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Pickering, William H., 1910-2004. William H. Pickering Office File Collection, 1955-1976.

Title: William H. Pickering Office File Collection, 1955-1976.

The collection consists primarily of correspondence, although memoranda, notes, pamphlets, copies of newspaper, magazine and journal articles, transcripts of speeches, press releases and photographs are also present. The collection is arranged in its original order, organized by numerical filing number. Each category can be considered a series or sub-series. These are: Lab Visits, including Congressional visits; Special Events; General Correspondence, including invitations and requests; Awards and Commendations; JPL Correspondence, including biographies, history, minority affairs and annual reports; Foreign Travel Logs; and Outgoing Correspondence Files. Each series or sub-series has been arranged in chronological order unless otherwise noted. The date span of the collection is 1955 to 1976, with bulk dates of 1964 to 1975. The earliest document in the collection is biographical information of Pickering dated 1955. Lab Visits (boxes 1-4, folders 1-95). This series documents visits to the Lab by VIPs and others. Included in most files is a schedule of events as well as correspondence prior and subsequent to the visit or tour. In several cases photographs documenting the visit are in the collection. This is true in the case of the visits of Princess Margaret, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, the royal family of Thailand, and Gemini and Apollo astronaut Frank Borman, among others. In some cases, a thumbnail biography is present as well. In the case of the royal family of Thailand, there is a brief sketch of each member of the royal retinue, along with a pronunciation guide of names and the correct way to address each person. In the case of Princess Margaret, a script with Pickering's remarks, along with a guide to protocol, is represented in the collection. In a few cases, there is documentation of a possible visit that was ultimately cancelled. President Lyndon B. Johnson was scheduled to visit the Lab in 1966 but ultimately cancelled, and writer Arthur C. Clarke had wanted to visit the Lab in 1973 but he could not work it out in his schedule. Congressman Ken Hechler, ranking Republican on the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, was scheduled to make a visit on January 30, 1967, but the visit was cancelled, undoubtedly due to the Apollo 1 fire on January 27, 1967. The series is divided into a sub-series of Congressional visits. The visits of members of Congress were primarily those serving on the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, chaired during the time period by George P. Miller (D-CA) from 1961 to 1973, and Olin E. Teague (D-TX) from 1973 to 1979. Making frequent visits to JPL were Miller, Teague, Ken Hechler (R-WV), Charles A. Mosher (R-OH, ranking Republican from 1971 to 1977), George E. Brown, Jr. (D-CA), Joseph E. Karth (D-MN), and Emilio Q. Daddario (D-CT). Other Congressmen making visits to the lab were Donald E. Lukens (R-OH) and H. Allen Smith (D-CA). Also making periodic visits were staff members from the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, chaired by Clinton P. Anderson (D-NM). Special Events (Boxes 4-7, folders 96-175). Represented in the series are memoranda and correspondence pertaining to events of a special occasion that occurred on-lab or involved key Laboratory personnel. The series is organized chronologically by the event date, although in most cases the date span of the file begins prior to the date of the event and ends after the event. The series is primarily composed of correspondence, but also include schedules, attendance lists, press releases and photographs. Included are two folders involving the Presidential Inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson on January 20, 1965. Vicki Melikan was Chair of the Inaugural Parade Distinguished Visitors Committee. Included in one folder is a list of State Governors and State Democratic Party Chairmen, along with a list of staff on the Inaugural Parade Committee. A second folder contains a badge and ribbon commemorating the occasion. Professional meetings, held at JPL and elsewhere are represented in the series. Most of items are comprised of correspondence and events programs. Some files have photographs included, such as the 1966 Goddard Memorial Award Dinner. Pickering, the recipient of the 1965 Goddard Award, was present to present the 1966 award to President Lyndon B. Johnson. The dedication of the 210-foot antenna at Goldstone, CA ("Mars Station") is represented in the collection in three files. Planning for the dedication began seven months before the event. Included are suggested topics for the dedication, preliminary guest lists, invitation lists, background information on Goldstone and the Deep Space Network, and correspondence. One file is comprised of speeches delivered by Pickering and Congressman George P. Miller at the dedication. Spacecraft launchings, as well as planetary and lunar encounters are also represented in the collection. The first encounters in the collection, Surveyor 1 in 1966, Surveyor 5 in 1967, and Mariner 5 in 1967, were relatively low-key affairs, with representatives from JPL, Caltech, NASA and Congress, as well as various subcontractors being invited. The invitation list to celebrate a planetary encounter at JPL was extended beyond JPL-Caltech-NASA with Mariner 10. People unconnected to the mission such as Harold Urey, Ray Bradbury and Danny Kaye were invited and attended one or more of the planetary encounters of Mariner 10. Others, such as Ford Motor's President Lee Iacocca and California Lieutenant Governor Ed Reinecke were invited but sent their regrets. Mariner 10 was also honored by the U.S. Postal Service with a commemorative stamp, unveiled at JPL on April 4, 1975. Also represented are correspondence relating to retirements of people and gifts presented to or from JPL. Ansel Adams presented