Guide to the Allegheny Observatory Records, 1850-1977 UA.5.1

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Allegheny Observatory Records
Creator
Allegheny Observatory
Collection Number
UA.5.1
Extent
43.5 Linear Feet (98 boxes)
Date
1850-1977
Abstract
The Astronomical Observatory was founded in 1858 by the Allegheny Telescope Association in Allegheny, PA (now the North Side of Pittsburgh) and deeded to the Western University of Pennsylvania (now the University of Pittsburgh) in 1867. The records contain directors files, administrative files, notebooks, drawings, mechanical drawings, photographic prints and negatives, news releases, newsclippings, historical documents, and articles written about the Observatory. Digital reproductions of selected photographs are available online.
Language
English
Author
Archives Service Center Staff. Historical Sketch and Bibliography compiled by Frank Nederhoff, February, 1968. Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process in April, 2004.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Business Number: 412-648-3232 (Thomas) | 412-648-8190 (Hillman)
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

History

The appearance of the comet known as "Donati's Comet", discovered in Florence by Giovanni Donati on June 2, 1858, gave the initial stimulus to the founding of the observatory. Interest in the comets appearance caused a group of men (professional and business) to form the Allegheny Telescope Association. This group, among whom the most prominent were Professor Louis Bradley, Josiah King and Harvey Childs, met in Bradley's home on February 15, 1858, and resolved not only to found the A.T.A. but also to purchase a telescope.

On January 31, 1860, the A.T.A. ordered a 13-inch telescope from Henry Fitz of New York, and it was installed in 1861. On May 15, 1860, the A.T.A. officially adopted a constitution and by-laws, elected a board of directors, and appointed an Observatory Committee. This committee raised funds by subscription for the telescope and housed it in a new building which they called the "Allegheny Observatory" as it was centered on a hill on Perrysville Avenue in the old city of Allegheny.

Professor Bradley was custodian of the new telescope from 1861-1863. In 1865, Professor Philotus Dean, principal of Central High School in Pittsburgh, became first custodian of the Observatory. Both men served without pay, accepting the responsibility of the Observatory to promote the advance of science. Later in 1865, the A.T.A. deeded the telescope, the building and the land to the Western University of Pennsylvania (now University of Pittsburgh). In 1867, the official transfer was completed and Samuel Langley was appointed Director. Among many other accomplishments, Langley invented a device to measure the temperatures on the Sun's surface, known as a bolometer; "Standardized" time for railroad companies; and coined the terms "astrophysics" and "aerodynamics"

When Langley left to become Secretary of the Smithsonian in 1887, James Keeler became the acting director and used the 13" Fitz-Clark telescope to discover Saturn's rings were made of small particles instead of being one large disk. In the early 1890s, because of the increasing air pollution in Pittsburgh and the need for larger research facilities, a new building at a new site was designed. The new Allegheny observatory was built between 1900 and 1914 in Riverview Park. The old observatory was sold and at one point a hospital for an orphanage. The building was torn down in 1955.

The Fitz-Clark 13" is still used today. In 1974 a bequest in the memory of George Theiss was made to the Observatory allowing for renovations on the Thaw and Keeler Telescopes. The George W. Theiss Astronomical Laboratory was also established and houses machines used to measure stellar images obtained from telescopes. The Thaw lens was replaced in 1985.

Scope and Content Notes

The records contain correspondence and letterpress books belonging to ten of the observatory's directors, directors' miscellany, notes, articles, and correspondence. Records also include administrative files, notebooks, drawings, mechanical drawings, photographic prints and negatives, news releases, news clippings, a scrapbook, and historical documents and articles written about the Observatory.

Note: Series I (Correspondence of Directors and Acting Directors); Series II (Letterpress books of Directors and Acting Directors); and Series IV (Correspondence of affiliated astronomers) have been microfilmed. A detailed unpublished index to items in those series appear in Indexes to the Microfilmed Correspondence of Directors, Acting Directors and Selected Astronomers Among the Records of the Allegheny Observatory held by the Archives. In addition a large portion of the correspondence and letterpress books of Director Frank Schlesinger were microfilmed by the Center of History of Physics of the American Institute of Physics and the Archives of Industrial Society. The Schlesinger correspondence, ranging from 1905 through 1941, which was held by both the Archives of Industrial Society and the Center of History of Physics, Yale University Library was microfilmed as part of the project, "Sources for History of Modern Astrophysics."

