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		Royal Greenwich Observatory.

	Subjects
		Astronomical observatories -- Administration -- England.
		Telescopes (Astronomy) -- Great Britain.
		Northern Hemisphere Observatory Project -- Administration.
		Burbidge, E. Margaret -- Records and correspondence.
		Redman, Roderick Oliver, 1905-1975.
		Alexander, J.
		Atkinson, H. H.
		Beaver, E.
		Bruck, H.
		Cima, J.
		Dickens, R.
		Dunbar, D.
		Elsasser, V. H.
		Flowers, B., Sir.
		Geitzen, J.
		Grubb, Howard, Sir, 1844-1931.
		Hargreaves, F.
		Heseltime, M.
		Hosie, J.
		Hoyle, Fred, Sir.
		Hunter, A.
		Lindgren, R.
		Lovell, Bernard, Sir, 1913-
		Lynden-Bell, D.
		McCrea, William Hunter.
		McGee, J.
		McInnes, B.
		McMullan, D.
		Murrey, A.
		Pagel, B.
		Paton, J.
		Pilkington, J. D.
		Pope, J.
		Praderie, F.
		Reddish, V. C.
		Ring, J.
		Ryle, M., Sir.
		Schmidt, E.
		Schneider, K.
		Slater, P.
		Stevens, C. L.
		Stibbs, D. W.
		Stoy, Richard Hugh, 1910-
		Vidal, N.
		Walker, M. F.
		Walker, R.
		Watts, B.
		Westphal, J. A. (James Adolph), 1930-
		Wickramasinghe, D.
		Woolley, Richard van der Riet, Sir.
		Yoxall, A.

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		Royal Greenwich Observatory.

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		Eleanor Margaret Bur...



	MARC Display

Eleanor Margaret Burbidge Papers, 1961-1974.

by Royal Greenwich Observatory.

Owning Repository:

Royal Greenwich Observatory Archives Department of Manuscripts and University Archives. Cambridge University Library, West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DR

Country of Repository:

Location of Original/Copy:

Cambridge University Library, Cambridge, England UK

Biography/History:

Margaret Burbidge (ca. 1922- ) served as director, Royal Greenwich Observatory from July 1972 to November 1973. She studied for the degree of Ph. D. at the Mill Hill Observatory of the University of London. She married Geoffrey Burbidge in 1948 and in the 1950s both worked on the stellar synthesis of elements with F. Hoyle and W. Fowler at Cambridge and at the California Institute of Technology. In 1953 she went to Yerkes Observatory to undertake a study of the variable abundances of stellar elements and in 1962 she went to the University of California and Lick Observatories to undertake research into quasars. In 1971, she was invited to become the next Director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory. It had been announced during the year that the next appointment to this post would not necessarily confer the title of Astronomer Royal to its holder, as had previously been the case. This was so in Burbidge's case, and indeed none of the subsequent Directors of the Royal Greenwich Observatory has held the title of Astronomer Royal during their tenure of office. At heart a research astrophysicist, Burbidge found the administrative burden that fell to the Director so heavy that it precluded her from undertaking the studies that she wished. She spent only 15 months in post before resigning; almost immediately after her resignation she was most unfortunately involved in a motor vehicle accident close to the Observatory at Herstmonceaux. Nonetheless, during her tenure, she firmly stated her wish to move the Isaac Newton Telescope away from the glare and mist of Herstmonceux to a first-class northern hemisphere observatory site. In her time in office, high altitude sites in Italy, mainland Spain, and the Canary Islands were examined for their suitability for the Northern Hemisphere Observatory. She envisaged an observatory having 150-inch, 90-inch, and 36-inch reflecting telescopes; taken together, this may be seen as a remarkable prefiguring of the current establishment on the Island of La Palma in the Canaries, where the Observatorio de los Muchachos has a 4.2 metre, a 2.5 metre, and a 1.0 metre telescope. After her resignation from Royal Greenwich Observatory, Burbidge returned to California, where she has since followed a distinguished academic and teaching career in astrophysics.

Scope of Material:

Includes: A. Loose papers. B. Documentation of important topics and events, such as: the beginnings of the Northern Hemisphere Observatory Project. C. The following is a list of the names of correspondents and others as they appear in the handlist to this class of papes in RGO Archives. It must be remembered that this is not necessarily an exhaustive list of names as they appear in the papers themselves. Researchers interested in a particular period are invited to write to the RGO Archivist at the above address if they are interested in particular individuals whose names do not appear below, but who could possibly have been in correspondence with the person or institution responsible for creating the class. Correspondents: J. Alexander; H. H. Atkinson; E. Beaver; H. Bruck; E. Burbridge; J. Cima; R. Dickens; D. Dunbar; V. H. Elsasser; Sir B. Flowers; J. Geitzen; Sir H. Grubb; F. Hargreaves; M. Heseltime; J. Hosie; F. Hoyle; A. Hunter; R. Lindgren; Sir B. Lovell; D. Lynden-Bell; W. McCrea; J. McGee; B. McInnes; D. McMullan; A. Murrey; B. Pagel; J. Paton; J. D. Pilkington; J. Pope; F. Praderie; V. C. Reddish; R. Redman; J. Ring; Sir M. Ryle; E. Schmidt; K. Schneider; P. Slater; C. L. Stevens; D. Stibbs; R. Stoy; N. Vidal; M. F. Walker; R. Walker; B. Watts; J. Westphal; D. Wickramasinghe; Sir R. Woolley; and A. Yoxall among others.

The working papers of the Royal Observatory, and accrued as such.

Access Restrictions:

Prospective readers must apply in writing some time before their intended visit, and must be issued with the necessary Reader's Ticket on entry to the University Library. Royal Greenwich Observatory Archives are 'Public Records' in United Kingdom law. As such, at the time of writing [1991], and under the Public Records Acts of 1958 and 1967, access to the papers dated before 1961 January 1 is restricted; papers from that date are closed under the '30 year rule', established in 1967. As each calendar year passes, the date of closure will accordingly change: in 2005, for instance, papers generated before 1975 January 1 will be open for inspection. United Kingdom law in this matter may of course change in future, negating the above conditons.

Arrangement of Records:

Files of papers as generated.

There is some overlap between the class of Burbidge's papers and those of her predecessor R v d R. Woolley [classmark RGO 10] and of her successor A. Hunter [classmark RGO 12]. Burbidge's time as Director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory was short lived and there are consequently few pieces in the class.

The papers are catalogued in a handlist.

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