a signed photograph of Half Dome at Yosemite with the full moon behind it to JPL. The correspondence series includes a postcard written and signed by Adams. The photograph was displayed in Building 183. After the mission of Mariner 9, a 16-inch globe of Mars was manufactured and distributed to select individuals. Select JPL personnel as well as scientists were sent globes, as well as Congressmen and other VIPs, such as Arthur C. Clarke and Ray Bradbury. Included in the series is a file comprised of lists of individuals sent the globe and thank you letters that were received. Among the retirements represented in the collection are Robert D. Fletcher, Chief Scientist of the USAF Air Weather Service; Eberhardt Rees, Director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center; and John D. Phillips, Pasadena City Manager. Notice of the death of Viking scientist Wolf D. Vishniac in Antarctica is also represented in the series. Correspondence (Boxes 7-11, folders 176-211). This is a general correspondence series. It is split into several sub-series, including miscellaneous correspondence, autograph and biography requests, requests for articles and speeches, and miscellaneous invitations and requests. There were many letters of unsolicited requests from people claiming to have breakthroughs in new propulsion systems or a new theory explaining the formation of the solar system or a new type of airplane. Very often the people inquired about possible job opportunities. Pickering courteously answered most of these letters, often referring them to people at NASA headquarters. Another common type of request was from people who collected autographed covers of Time requesting Dr. Pickering's autograph. Dr. Pickering was a popular speaker, and gave many speeches. Some of the correspondence associated with speeches and reprints of articles are also in the series. 3.4 - Awards and Commendations (Boxes 11-12; folders 212-248). The series is predominantly composed of correspondence, either notifications of honors or letters of congratulations. The series is arranged chronologically, with one folder of miscellaneous awards and commendations at the beginning for single pieces of correspondence. Also included in the series are two folders of biographies of Pickering that could be used whenever requested. Also in the series is a folder of entries of Pickering's biography from various "Who's Who" editions. 4 - JPL Activities and Correspondence (Boxes 12-16; folders 249-295). This series is predominantly composed of correspondence. Also included are pamphlets, brochures, and memoranda. The series is sub-divided into various sub-series: correspondence, biographies, community relations, history, and miscellaneous. All sub-divisions are illustrative of the original order of the collection. There are several files documenting alternate fuel issues during the early 1970s. A "clean air" car race was held in 1970, with entries from JPL, MIT, and several other colleges. Forty-eight entries participated in the race, starting at MIT and ending at Caltech. Cars were judged on emission performance and thermal efficiency, among other factors. The race team for Caltech/JPL included mainly undergraduate and graduate students, along with JPL'er Mahlon Easterling, acting as a Caltech visiting professor of applied science. Also included in the series is a sub-series of short biographies of selected management personnel written by the Public Information Office for use in press releases. The file is organized alphabetically by last name. The Von Kármán Seminar was held on May 12, 1965, what would have been the 83rd birthday of Theodore von Kármán, who had died in 1963. Making addresses at the seminar included Wernher von Braun, Andrew G. Haley, Congressman George P. Miller and United States Air Force General Bernard A. Schriever. Included in the file are alternate schedules, seating charts for the banquet, transcripts of Pickering's introduction of von Braun and transcripts of von Braun's and Miller's speeches. There also is a file devoted to a biography and bibliography of Chinese rocketry pioneer and Caltech professor H. S. Tsien, as well as two other Chinese scientists with connections to Caltech, Chao Chung-yao and Chien Wei-chang, known at Caltech as Jimmy Chien. The file also includes copies of secondary sources about Tsien, including a chapter from von Kármán's autobiography The Wind and Beyond, and "The Bitter Tea of Dr. Tsien," by Milton Viorst, published in Esquire in 1967. The sub-series identified as "JPL History" is composed primarily of historian's activities reports, filed by R. Cargill Hall during his research of the Ranger Program, ultimately published as Lunar Impact: A History of Project Ranger (NASA SP-4210, 1977). The monthly reports document the Ranger history, as well as the JPL history written by Clayton R. Koppes under supervision of Caltech Professor Daniel J. Kevles, as well as other historical activity, and visitors. The reports are from October 1973 to February 1976. Also included in the sub-series is a file regarding a pre-emptive name change of the Lab to the "H. Allen Smith Jet Propulsion Laboratory" in October 1972. Smith was an eight-term Congressman who was not seeking reelection. Section 11 of H.R. 16645, amending the Public Buildings Act of 1959, officially renamed JPL after Congressman Smith. Neither Caltech, JPL nor NASA were notified of the name change until a press release was issued by Smith's office. Reactions to the name change at JPL were highly negative, as most heard of it for the first time as a new sign was put into place. The situation was ultimately resolved when the Caltech Board of Trustees formally designated JPL as the "Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology." Smith officially dropped his approval of the name change, the sign was taken down and the whole matter was apparently forgotten. Also of note in the collection is correspondence from Carl Sagan to William H. Pickering, dated July 12, 1973, where Sagan suggests Professor Von R. Eshleman of Stanford