Note: Additional notes and information are located at the series level including brief biographies of Directors.

A new series was added with the 2009 deposit to include some files on students affiliated with the Observatory.

New Material Added: Additional material was added in 2013 and includes additions to Series I (Correspondence of Directors and Acting Directors), Series IV (Correspondence of affiliated astronomers); Series VI (Administrative Files); Series VIII (Graphic Materials), Series XII (Organizations and Societies), Series XIII (Publications) and Series XVII (Photographs). An additional series, Series XVII (Student Records) was also created.

Access Restrictions

Series XVII. Student Records are restricted. Some papers in Series XII, Publications, have restrictions on the student records in the section called Reprints and Scholarly Papers. Access to this material is based on researcher signing a memo of confidentiality.

Acquisition Information

Original deposit by Nicholas Wagman, Director, Allegheny Observatory, on February 28, 1964. Second deposit of 9 boxes by Louis Coban on November 2, 2009.

Existence and Location of Copies

Series I, II, and IV have been microfilmed. A detailed inventory of those items microfilmed can be found in the unpublished "Indexes to the Microfilmed Correspondence of Directors, Acting Directors and Selected Astronomers Among the Records of the Allegheny Observatory" located at the Archives Service Center. In addition, a large portion of the correspondence of Director Frank Schlesinger and his letterpress books were microfilmed by the Curator in History of Physics of the American Institute of Physics. The correspondence, ranging from 1905 through 1941, held by both the Archives Service Center and the Yale University Library, was microfilmed as part of the project, "Sources for History of Modern Astrophysics" and is available in AIS.1981.06 microfilm (Microfilm-cabinet 2, Drawer 9 and Microfilm-cabinet 3, Drawer 1).

Digital reproductions of selected photographs can be found at http://historicpittsburgh.org/collection/allegheny-observatory-records.

Preferred Citation

Allegheny Observatory Records, 1850-1967, UA.5.1, University Archives, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Previous Citation

Allegheny Observatory Records, 1850-1967, UA.5.1, University Archives, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

Records of Allegheny Observatory, 1850-1967, ais 64.22, Archives of Industrial Society, Hillman Library, University of Pittsburgh.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Frank Nederhoff in 1968. The second deposit was processed by Ian McGlory from September 2012 through February 2013.

Copyright

Permission for publication is given on behalf of the University of Pittsburgh as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into the following 16 series:

Series I. Correspondence of Directors / Acting Directors, 1850-1977

Series II. Letterpress Books of Directors / Acting Directors, 1862-1910

Series III. Directors / Acting Directors Miscellany, 1863-1978

Series IV. Correspondence of Affiliated Astronomers, 1886-1972

Series V. Affiliated Astronomers Miscellany

Series VI. Administrative Files, 1858-1977

Series VII. Observation, 1869-1930

Series VIII. Graphic Materials, 1878-1910

Series IX. Publicity, 1893-1902

Series X. Newsclippings (Miscellaneous), 1907-1947

Series XI. Scrapbooks, 1873-1917

Series XII. Organizations and Societies, 1899-1960

Series XIII. Publications, 1870-1939

Series XIV. Correspondence (Miscellaneous), 1881-1900

Series XV. History, 1912-1987

Series XVI. Photographs, 1886-1922

Series XVII. Student Records, 1960-1977

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Astronomical Society of Pittsburgh
    • Western University of Pennsylvania
    • University of Pittsburgh
    • Allegheny Observatory
    • American Astronomical Society

    Personal Names

    • Jordan, Frank Craig -- Correspondence
    • Keeler, James Edward -- Correspondence
    • Langley, S. P. (Samuel Pierpont) -- Correspondence
    • Schlesinger, Frank -- Correspondence
    • Brashear, John A. (John Alfred)

    Genres

    • Correspondence
    • Notebooks
    • Clippings (Information artifacts)
    • Photographs
    • Records (Documents)

    Other Subjects

    • University of Pittsburgh
    • Astronomers -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh -- Biography

Container List