Records of the Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory, 1885-1939 (bulk).

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Records of the Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory, 1885-1939 (bulk).

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/232364125

Chiefly records of two directors of Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory: A. Lawrence Rotch and Charles F. Brooks. Rotch's records contain incoming letters from scientists at other observatories, such as Kew in England, Mt. Kosciusko in Australia, and the Institute of Meteorology in Nanking, China. Subjects relate to kite meteorology, cloud measurement, balloons (including ascents from Berlin, 1891 and Strassburg, 1901) and balloon construction, observations of auroral bands, etc., as well as events, such as exhibitions of scientific instruments and meteorological congresses. Notable correspondents include Octave Chanute and W. H. Dines. Also photographs, reprints, and documents concerning the Dines pressure tube anemometer. A considerable number of photographs, ca.1890s-1900s, show activities and staff at the Blue Hill Observatory and include interior and exterior views of the station and of instruments such as electrometers. Other photos from this period are of foreign weather observatories and equipment; the first balloon ascent in the U.S. (1904); cloud formations and phenomena such as lightning; and general views taken from kites. Additional Rotch records include typescripts of his writings on the use of kites for weather observations; notes on the International Congress of Hydrology and Climatology (1889) and on balloon ascents in Paris that year; letters and other papers about the New England Meteorological Society and its 1889 exhibit. Records of Brooks include some correspondence, ca.1930-ca.1940, mostly pertaining to radiosonde; manuscripts of writings; and news releases. Other reference materials in the collection are a large number of reprints of scientific articles, many by Harvard faculty; Blue Hill publications and reports; weather charts and graphs; equipment catalogues from Zeiss, Husun, Wild, and other companies; and books. Topics covered in these sources include kites and aeronautics, atmosphere, wind, temperature, eclipses and aurora borealis, radiant energy, thunder, storms, magnetism, and climate. There is also an automatic aerial camera (a special order by Rotch from a French firm in 1899) which is housed in the Historical Scientific Instruments Collection as well.

ca. 40 cubic feet (37 containers and 1 album).

Harvard University Archives.

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7097954

Harvard University Archives.

Related Entities

There are 12 Entities related to this resource.

Harvard University

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Harvard College was founded by a vote of the Great and General Court of Massachusetts on October 28, 1636 that allocated “400£ towards a schoale or colledge.” Subsequent legislative acts established the Board of Overseers, but it was the Charter of 1650 that created the Harvard Corporation as the College's primary governing board and defined its composition and authority. The College Charter became a contentious target for College officials, the Massachusetts Governor and General C...

Institute of Meteorology (Nanking, China)

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New England Meteorological Society

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Chanute, Octave, 1832-1910

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Civil engineer and aviation pioneer. From the description of Octave Chanute papers, 1807-1955 (bulk 1860-1910). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70980023 A native of Paris, Chanute emigrated from France to the U.S. with his parents in 1838. He worked as an engineer, primarily in constructing railroads and railroad bridges, but is best remembered as a pioneer in aerial navigation and glider flight, and wrote two influential books on flight. From the description of P...

Brooks, Charles Franklin, 1891-1958

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Brooks graduated from Harvard in 1911 and taught meteorology at Harvard. From the description of Letters from Harvard undergraduate Charles Franklin Brooks to his parents, 1908-1910. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 77067776 Charles Franklin Brooks (1891-1958) earned his Harvard AB in 1911, his AM in 1912, and his Ph.D. in 1914 and taught meteorology at Harvard. He was born on May 2, 1891 in St. Paul, Minnesota to Morgan Brooks and Frona Marie Brooks. His Harvard Ph...

Dines, William Henry, 1855-1927

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63v42s1 (person)

Son of George Dines, meteorologist of Horsham, Walton-on-Thames and London. Ecuated at Corpus Christi, Cambridge, B. A., 1881. Designed a pressure tube anenometer and other instruments and made an elaborate study of the upper air. From 1905 to 1922 he was director of experiments on upper air for the Meteorological Office. Most experiments were done at Benson near Hallingford, Berkshire. F. R. S., 1905. F. Meteorol. Soc. President of Meteorological Society, 1901 and 1902. From the des...

Kew Observatory (Richmond, Surrey, England)

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International Congress of Hydrology and Climatology (1880 : Paris, France)

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Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory

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The Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory was established by Abbott Lawrence Rotch in 1885 to investigate weather patterns and maintain weather records. The administration of the Observatory was combined with that of Harvard University's Division of Engineering and Applied Physics in 1959, at which time the U.S. Weather Bureau assumed the responsibility for conducting routine weather observations at the Blue Hill station. The University's lease of the Blue Hill facility from the Metropolitan Dist...

Rotch, Abbott Lawrence, 1861-1912

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qg078n (person)

Rotch, a meteorologist, founded and was director of Blue Hill Observatory, near Boston, Mass. He took the earliest American measurements of cloud height and velocities. In 1906, Rotch became the first professor of meteorology at Harvard. In cooperation with Teisserenc de Bort, he sent an expedition to explore the atmosphere above the tropical ocean, 1905-1906; ascended Mont Blanc six times, reaching the summit thrice; and ballooned above Paris in 1889. From the description of Papers,...

McAdie, Alexander, 1863-1943

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McAdie (1868-1943) graduated from Harvard in 1885 and taught meteorology at Harvard. From the description of Papers of Alexander G. McAdie, 1915-1948 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 76973106 ...

Mt. Kosciusko Observatory (Australia)

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