University as a potential successor for Pickering as JPL Director. There is another sub-series entitled "Miscellaneous" that includes items that did not fit easily into any other place. Included are four files dealing with the Caltech Management Club, which include photographs from a dinner banquet in honor of Caltech President Lee A. DuBridge, and an address by Air Force General Bernard A. Schriever. Also included in the series is a file relating to research scientist Robert T. Brinkmann, who had delivered a report of his research at a foreign conference without proper clearance. The clearance was, through administrative error, neither granted nor approved. Brinkmann submitted for clearance a manuscript of his talk in preparation for publishing in a French journal. The clearance was not given, and Brinkmann, no longer an employee, wrote to NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine about the whole matter. Also of note is a curious file about Pickering being wooed by Yuni, a counter-culture organization who attempted to recruit ten prominent individuals to come together to solve America's most pressing problems. Among the individuals named were Walter Cronkite, Bill Cosby, Buckminster Fuller, Simon Ramo, and William H. Pickering. The organization paid for a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times, and urged people to send postcards to the individuals named in an effort to persuade them to participate. The organization resurfaced briefly in 1972, with a similar scheme, but did not receive nearly as much publicity as their first attempt. Most of the individuals named in both groups, Pickering included, seemed to have basically ignored the group. Included in the file are newspaper clippings, press releases, correspondence, and postcards all involving the organization. 4.10 Minority/Ethnic Affairs (Boxes 16-17; folders 296-311). This sub-series primarily documents the activities of the Employee Committee, and its successors the Employee Ethnic Advisory Committee (EEAC) and the Advisory Committee on Minority Affairs (ACMA). The Employee Ethnic Advisory Committee was reorganized from the old Employee Committee on October 29, 1969, with a revised charter. James King, Jr. was appointed Chairman. The previous Employee Committee was started in July 1968, with Walter H. Padgham as Chairman. The EEAC changed its name to the Advisory Committee on Minority Affairs (ACMA) in March 1972. James King continued as Chairman of ACMA. Also included in the series are progress reports involving the Affirmative Action Program, and Women's Equity Action League. 4.11 Annual Reports/Five-Year Plans (Boxes 17-18; folders 312-317). This short sub-series includes JPL's contributions to the Caltech Annual Presidents Reports from 1964-1974, and two five-year plans released by JPL in 1970 and 1974. Foreign Travel Log Sheets/Visit Reports (Box 18; folders 319-324). There were two series in the collection that were not given a numerical classification. The Foreign Travel Log Sheets/Visit Reports were one of the two. The foreign travel log sheets were divided into programmatic and non-programmatic travel. The authorization forms documented the purpose of the trip, the destination and departure and arrival dates, along with signatures of approval. The original order of the programmatic travel forms was alphabetical, and this order has been maintained. Two programs were singled out with their own folders, the Concorde and Helios. In 1972-73, JPL personnel conducted experiments with an interferometer to measure several stratospheric trace constituents in the atmosphere from the Concorde supersonic airplane. Seven employees traveled to Toulouse, France and Fairford, England. Additionally, in 1973 several people traveled to West Germany for support of the Helios Solar Probe Project. Travel by employees for nonprogrammatic reasons were documented in a separate folder, organized chronologically. Nonprogrammatic travel included delivering papers at symposia held outside the United States. Outgoing Correspondence (Boxes 18-19; folders 325-336). The Outgoing Correspondence file was another part of the collection that was not given a numerical classification as a whole yet was kept yearly as one unit. The series is composed almost entirely as copies (blue-colored) of outgoing correspondence, either from William Pickering or Vickie Melikan. The correspondence is arranged chronologically, with two exceptions. Two events that occurred in 1968 generated enough correspondence that it was decided to given them each a file. The first event was the Tenth Anniversary of the launching of Explorer 1. A technical symposium was held at Caltech's Beckman Auditorium on February 1, 1968. People invited to participate or attend were Homer E. Newell, James A. Van Allen, General James M. Gavin, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, among others. On October 31, 1968, there was a ceremony commemorating the GALCIT rocket motor experiments of 1936. A plaque was unveiled outside the Von Kármán Auditorium. Invited to attend were Frank J. Malina, Apollo M.O. Smith, Carlos Wood, Edward Forman, William Bollay, William C. Rockefeller, Beverley Forman, Walt Powell, Martin Summerfield, Homer J. Stewart, and Val Larsen, among others. Seven folders contain documents that are stamped or marked "JPL Discreet." Whole folders that are discreet are noted in the folder list. The original positions of JPL Discreet material in the collection have been marked with separation sheets. The material has been moved to a box at the end of the collection. Included in the Discreet information is a file pertaining to the Hibbs Ad Hoc Advisory Committee, created by Pickering on February 26, 1964. The committee was composed of Al Hibbs, Frank Colella, Barney Huber, Vicki Melikan and Richard R. Wilford. It was to look into the Laboratory's problems with NASA management and Caltech in the aftermath of several Ranger failures.

ArchivalResource: 5.85 cubic ft. (344 folders)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/733100789 View