Wright, Helen, 1914- ; Hale, George E., 1868-1938

Biography

The daughter of George Ellery Hale's colleague, Frederick Wright, Helen Wright was born in 1914. Following the death of George Ellery Hale in 1938, the National Academy of Sciences urged that a comprehensive biography be written. However, it was not until 1951 that Helen Wright was commisioned to pen the work. Although she worked industriously on the project, the biography was not completed until 1966. Six years later, she co-authored The Legacy of George Ellery Hale .

Born in Chicago in 1868, George Ellery Hale received his B.S. from M. I. T. in 1890. Active in the development of astrophysics, he quickly established a distinguished scientific reputation for his invention of the spectroheliograph. He made important contributions to the study of solar phenomena, organized and co-edited the Astrophysical Journal, and was the leading figure in the design, funding and construction of the Kenwood, Yerkes, Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories.

Hale was also exceedingly energetic in the organization and promotion of the enterprise of science, both at home and abroad. In the United States he played a highly influential role in the National Academy of Sciences. He revivified the Academy almost single-handedly by organizing the National Research Council, obtaining substantial endowment for the NAS, and establishing the critically important National Research Council Fellowships. A founder of the International Union of Cooperation in Solar Research, Foreign Secretary of the National Academy of Sciences, and a frequent delegate to the International Association of Academies, he became deeply involved in the international relations of science before the First World War. Instrumental in the establishment of the International Research Council after the war, he was president of its successor, the International Council of Scientific Unions from 1931 to 1934.

Hale settled in Pasadena, California in 1904 to assume the duties of Director of the newly established Mount Wilson Observatory and became deeply involved in the educational and cultural affairs of the area. Among his most important efforts were the creation and development of the California Institute of Technology and the Huntington Library.

Chronology

• 1868: Birth
• 1889: enters MIT
• 1890: appointed director of Kenwood Astrophysical Observatory
• 1891: appointed professor at Beloit College
• 1893 - 1894 : Berlin
• 1904: Mount Wilson Observatory established
• 1904: Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
• 1908: 60 in. Hooker telescope at Mount Wilson
• 1917: 100 in. Hooker telescope
• 1920: California Institute of Technology established
• 1923: retires from Mount Wilson Observatory
• 1932: Copley Medal
• 1938: Death

From the guide to the Helen Wright Collection on George Ellery Hale, 1887-1972, (California Institute of Technology, Caltech Archives)