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Royal Greenwich Observatory
Eleanor Margaret Burbidge Papers, 1961-1974.
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.
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.
Burbidge, E. Margaret
Redman, Roderick Oliver, 1905-1975.
Astronomical observatories -- Administration -- England.
Telescopes (Astronomy) -- Great Britain.
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, 1915-2001
Hunter, A.
Lindgren, R.
Lovell, Bernard, 1913-2012.
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, Martin, 1918-1984-
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), 1930-2004-
Wickramasinghe, D.
Woolley, Richard van der Riet, Sir.
Yoxall, A.
Northern Hemisphere Observatory Project -- Administration.
AIP-ICOS
Royal Greenwich Observatory Archives Department of Manuscripts and University Archives. Cambridge University Library, West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DR, England UK
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