Helen Wright (1914- ): the daughter of George Ellery Hale's colleague, Frederick Wright. Following the death of George Ellery Hale in 1938, the National Academy of Sciences urged that a comprehensive biography be written. However, it was not until 1951 that Helen Wright was commisioned to pen the work. Although she worked industriously on the project, the biography was not completed until 1966. Six years later, she co-authored The Legacy of George Ellery Hale.

George Ellery Hale (1868-1938) B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (1890); active in the development of astrophysics, invented the spectroheliograph, made important contributions to the study of solar phenomena, organized and co-edited the Astrophysical Journal, and was the leading figure in the design, funding and construction of the Kenwood, Yerkes, Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories. He played a highly influential role in the National Academy of Sciences and was a founder of the International Union of Cooperation in Solar Research, Foreign Secretary of the National Academy of Sciences, and a frequent delegate to the International Association of Academies. He became deeply involved in the international relations of science before the First World War. Instrumental in the establishment of the International Research Council after the war, he was president of its successor, the International Council of Scientific Unions (1931-1934). Hale settled in Pasadena, California in 1904 to assume the duties of Director of the newly established Mount Wilson Observatory. Among his most important efforts were the creation and development of the California Institute of Technology and the Huntington Library.