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Dartmouth College. Shattuck Observatory Meteorological Records, 1827 - present [1853 - 1966]

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Dartmouth College Library Special Collections

December 1995

History of Dartmouth College (George C. Shattuck) Observatory

The individual responsible for the movement to have an observatory built at Dartmouth was Professor Ira Young (Class of 1828), Professor of Natural Philosophy. Not long after his appointment in 1833, Professor Young pressed the Trustees for modern equipment and apparatus for instruction of natural philosophy. The compelling nature and force of his arguments caused the Trustees to grant his request. The acquisition of new instructional equipment awakened the Dartmouth student body's interest in natural philosophy.

In 1838, Young was appointed Professor of Astronomy in addition to the Natural Philosophy Professorship. Professor Young presented the Trustees with a series of requests for new astronomical equipment. In 1846, he asked for and was granted money to acquire a state-of-the-art, six-foot refracting telescope from a manufacturer in Germany. At the arrival of the telescope it was realized no proper structure was available in which to house it. As a result of another petition by Young, the Trustees authorized appropriations for the building of a small, two-room observatory in Young's garden. As had happened with earlier acquisitions of scientific equipment, a great deal of interest in the sciences was generated within the student body.

Professor Young used the students' heightened interest in the sciences to formally request the Trustees to build a full observatory and properly house the new telescope, so that qualified research and instruction could continue. It wasn't until Boston physician Dr. George C. Shattuck's (Class of 1803) 1852 gift of $7000 that an observatory finally became a possibility. With the gift, Dr. Shattuck stipulated that: the Trustees match the gift with an additional $4000; Ira Young's brother, Ammi B. Young (H1841), create the architectural design for the observatory; and, Professor Young be sent to Europe to purchase the necessary books and equipment needed to outfit the Observatory. Young left for Europe in early 1853, taking his son Charles (Class of 1853) with him. Professor of Chemistry Oliver Payson Hubbard was left to oversee the early phases of the construction of the Observatory. The Youngs returned in September and Professor Young oversaw the final construction phases. The Dartmouth College Observatory was completed before the fall term of 1854. Dr. Shattuck died in March of that year.

Although the most obvious use of the Observatory would be for astronomical observations, Professor Young had explained to Dr. Shattuck in October of 1852 that additional equipment was necessary for complete instruction in natural philosophy, and particularly meteorology. (Meteorology became a course of instruction in the 1849 - 1850 academic year.) A quote from the 1974 book by Brown and Reiser, Natural Philosophy at Dartmouth: From Surveyors' Chains to the Pressure of Light, details what Professor Young described to Dr. Shattuck: “In Meteorology, we think it very important that we should be furnished with a complete set of the standard instruments that have lately been introduced under the direction of Professor Guyot, at some of the principal points of observation through the United States. These, I believe consist of Barometers, Thermometers, Hygrometers, Anemometers, and Rain Guages, & c.....”.

Ira Young's reference to Professor Arnold H. Guyot is significant. Professor Guyot was assisting the Smithsonian Institution with distributing equipment and training observers. The Smithsonian had begun collecting national meteorological data in 1849, and by 1853 had established a national network of observers. In October of 1853, Professor Young began sending the Smithsonian meteorological information on the monthly “Form of Meteorological Register Prepared by the Smithsonian Institution For a Uniform System of Observations”, keeping a copy for himself. The Eighth Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution (1854), lists Professor Ira Young and Albert A. Young (son of Ira Young, Class of 1856) as observers for Hanover, NH.

Dartmouth continued to send monthly observations to the Smithsonian until 1857. Meteorological data was not collected and recorded during the vacancy in the position of Professor of Natural Philosophy created by Ira Young's death in 1858. Data collection resumed when Henry Fairbanks (Class of 1853) filled the renamed position of Appleton Professor of Natural Philosophy in 1859. Professor Fairbanks held the professorship for six years. In 1865, Charles Augustus Young (Class of 1853) assumed responsibilities in the Appleton Professorship. The “new” Professor Young brought prestige to Dartmouth through his astronomical discoveries and publications as Director of the Observatory. He also oversaw the continuing collection of meteorological observations.

Meteorological observations continued at Dartmouth under the auspices of the Astronomy Department. Nationally, responsibility for the collection of meteorological data passed from the Smithsonian Institution to the Signal Service division of the U.S. Army (1870), and from there to the newly created U.S. Weather Bureau within the Department of Agriculture (1891). The Weather Bureau collected data much the same way the Smithsonian Institution had done, issuing forms to record the meteorological data. The observer kept at least one copy and sent another copy to the local Weather Bureau office. Dartmouth began sending these reports to the Weather Bureau ostensibly in 1892, but continuous reporting is confirmed beginning in 1893.

In 1906, John Merrill Poor (Class of 1897) became Assistant Professor of Astronomy. Throughout his 27-year tenure, he became more and more involved with climatological studies gleaned from the decades of meteorological data that had been collected. (Professor Poor was also a renowned astronomer.) He authored a paper, “Winter Weather Records at Hanover, NH”, during his senior year of 1897. There was an expansion in the number and kinds of meteorological observations and studies done during his tenure, which included hypsometrical (land elevation) and atmospheric visibility studies.

