2 of 6

Wise Observatory - Summary information, 1973

Box 2 of 6

Special meeting - Meeting minutes, April 29, 1973

Box 2 of 6

Instrumentation meeting, May 9, 1973

Box 2 of 6

Graduate studies in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Science, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel, 1973-1974, 1974-1975

Box 2 of 6

Prospective projects

Box 2 of 6

Reports

Box 2 of 6

Notes, 1971-1972

Box 2 of 6

Publications lists, 1972-1976

Box 2 of 6

Articles, 1973

Box 2 of 6

Images, circa 1971-1973 (2 folders)

Box 2 of 6

Clippings, circa 1971-1973 (2 folders)

Box 2 of 6

Mount Sinai Observatory

Proposal, 1979

Box 2 of 6

Correspondence, 1978-1979

Box 2 of 6

Correspondence - Perkin-Elmer, 1978

Box 2 of 6

Report on visit to the Helwan Institute, Cairo, Egypt

Box 2 of 6

Institute of Politics, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University - Study group - Israel's Options for the Eighties, 1979

Box 2 of 6

Notes, 1978

Box 2 of 6

Clippings, 1978-1979

Box 2 of 6

Box 3

Work

Vanguard Earth Satellite Program - Non-technical information, 1956-1957

Box 3 of 6

Geopotential of the Earth, August 23, 1958

Box 3 of 6

Third Stage Velocity (Increment) Prediction, May 10, 1957 (2 folders)

Box 3 of 6

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 1958-1960

Box 3 of 6

Journals

Journal - 1959-1962

Box 3 of 6

Journal - February 1963

Box 3 of 6

Journal - February-November 1965

Box 3 of 6

Journal - July 1965-April 1966

Box 3 of 6

Journal - December 1967

Box 3 of 6

Journal - 1968-1971

Box 3 of 6

Journal - August-October 1968

Box 3 of 6

Journal - October 1968-September 1969

Box 3 of 6

Journal - 1970-1972

Box 3 of 6

Journal - September 1972-August 1973

Box 3 of 6

Journal - September-December 1973

Box 3 of 6

Journal - December 1973-June 1974

Box 3 of 6

Journal - June 1974-February 1975

Box 3 of 6

Journal - February-May 1975

Box 3 of 6

Box 4

Journal - May-September 1975

Box 4 of 6

Journal - September-December 1975

Box 4 of 6

Journal - November 1975-August 1976

Box 4 of 6

Journal - February-December 1977

Box 4 of 6

Journal - January-May 1978

Box 4 of 6

Journal - June-December 1978

Box 4 of 6

Journals - 1979

Box 4 of 6

Journals - 1980 (2 folders)

Box 4 of 6

Yom Kippur review, 1980-1981

Box 4 of 6

Journals - 1981 (2 folders)

