Guide to the Charles H. Smiley papers, 1934-1977


John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Published in 2016

Collection Overview

Title: Charles H. Smiley papers
Date range: 1934-1977
Creator: Smiley, Charles H. (Charles Hugh), 1903-1977
Extent: 20.0 Linear feet
Abstract: The Smiley papers comprise extensive correspondence; course and research materials; diaries, notebooks, and journals; typescript drafts and scrapbooks of his column, "Planets and Stars"; as well as audio and visual materials.
Language of materials: English
Repository: John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number: OF.1UF.S2

Scope & content

The Smiley papers comprise extensive correspondence; course and research materials; diaries, notebooks, and journals; typescript drafts and scrapbooks of his column, "Planets and Stars"; as well as audio and visual materials.

Access Points

Subject Organizations Subject Topics Document Types Subject Topics

Arrangement

The collection is organized in seven series:

  • I. Correspondence
  • II. Courses
  • III. Diaries, journals, and notebooks
  • IV. Writings
  • V. Research
  • VI. Professional associations
  • VII. Audio and visual materials

Biographical note

Charles Hugh Smiley (1903-1977), professor of astronomy, was born in Camden, Missouri, on September 6, 1903. He attended the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of California at Berkeley, graduating with highest honors in mathematics in 1924, and earned his M.A. degree in 1925 and his Ph.D. in mathematics in 1927 at Berkeley. From 1927 to 1929 he was an instructor in mathematics at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He was a Guggenheim fellow in 1929-30, working at the Royal Greenwich Observatory and visiting other European observatories. He was appointed assistant professor of mathematics at Brown in 1930 and associate professor of astronomy in 1938, at which time he was also made director of the Ladd Observatory and chairman of the Department of Astronomy. He was promoted to full professor in 1945. He led fourteen solar eclipse expeditions, in Peru, Canada, Brazil, Thailand, Pakistan, and the United States. On one occasion in 1963 he flew in a U.S. Air Force jet at 48,000 feet, racing the moon’s shadow to view a lunar eclipse longer than any other observer. He also led several expeditions between 1947 and 1952 to determine the atmospheric refraction at low angular altitudes. In 1949 he travelled to Point Barrow, Alaska, on a Navy plane, and later that year flew with an Air Force plane to the true North Pole. He wrote a popular column, "Planets and Stars," which appeared in the Providence Journal from 1938 to 1957. For many years he studied the Mayan calendar and was able to date the Mayan Codices of Dresden, Paris, and Madrid from astronomical dates which they contained. He was a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and president of the American Association of Variable Star Observers. He was a member of the editorial advisory board of Sky & Telescope from 1941 to 1959. Smiley's wife, the former Margaret Kendall Holbrook, taught astronomy at Wellesley before their marriage. Smiley viewed his last eclipse in Providence in 1974. He died in Providence on July 26, 1977.

Access & Use

Access to the collection: There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials: Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation: Charles H. Smiley papers, OF-1UF-S2, Brown University Archives.
Contact information: John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION  
ABOUT THE FINDING AID  
Author: Finding aid prepared by Brown University Library staff.
Encoding: This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2016-08-16
Descriptive rules: Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
Sponsor: Processing funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Additional Information

Inventory

Series I. Correspondence, 1934-1977

Container Description Date
Box 1
1934-1938
Box 2
1939-1943
Box 3
1944-1947
Box 4
1948-1953
Box 5
1954-1969
Box 6
1970-1977
Box 7
1934-1969
Box 33 Unsorted correspondence
Box 37 Unsorted correspondence
Box 41 Unsorted correspondence
Box 44 Unsorted correspondence

Series II. Courses

Container Description Date
Box 9 Astronomy
Box 14 Astronomy
Box 15 Astronomy
Box 40 Astronomy
Box 27 Astronomy (Student work)
Box 37 Astronomy (Student work)
Box 41 Astronomy (Student work)

Series III. Diaries, journals, and notebooks

Container Description Date
Box 10 Diaries, journals, and notebooks
Box 16 Diaries, journals, and notebooks
Box 30 Diaries, journals, and notebooks

Series IV. Writings

Container Description Date
Box 20 Published articles
Box 24 Typescripts
Box 11 "Planets and stars" (Newspaper column)
Box 12 "Planets and Stars" (Newspaper column)

Series V. Research

Container Description Date
Box 15 Eclipses and eclipse expeditions
Box 7 Mayan astronomy (Notes)
Box 8 Mayan astronomy (Notes and notebooks)
Box 9 Mayan astronomy (Notes)
Box 14 Mayan astronomy (Notes)
Box 17 Mayan astronomy (Notes)
Box 18 Mayan astronomy (Printed materials)
Box 19 Mayan scholars (Offprints and correspondence)
Box 21 Mayan scholars (Offprints and correspondence)
Box 22 Mayan scholars (Offprints and correspondence)
Box 23 Mayan astronomy (Notes and correspondence)
Box 25 Mayan astronomy (Notes)
Box 31 Mayan astronomy (Notes, drafts, printed materials)
Box 29 Missiles, halos, eclipses and other topics (Unsorted notes and drafts)
Box 17 Observations (Brazil, Peru, Jerimoth Hill Station)
 1943-1947
Box 26 Observations, optical work, probability
Box 16 Refraction
Box 41 Sunspots, Mayan astronomy and other topics (Unsorted notes)
Box 43 Sunspots, weather, transits of Mercury and Venus (Notes)
Box 27 Various topics (Unsorted notes)
Box 28 Various topics (Unsorted notes and notebooks, drafts, and travel)
Box 32 Various topics (Unsorted correspondence, notes, drafts)
Box 34 Various topics (Unsorted notes and notebooks including Ladd observations)
Box 37 Various topics (Unsorted notes and drafts)
Box 39 Various topics (Unsorted notes, photographs, and printed materials)
Box 40 Various topics (Unsorted notes and drafts)
Box 44 Various topics (Unsorted notes)

Series VI. Professional associations

Container Description Date
Box 31 Conference materials
Box 33 International Astronomical Union (Correspondence)

Series VII. Audio and visual materials

Container Description Date
Box 35 Audio tapes: Sputnik III
Physical Description Note: 2 audio tapes
Box 36 Audio tapes: Sputnik III and other recordings
Contents Note: Includes Rachel Smiley recital and other personal recordings.

Physical Description Note: 16 audio tapes
Box 38 Audio tapes: Science fair, science forum, and concert recordings
Physical Description Note: 7 audio tapes.
Box 42 Audio tapes: Apollo II, interviews, and concert recordings
Physical Description Note: 24 audio tapesPotential deterioration (Vinegar syndrome)
Box 13 Photographs (Unsorted)