Resources for Studying Astronomy at the University of Michigan
MIXED MATERIALS
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy
- Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy records, 1953-1975
- 16 linear ft.
Records of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Tucson, Arizona. Correspondence files of Robert R. McMath, Leo Goldberg, and Orren C. Mohler, reports, minutes, financial and budgetary materials, and technical reports relating to the development of AURA and its predecessor organization, the Advisory Panel for the National Astronomical Observatory, and concerning observatories at Kitt Peak, Arizona, and Cerro Tololo, Chile; also material concerning political developments in Chile; and photographs.
Stored off-site; prior notice required for retrieval
Byrd, David
- David Byrd Photograph Series
- 1 linear ft. (in 2 boxes and 1 portfolio) and oversized.
Portraits and photos of Byrd, his wife Letitia, and friends and family; photographs of projects, including churches, commercial buildings, and private residences; portfolio of photos of The Detroit Observatory, taken by David Byrd, 1973.
Finding aid available in the library.
W.J. Hussey's drawing of Mars, 1892.
From UM Observatory papers, Box 12.
Curtis, Heber Doust
- Heber Doust Curtis papers, 1889-1890, 1900-1908, and 1921-1942.
- 1.3 linear ft.
Personal correspondence, mainly copies of letters to family, describing various astronomical expeditions to Chile and Sumatra; also speeches; photographs and photograph albums. One letter, July 19, 1925, concerns the controversy over the teaching of evolution and the Scopes trial including comments about Clarence Darrow and WIlliam Jennings Bryan.
Curtiss, Ralph Hamilton
- Ralph Hamilton Curtiss
- 0.3 linear ft.
Professor of astronomy at University of Michigan.
Professional correspondence, lecture notes in Descriptive Astronomy, Astronomy 32, ca. 1929, and a biographical sketch. Correspondents include: Heber D. Curtis, Oct. 3, 1918, William J. Hussey, 1907, 1911, and July 18, 1923, and Harrison M. Randall, Dec. 5, 1911.
Department of Astronomy (University of Michigan)
- Dept. of Astronomy (University of Michigan) records, 1960-1989 (bulk 1980-1989).
- 2 linear ft.
Records of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy observatories visiting committee, 1980-1985; chairman's daily file, 1984-1988; and various subject files.
Detroit Observatory, ca. 1940.
Detroit Observatory (University of Michigan)
- Detroit Observatory (University of Michigan) records, 1860-2004
- 26 linear feet and 1 flat file drawer
Astronomical observatory on the campus of the University of Michigan. Built in 1854, it was named to recognize the Detroit citizens who helped finance its building. No longer an active observatory, a major restoration was completed in 1999.
Includes collected historical records and extensive documentation of the observatory restoration during the 1990s. Documentation includes information about the observatory's scientific instruments, former directors, and outreach and publicity. Formats include photographs, scientific log books of weather observations (1880-1890), architectural drawings, and publications. Also includes a gold medal awarded to Franz Brünnow in 1848.
Hiltner, William
- William A. Hiltner papers, 1942-1991
- 11 linear ft.
Astronomer, professor of astronomy at the University of Chicago, later at the University of Michigan.
Biographical material, correspondence, topical files, teaching materials, research files, and photographs relating to professional interests, including his interest in photoelectric photometry leading to the discovery of interstellar polarization; also files relating to various observatories.
Hussey Family
- Hussey Family papers, 1876-1926
- 8.5 linear ft. and 1 oversize folder.
Correspondence, diaries, scrapbooks, photographs and other materials relating especially to Hussey's activities as professor of astronomy and director of the astronomical observatory at the University of Michigan, including his scientific visits to South America and South Africa.
Finding aid available in the library.
Losh, Hazel Marie
- Hazel Marie Losh papers, 1870s-1978
- 2 linear ft.
Professor of astronomy at the University of Michigan, friend of the University's athletes and athletics, and officer of Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Chapter.
Correspondence, speeches and speaking notes, clippings, publications, and photographs; also a transcript of an oral history interview conducted by Thomas Slavens.
McMath, Robert
- Robert R. McMath papers, 1916-1962
- 10 linear ft.
Detroit, Michigan industrialist and director of the McMath-Hulbert Observatory of University of Michigan (located on Lake Angelus near Pontiac, Oakland County, Michigan.)
Albert Boggess uses the meridian circle
telescope 1953. From the News and
Information
Services records, Box A-9.
Michigan Historic Preservation Network
- Michigan Historic Preservation Network records--Photograph Series, 1999-2004
- 0.5 linear ft.
Photographs and CDs of images of buildings and other structures, community districts, cultural landscapes, local institutions, and other preservation projects compiled as part of submission process for the organization's historic preservation awards.
Observatory (University of Michigan)
- Observatory (University of Michigan) records, 1855-1985
- 16 linear ft., 1 oversize box, 1 oversize v., and architectural drawings.
Observatories of the University of Michigan, including the Lamont-Hussey Observatory, the McMath-Hulbert Observatory, the Portage Lake Observatory, the Angell Hall Laboratory, the Detroit Observatory, and the Department of Astronomy.
Correspondence, records of astronomical and meteorological observations, financial records, reports, architectural drawings, and scrapbook; include correspondence of observatory directors, William J. Hussey, Ralph H. Curtiss, Heber D. Curtis, Orren C. Mohler, W. Carl Rufus, A. D. Maxwell, Leo Goldberg, Robert R. McMath, and R. A. Rossiter; observations of J. M. Shaeberle, Asaph Hall, Jr., William J. Hussey, C. S. Woodard, and S. D. Townley.
Watson, James C.
- James C. Watson papers
- 2 linear feet and 1 outsize folder.
Professor of astronomy and director of the Observatory at University of Michigan and University of Wisconsin.
Correspondence relating to astronomy and observatories, world travel, 1874-1875, particularly in China and Egypt, the piano exhibit at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, and the invention of the telephone; also notes, articles, and miscellaneous manuscripts on his scientific interests, three diaries, 1870-1875, two letterbooks, a log book of a journey abroad, and three volumes of notes; also photographs. Correspondents include Alexander Graham Bell, 1876-1879; A.W. Chase, 1873-1874; Elisha Gray, 1877-1879; Joseph Henry, 1877; William E. Upjohn, 1880; Victor C. Vaughan, 1880. Also includes travel letters of Annette Waite Watson, 1874-1875.
BOOKS
- Allmendinger, George Franklin. George Franklin Allmendinger Student Notebook.Notes on the lectures of James C. Watson in astronomy and Edward Olney in mathematics. Call Number: BImu C34.
Hussey, William. Notes on Popular Astronomy... Call Number:DA 2 H972 N911.
- Shaw, Wilfred B. [ed.] University of Michigan: An Encyclopedic Survey.Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 1942-. Available online
- Whitesell, Patricia S. A Creation of His Own: Tappan's Detroit Observatory.Ann Arbor, Mich.: Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, 1998. Call Number: FImu D13 O14 W594.
This exhibit was created in February 2009 by Bentley Library graduate assistant Shannon Wait, University of Michigan School of Information.