The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Edwin B. Frost Papers 1886-1924
© 2008 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | Frost, Edwin B. Papers |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1886-1924 |
| Size: | 2 linear feet (4 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | Edwin B. Frost (1866-1935), professor of astrophysics at the University of Chicago and Director of the University’s Yerkes Observatory at Williams Bay, Wisconsin. The majority of this collection consists of the professional correspondence of Edwin B. Frost from 1889-1924. This collection also contains article drafts, notes, sketches, and experiment data. |
The collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Frost, Edwin B. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Edwin B. Frost (1866-1935), professor of astrophysics at the University of Chicago and Director of the University’s Yerkes Observatory at Williams Bay, Wisconsin. He received his A.B. at Dartmouth in 1886 and did his advanced study in physics and astronomy at Princeton, Potsdam and Strassburg. He was a member of the Dartmouth faculty from 1887 to 1898.
Frost first came into prominence as an astronomer at the beginning of the 20th century, at about the time the spectroscope was being introduced into the study of heavenly bodies on a systematic scale. He went on to become a leader in the development of the field of astrophysics. Frost came to Yerkes Observatory in 1898 and served as professor of astrophysics from 1898 to 1905. When observatory director George E. Hale left Yerkes to head the Mount Wilson Observatory at Pasadena, Frost assumed the directorship.
In 1906, Frost undertook a fifteen year program of stellar observation to map, classify and determine the velocities of the stars in the Orion constellation. Following the completion of the project, Frost gradually went blind. Despite his disability, he continued to work on the faculty until 1932. After his retirement, he remained at his lakeside home near the observatory, working in an advisory capacity.
The majority of this collection consists of the professional correspondence of Edwin B. Frost from 1889-1924 and is organized chronologically. Boxes 2-4 contain correspondence regarding the American efforts to provide aid to Russian astronomers and observatories in the early 1920s, which Frost played a central role in organizing. This collection also contains select article drafts, notes, sketches, and experiment data, found in Box 4.
Astrophysical Journal. Records
University of Chicago. Yerkes Observatory. Records
| Box 1 Folder 1 | Correspondence, A-M, 1889-1902 |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | Correspondence, M-Y, 1886-1903 |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | Correspondence, A-M, 1902-1904 |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | Correspondence, M-Y, 1901-1904 |
| Box 1 Folder 5-6 | Correspondence, receipts, and invoices regarding alterations to Professor Frost’s residence at Yerkes Observatory, Williams Bay, 1908-1909 |
| Box 1 Folder 7 | Correspondence, A-L, 1922-1923 |
| Box 1 Folder 8 | Correspondence, M-Y, 1923 |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | Correspondence, A-J, 1923 |
| Box 2 Folder 2 | Correspondence, K-V, 1923 |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | Correspondence, Y, 1923, A-C, 1924 |
| Box 2 Folder 4 | Correspondence, D-H, 1924 |
| Box 2 Folder 5 | Correspondence, S-W, 1922-1924 |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | Correspondence, aid relief for Russian astronomers, 1922-1923 |
| Box 3 Folder 1-8 | Correspondence, aid relief for Russian astronomers, 1922-1924 |
| Box 4 Folder 1-4 | Correspondence, aid relief for Russian astronomers, 1922-1924 |
| Box 4 Folder 5 | Article drafts and notes, 1918-1923 |
| Box 4 Folder 6-8 | Notes, sketches, and experiment data, undated |