Francis Gladheim Pease Papers

This collection consists of Francis Pease's research papers. It contains correspondence, manuscripts, Pease's notes (including his work notes, many of which contain various drawings and diagrams by him), reprints, photographs, etc. Topics covered in the collection are numerous and include the Mount Wilson Observatory, the Yerkes Observatory, astronomy and astronomers. The majority of it relates to Pease's research on the speed-of-light (highlighting his manuscript with A. A. Michelson), Ether drift, his observations of the Moon, the Sun, Jupiter, star diameters, galaxies, nebulae, as well as his work on interferometers, and the design and construction of telescopes.

The first three boxes consist of correspondence between Pease and other individuals; these boxes are arranged alphabetically. In the correspondence files, the name on the folder can mean they are the author or addressee of the letters in that folder (if they are just the recipient of letters, then the word "recipient," is after their name). The correspondence folders, which contain many photocopies, may also have manuscripts in them, as well as photographs.

The next series of boxes are arranged by topic and format; these folders include correspondence, notes, manuscripts, reprints, photographs, etc. Manuscripts include drafts of "Measurement of the Velocity of Light in a Partial Vacuum," and "Modern Large Telescope Design." This series also contains Pease's research notes, work notes, and drawings and diagrams (blueprints). Topics include: the speed-of-light, Ether drift, his observations of the Moon, the Sun, Jupiter, Stars, Galaxies, Nebulae, as well as his work on interferometers, and the design and construction of telescopes.

Participants in the collection include: Giorgio Abetti, Walter S. Adams, Robert Grant Aitken, Edward E. Barnard, Paul Brockett, Clifford Crump, Arthur L. Day, George Ellery Hale, Albert A. Michelson, Robert A. Millikan, George Moffitt, Frank E. Ross, Henry N. Russell, Harlow Shapley, J. Vaurie, Latimer J. Wilson, F. E. Wright, William Hammond Wright, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Corning Glass Works, Crucible Steel Company of America, National Research Council (U.S.), Scientific American, inc., Southern California Edison Company, and Spencer Lens Company. There are reprints of articles by Thomas C. Chamberlin, Ejnar Hertzsprung, Sir James Hopwood Jeans, and J. C. Kapteyn.