Richard Halsey Goddard (Class of 1920) paid the most attention to the meteorological data collected at Dartmouth. Shortly after his 1934 appointment as Assistant Professor of Astronomy, he began an analysis of the data being collected. He initiated extensive use of recording devices which charted specific data over a specific time frame. Within several years, he developed data forms onto which recording chart readings could be transcribed and tabulated into extensive paper collections or “databanks”. The forms, each specific to a particular type of data relevent to the recording charts, were actually derived from the monthly registers that had been originally developed by the Smithsonian Institution and later adopted by the Weather Bureau. Individual types of data such as temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, precipitation, wind, sunshine duration, and weather remarks were collected. As had Professor Poor before him, Professor Goddard undertook many individual studies from the combined collected meteorological data kept at the Observatory.

Professor Goddard retired in 1964, ending 30 years of continuous service at Dartmouth as the last man to hold the title of Director of Shattuck Observatory. Although meteorological data collection has continued, by the late 1960's retention of meteorological records at the Observatory began to dwindle. The forms developed by Professor Goddard were no longer in use. By the mid 1980's, recording charts were no longer being retained.

Since the days when observations were first collected nationally by the U.S. Weather Bureau from participating meteorological observation stations, some stations were compensated for their participation by the Bureau. Dartmouth has always supplied its meteorological data on a completely voluntary basis. As of December 1995, the Dartmouth College Observatory continues to be a voluntary meteorological observation station for the National Weather Service.

Scope Note

The Dartmouth College Observatory Meteorological Records, 1827 - present [1853 - 1966], 46.5 linear feet (73 boxes), contain mechanical recording charts, compiled daily and monthly data forms, voluntary observers' reports, monthly meteorological registers, off-site observations, and a small amount of correspondence and administrative records. The latter documents the planning, construction, and equipping of the George C. Shattuck Observatory. Most of the meteorological observations are of temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, wind, precipitation and sunshine. The combination of written observations, mechanical recording charts, and voluntary observers' monthly reports to the U.S. Weather Bureau/National Weather Service make these Records one of the most complete and continuous collections of meteorological and climatological data in the United States. The Records demonstrate the evolution of meteorological data-collecting at Dartmouth College. The Records detail little about the Observatory's administrative functioning.

Series Descriptions

December 1995

Hanover, New Hampshire

The Dartmouth College. Shattuck Observatory Meteorological Records are organized into five series:

Series I, ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS, 1846 - 1979,.25 linear feet, contains accounts, bills, and receipts for construction materials, equipment, and books for Shattuck Observatory, and costs for its maintenance. There are sketches and cost estimates on some of the materials needed for construction. There is also correspondence between Professor Ira Young and his brother Ammi B. Young, as well as correspondence between Professor Ira Young and Professor Oliver P. Hubbard. Most of the records in this series were accumulated by Professor Ira Young. Of note in this series are annual reports made to the Trustees of Dartmouth College by Professor Ira Young. An alphabetical catalog of books purchased for the Observatory library was prepared by Charles A. Young under his father's direction.

Series II, MONTHLY METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS REGISTERS, 1827 - 1935, 7.5 linear feet, contains accumulated daily and monthly meteorological data, including temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, precipitation, sunshine duration, wind and remarks on each day's prevalent weather conditions based on observations taken two or more times daily. The oldest register is Ebenezer Adams Jr.'s Thermometrical Register, 1827 - 1828. The monthly registers begin with reporting forms developed by the Smithsonian Institute containing data from October 1853 to February 1857.

Series III, RECORDING CHARTS AND DAILY/MONTHLY DATA FORMS, 1867 - 1984 [1935 - 1966], 32 linear feet, is comprised of three distinct groups of records: mechanical recording charts; data-collecting forms developed by Professor Richard H. Goddard; and, various monthly charts and forms. The mechanical recording charts are from several instruments which collected data on temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, precipitation, sunshine duration and wind, or combinations of two or more aspects simultaneously. Of particular interest in this group are the early recording charts used with the Draper Barograph, which date back to February 1867. The Goddard forms (#1 - #13) were used for recording daily/monthly information from the mechanical charts or other previously recorded sources. The last group of material, the combined accumulation of charts and forms, consists of various recording charts, Goddard forms, and National Weather Service forms filed together by month (August 1979 - August 1984).

Series IV, OFF-SITE AND OTHER METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, DATA, AND RECORDS, 1915 - 1993, 5.5 linear feet, is comprised of two groups of material: various local observations made outside of Shattuck Observatory; and, climatological and weather studies. The off-site observations include data collected by Professor Charles Nelson Haskins at his Etna and Hanover residences. There are also observations taken at Mt. Moosilauke in Benton, NH and other local elevations. Some of these observations appear to be concerned with altitude determination (barometric hypsometry) or atmospheric visibility measurement. The individual studies detail specific information from collected data in the forms of graphs, tables, and diagrams.

Series V, WEATHER BUREAU/WEATHER SERVICE MONTHLY OBSERVERS' REPORTS, 1892 - PRESENT, 1.25 linear feet, represents a nearly complete record of cooperative monthly meteorological reports dating from just after the formation of the U.S. Weather Bureau in July 1890. These reports included data from daily observations of temperature, precipitation, wind, clouds and weather remarks, as well as totals and averages for the month. The form which was used when these observational reports were begun at Dartmouth College has undergone at least three revisions, while the information collected remains constant. Other supplemental forms that were developed by the Weather Bureau/Weather Service for recording hourly meteorological observations also appear in this series.

Related materials can be found in Dartmouth College Library by searching the Dartmouth College Information System (DCIS). In-house vertical and photograph files on the Observatory and individuals related to its history are located in Dartmouth College Library Special Collections. Other related items in Special Collections are: