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		Whipple, Fred Lawrence, 1906-

	Subjects
		Astrophysics
		Radio astronomy.
		Science and state -- United States -- 20th century.
		Science fiction
		Harvard College Observatory
		Lick Observatory.
		Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
		Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Director.
		Bok, Bart Jan, 1906-
		Campbell, Leon, 1881-1951.
		Cannon, Annie Jump, 1863-1941.
		Clarke, Arthur C. (Arthur Charles), 1917-2008.
		Gaposchkin, Cecilia Helena Payne, 1900-
		Leuschner, Armin Otto, b. 1868.
		Menzel, Donald Howard, 1901-
		Maury, Antonia Coetana de Paiva Pereira, 1866-
		Spitz, Armand
		Shapley, Harlow, 1885-1972.
		Whipple, Fred Lawrence, 1906-
		Oral histories.
		Interviews.
		Sound recordings.
		Transcripts.
		Astronomers -- Interviews.

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		Whipple, Fred Lawrence, 1906-

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		Oral history intervi...



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Oral history interview with Fred Lawrence Whipple, 1977 April 29.

by Whipple, Fred Lawrence, 1906-

Transcript: 122 pages.

Audio recording: 5 cassettes, 4.5 hours.

Use and Reproduction :

Oral history interview may be read by any researcher with an approved access application on file, but copies and quotes may not be made without permission from the Institute.

Owning Repository:

American Institute of Physics. Niels Bohr Library & Archives. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

http://www.aip.org/history/ohilist/5403.html (Transcript)

Country of Repository:

Biography/History:

Fred Lawrence Whipple (1906-2004). Astronomer. Appointed Chairman of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) when it moved to Cambridge, MA in 1955. Major SAO projects under his direction included the Satellite Tracking Program, Project Celescope, the Radio Meteor Project, and the Meteorite Photography and Recovery Project, also known as the Prairie Network. In the late 1960s, Whipple selected Mount Hopkins, AZ as the site for a new SAO astronomical facility, renamed Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory in 1981. He is internationally recognized for his research on the moon, meteors, and comets. In 1975, the minor planet number 1940 was named "Whipple" in recognition of his contributions to astronomy.

Scope of Material:

Family history and educational background; undergraduate degree from University of California Los Angeles (1924-1927); PhD from University of California Berkeley (1927-1931); orbit computing with A. O. Leuschner; thesis work at Lick Observatory with Donald Menzel; work at Harvard College Observatory (1931-1955); with Harlow Shapley, Donald Menzel, Annie Jump Cannon, Antonia Maury, Bart Bok, Leon Campbell, Cecelia Payne Gaposchkin; comets and meteors; radio astronomy; Super Schmidt meteor camera project (1948); Director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (1955-1973); science fiction authors, especially Arthur C. Clarke; Moonwatch project, Armand and Grace Spitz; military and science funding; Multi-mirror telescope with A. B. Meinel; "icy comet" model.

Interview conducted by David DeVorkin at the Harvard Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory on 29 April 1977.

Interview conducted as part of the Sources for History of Modern Astrophysics (SHMA) project.

10" reel. Bethesda, Md. Cutting Corp., 2004. 5 reels. Original recording remastered onto 10" reels.

DeVorkin, David H., 1944- interviewer.

Oral histories.

Sound recordings.

Occupation Term(s):

Astronomers -- Interviews.

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