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General Information
Description of Collection Biographical Note Scope and Contents of Collection Restrictions on Use and Access Selected Search Terms Organization and Arrangement of Collection Provenance and Acquisition Information Processing Information Preferred Citation of Collection Administrative InformationContainer List
Series I- Nancy Grace Roman correspondence Series II- Creative works and miscellaneousNancy Grace Roman addition to papers, 1935-2010
Description of Collection
Repository
American Institute of Physics. Niels Bohr Library & Archives.
Papers created by
Roman, Nancy Grace, 1925-
Size of collection
3 linear feet
1 flat manuscript box
1 manuscript box
Short description of collection
This collection contains additions to the larger collection of Nancy Grace Roman's donated items. Contents include calendars, personal and work-related correspondences, some short, creative works, and a scrapbook.
Language(s) of collection
English
Collection number:
AR20142667
Biographical Note
Nancy Grace Roman was born in Nashville, Tennessee on May 16, 1925. She received her B.A. from Swarthmore College in 1946 and her Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Chicago in 1949.
After receiving her Ph.D., Nancy Grace Roman remained at the University of Chicago as a research associate, and later, as an assistant professor. In 1955 she took a position as an astronomer with the Radio Astronomy Branch of the Naval Research Laboratory. She was the head of the Microwave Spectroscopy Section when, in 1959, she left NRL to become the head of the observational astronomical program at NASA. Dr. Roman remained at NASA, serving as Chief of the Astronomy and Relativity Programs in the Office of Space Sciences from 1960, until her retirement in 1979. Her work at NASA was so influential that she became known as the mother of the Hubble Space Telescope.
The high-ranking position Nancy Grace Roman held, at a time when it was unusual for women to have such responsibility, is a strong indication of her knowledge and abilities. Because of her achievements in a field dominated by men, Dr. Roman has become a role model for young women. Nancy Grace Roman passed away in December 2018.
Scope and Contents of Collection
The majority of this collection is made up of Nancy Grace Roman’s personal papers, being correspondence to her parents and acquaintances, and creative works such as scrapbooks and original written materials. There are also some business-related correspondences and calendars. These are organized in folders and arranged by subject and date.
Restrictions on Use and Access
Researchers must have an approved access application on file in order to access archival materials. https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/item-request .
Selected Search Terms
These papers have been indexed in the International Catalog of Sources for History of Physics and Allied Sciences (ICOS) using the following terms. Those seeking related materials should search under these terms.
Persons
Roman, Irwin, 1893-1976
Roman, Nancy Grace, 1925-
Institutions
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Subject terms
Astronomy.
Radio astronomy.
Telescopes. Design and construction.
Women in astronomy.
Genre terms
Correspondence.
Manuscripts.
Poems.
Scrapbooks.
Organization and Arrangement of Collection
Arranged into two series.
- Series I: Nancy Grace Roman correspondence
- Subseries IA: Personal correspondence with parents and others
- Subseries IB: Business-related correspondence
- Series II: Creative works and miscellaneous
- Subseries IIA: Miscellaneous
- Subseries IIB: Creative works
Provenance and Acquisition Information
Donated by Nancy Grace Roman during her visit to NBLA in 2014.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Sam Holland in 2019.
Some items in collection are brittle and need to be handled with caution. Some items may need to be digitized in the future. Three images were also found in the collection and were given to the Emilio Segrè Visual Archives for proper handling.
Preferred Citation of Collection
Box [number], Folder [number], Nancy Grace Roman addition to papers, 1935-2010. American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, College Park, MD 20740, USA.
Administrative Information
Title
Finding Aid to the Nancy Grace Roman addition to papers, 1935-2010
Publisher
American Institute of Physics Niels Bohr Library & Archives
One Physics Ellipse
College Park, MD 20740
USA
nbl@aip.org
2019
Encoding Information
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Sam Holland in 2019. Any revisions made to this finding aid occurred as part of the editing and encoding process.
Series I- Nancy Grace Roman correspondence
Subseries I A- Personal correspondence with parents and others
| Box 1 | Folder 1 | Personal correspondence, 1935-1965 |
| Folder 2 | Personal correspondence, 1943-1949 |
| Folder 3 | Personal correspondence, 1942 |
| Folder 4 | Personal correspondence (set aside for preservation purposes), 1942-1953 |
| Folder 5 | Personal correspondence, 1943 |
| Folder 6 | Personal correspondence, 1944 |
| Folder 7 | Personal correspondence, 1945 |
| Folder 8 | Personal correspondence, 1946 |
| Folder 9 | Personal correspondence, 1947 |
| Folder 10 | Personal correspondence, 1948 |
| Folder 11 | Personal correspondence, 1949 |
| Folder 12 | Personal correspondence, 1950 |
| Folder 13 | Personal correspondence, 1951 |
| Folder 14 | Personal correspondence, 1952 |
| Folder 15 | Personal correspondence, 1952-1969 |
| Folder 16 | Personal correspondence, 1953 |
| Folder 17 | Personal correspondence, 1954 |
| Folder 18 | Personal correspondence, 1964-1966 |
| Folder 19 | Personal correspondence, undated |
Subseries I B- Business-related correspondence
| Box 1 | Folder 20 | Miscellaneous business-related correspondence, 1950-2003 |
| Folder 21 | Miscellaneous business-related correspondence, 1980 |
Series II- Creative works and miscellaneous
Subseries II A- Miscellaneous
| Box 1 | Folder 22 | Application for financial support to the Office of Naval Research, 1951 |
| Folder 23 | Swarthmore College Bulletin featuring Roman quote, 1976 |
| Folder 24 | Pocketbook calendars, 1999-2010 |
Subseries II B- Creative works
| Box 1 | Folder 25 | Poetry, plays, and short stories, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 1 | Scrapbook, undated |