Box 4 of 6

Journal - January 1982

Box 4 of 6

Journal - February 1982

Box 4 of 6

Journal - March 1982

Box 4 of 6

Journal - April 1982

Box 4 of 6

Journal - May 1982

Box 4 of 6

Journal - June-July 1982

Box 4 of 6

Journal - August 1982

Box 4 of 6

Journal - September 1982

Box 4 of 6

Journal - October 1982

Box 4 of 6

Yom Kippur, 1982

Box 4 of 6

Journal - November 1982

Box 4 of 6

Journal - December 1982

Box 4 of 6

Journals - 1983

Box 4 of 6

Yom Kippur, 1983

Box 4 of 6

Box 5

Journal - January-May 1984

Box 5 of 6

Journal - June-September 1984

Box 5 of 6

Journal - October 1984

Box 5 of 6

Yom Kippur, 1984

Box 5 of 6

Journal - November 1984

Box 5 of 6

Journal - December 1984

Box 5 of 6

Journal - January 1985

Box 5 of 6

Journals - 1986

Box 5 of 6

Journal - January-February 1987

Box 5 of 6

Journal - March-June 1987

Box 5 of 6

Journal - August 1987

Box 5 of 6

Journal - October-December 1987

Box 5 of 6

Journal - January-September 1988

Box 5 of 6

Journal - December 1988

Box 5 of 6

Journal - January-March 1989

Box 5 of 6

Journal - May-June 1989

Box 5 of 6

Journal - July-August 1989

Box 5 of 6

Journal - September-November 1989

Box 5 of 6

Yom Kippur - 1989

Box 5 of 6

Journal - December 1989

Box 5 of 6

Journal - 1990

Box 5 of 6

Journal - January-February 1991

Box 5 of 6

Journal - April-May 1991

Box 5 of 6

Journal - September 1991

Box 5 of 6

Journal - October 1991-February 1992

Box 5 of 6

Journal - March 1992

Box 5 of 6

Journal - April-May 1992

Box 5 of 6

Journal - June 1992

Box 5 of 6

Journal - July 1992

Box 5 of 6

Journal - August 1992

Box 5 of 6

Journal - September-November 1992

Box 5 of 6

Yom Kippur - 1992

Box 5 of 6

Journal - December 1992-March 1993

Box 5 of 6

Journal - April 1993

Box 5 of 6

Journal - May 1993

Box 5 of 6

Journal - June-August 1993

Box 5 of 6

Journal - September-October 1993

Box 5 of 6

Journal - November 1993

Box 5 of 6

Yom Kippur - 1993

Box 5 of 6

Journal - December 1993

Box 5 of 6

Journal - January-February 1994

Box 5 of 6

Journal - March 1994

Box 5 of 6

Journal - April-May 1994

Box 5 of 6

Journal - June 1994

Box 5 of 6

Journal - July 1994

Box 5 of 6

Journal - August 1994

Box 5 of 6

Journal - September-November 1994

Box 5 of 6

Journal - December 1994

Box 5 of 6

Journal - January-February 1995

Box 5 of 6

Journal - March-April 1995

Box 5 of 6

Journal - May-June 1995

Box 5 of 6

Journal - July 1995

Box 5 of 6

Journal - August 1995

Box 5 of 6

Journal - September 1995

Box 5 of 6

Journal - October 1995-Feburary 1996

Box 5 of 6

Journal - March-July 1996

Box 5 of 6

Journal - August 1996

Box 5 of 6

Journal - September 1996

Box 5 of 6

Journal - December 1996

Box 5 of 6

Box 6

Journal - January-May 1997

Box 6 of 6

Journal - June 1997

Box 6 of 6

Journal - August 1997

Box 6 of 6

Journal - July 2000

Box 6 of 6

Journal - August 2000

Box 6 of 6

Journals - 2002

Box 6 of 6

Journal - October 2004-February 2005

Box 6 of 6

Journal - August 2005

Box 6 of 6

Journal - September-October 2005

Box 6 of 6

Journals - 2006

Box 6 of 6

Journal - May 2009

Box 6 of 6

Journals, undated

Box 6 of 6

Rosemary Johnson Lecar

Correspondence, 1980-2005

Box 6 of 6

Images, 1984 and undated

Box 6 of 6

Conversion to Judaism

Box 6 of 6

Wedding program, May 30, 2005

Box 6 of 6

Marriage certificate, May 20, 2005

Box 6 of 6

Funeral program, 2005

Box 6 of 6

Obituaries, 2005

Box 6 of 6

Plaque dedication ceremony program, Tufts University, August 29, 2006

Box 6 of 6

Miscellaneous

Box 6 of 6

General

Correspondence, 1977-2010

Box 6 of 6

Correspondence - Hal Lecar, 2009

Box 6 of 6

Correspondence - Ruth W. Lidz, 1979

Box 6 of 6

Images - Ruth W. Lidz, undated

Box 6 of 6

Correspondence - Esther Strauss, 1984

Box 6 of 6

Images - Esther Strauss, 1976 and undated

Box 6 of 6

Personal history, 1965-1986

Box 6 of 6

Professional history, 1957-1975

Box 6 of 6

Curriculum vitae, circa 1978-2000

Box 6 of 6

Images, 1988 and undated

Box 6 of 6

Postcards

Box 6 of 6

Quitting smoking, 1981

Box 6 of 6

Exercise routine - June 12, 2007

Box 6 of 6

Deed - July 31, 1970

Box 6 of 6

Quitclaim Deed - Shippewisset Place, Falmouth, Massachusetts, January 11, 1983

Box 6 of 6

Will - July 20, 2004

Box 6 of 6

Will - May 6, 2008

Box 6 of 6

Finances, 2006

Box 6 of 6

Retirement materials, circa 1983-2009

Box 6 of 6

Address books and addresses

Box 6 of 6

Notes - Calculations

Box 6 of 6

Notes, circa 1969-1997

Box 6 of 6

Miscellaneous, circa 1986-2006

Box 6 of 6

Clippings, 1990, 1994

Box 6 of 6