SAO Moves to Harvard College Observatory

Close
Usage Conditions Apply
The Smithsonian Institution Archives welcomes personal and educational use of its collections unless otherwise noted. For commercial uses, please contact photos@si.edu.
Print
 

Summary

Under an agreement with Harvard University, the headquarters of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory is moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Fred Lawrence Whipple, chair of the Department of Astronomy, Harvard University, is appointed director. The agreement is signed by Smithsonian Secretary Leonard Carmichael and Donald H. Menzel, Director of the Harvard College Observatory.

Subject

  • Whipple, Fred Lawrence 1906-
  • Carmichael, Leonard 1898-1973
  • Menzel, Donald Howard 1901-
  • Harvard College Observatory
  • Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
  • Harvard University

Category

Chronology of Smithsonian History

Notes

  • See Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 50, Box 15, Folder: APO Future, for a copy of the signed 1955 agreement between the Smithsonian Institution and Harvard College Observatory.
  • Guide to Smithsonian Archives. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1983. Archives and Special Collections of the Smithsonian Institution Number 4, p. 125.
  • Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1955, pp. 11, 60.
  • Oehser, Paul H. The Smithsonian Institution. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1970, p. 119.
  • The Torch, May 1981, p. 2.

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

July 1, 1955

Topic

  • Observatories
  • Cambridge, MA
  • Astrophysics
  • Directors
  • Cooperation
  • Reorganizations
  • Astronomy

Full Record

View Full Record