[FAS] Culture and Belief 61:Gender and Science: From Marie Curie to Gamergate

The Harvard University Archives collects, preserves, and provides access to a comprehensive record of academic, administrative, student, and social life at Harvard. From 17th century deeds to 21st century web sites, the collections in the Archives comprise over 51,000 feet of University records and publications, personal and faculty archives, and related historical materials that include paper correspondence, minutes and reports, photographs, audio and video recordings, and electronic files.

The Archives’ collections provide rich sources for the study of educational, political, scientific, and social history within and beyond Harvard. Students are welcomed and encouraged to make use of the Archives’ collections for course assignments, senior thesis research, and other projects.

The Archives is located in Pusey Library, the partially underground building in Harvard Yard, between Widener and Lamont libraries.

The Archives reading room is open Monday through Friday from 11 am to 4 pm.

The Archives collections can’t be checked out, and must be used in our reading room.

First-time users will complete an Archives registration form and present photo ID.

Digital cameras may be used in the reading room to photograph material; please check first with the reference staff.

Some items may be stored at the Harvard Depository and some material may be restricted, so plna ahead!

Contact our reference staff at archives_reference@harvard.edu to order material, ask questions, and/or to schedule a research consultation.

Papers of Annie Jump Cannon, 1863-1978. (Archives call number HUGFP 125.x)

Finding aid: http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.ARCH:hua12001

Quantity: 12 cubic feet in 35 boxes and 4 folders.

Summary: Annie Jump Cannon (1863-1941) was the first astronomer to systematically classify the stars. She classified stars according to their stellar spectra using a procedure set up by Williamina Fleming. She is credited with classifying 400,000 stellar bodies and discovering more than 300 variable stars, 5 novae, and one spectroscopic binary. After earning a B.S. at Wellesley College in 1884, she spent the next ten years both at home and travelling abroad. She returned to Wellesley in 1894 for graduate study in mathematics, physics, and astronomy. She became interested in stellar spectra while studying under Professor Sarah Whiting. In 1895, Cannon began her study of astronomy at Radcliffe College, joining the Harvard College Observatory staff in 1897. She spent the rest of her life in the Harvard College Observatory. In 1897 she was a research assistant under Professor E. C. Pickering. She became Curator of Astronomical Photographs in 1911, and in 1940, just two years before her retirement, she was finally awarded the rank of professor as the William Cranch Bond Astronomer. She published the nine-volume Henry Draper Catalog, containing information about 225,000 stars, and supplemented by the Henry Draper Extension. The catalog is still accepted as an international standard. She received many honors and awards, including a D.Sc. from Oxford University, making her the first woman to receive an honorary degree from that institution.

The papers of Annie Jump Cannon document both her personal and professional activities. They contain diaries, autobiographical writings, correspondence, manuscripts of writings and speeches, notes, photographs, and memorabilia (including scrapbooks, guest books, autograph books, clippings, diplomas, and ephemera). This collection also includes papers of Margaret Mayall about Annie Jump Cannon.

Papers of Cecilia Helena Payne-Gaposchkin, 1924, ca.1950's-1970's, 2000 (Archives call number HUGB P182.xx)

Finding aid: http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.ARCH:hua03004

Quantity: 3 folders and 6 digital images

Summary: Cecilia Helena Payne-Gaposchkin (1900-1979), Phillips Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University (1956-1966) was a pioneer in astrophysics and a leading authority on variable stars.

Papers of Louis F. Fieser and Mary Fieser, 1899-1996. (Archives call number HUGFP 20.xx)<

Finding aid: http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.ARCH:hua16005

Quantity: 11.5 cubic feet (2 folders, 1 volume, 2 document boxes, 7 record cartons, 1 card file box, and 10 folio boxes)

Summary: Louis Frederick Fieser (1899-1977) and Mary Peters Fieser (1909-1997) were chemists at Harvard University. Louis was the Sheldon Emery Professor of Chemistry, Mary was his co-researcher and co-published with Louis. This collection chiefly covers their personal and professional lives, including honors and awards relating to career successes. There is minimal material regarding their research and teaching.

Gerald James Holton personal archive, 1919-2011, 2013 and undated (Archives call number HUM 132)

Finding aid: http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.ARCH:hua12012

Quantity: 70.54 cubic feet (189 document boxes, 14 half-document boxes, 5 flat boxes,1 legal document box, 1 record carton)

Summary: Gerald Holton (b. 1922) is the Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and Professor of the History of Science (Emeritus, 1992) at Harvard University. Holton's research has focused on the physics of matter at high pressure, the history and philosophy of science, the role of science in contemporary America, and science education. The collection documents Holton's academic and professional career, with the heaviest concentration of material dating from 1942 to 2011. The collection is a valuable resource for research in the history of science, science education, and the study of the relationship of science to public policy in the second half of the twentieth century. 

Holton's later research led to publications on the career obstacles of women scientists, national science policy, the fate of the children of scientists who came to the United States as refugees prior to World War II, the need to improve science education in the United States, and the general public's understanding of science in modern America.