Records of the Harvard College Observatory Director Donald H. Menzel

The Harvard College Observatory was founded in 1839 by the Harvard Corporation after decades of attempts to develop an observatory at Harvard University. Under the Observatory's first two directors, William Cranch Bond and his son, George Phillips Bond, the Observatory began an extensive study of the Orion Nebula and Saturn, discovering the eighth satellite of Saturn, Hyperion in 1848; and the dark inner ring of Saturn (the Crepe Ring) in 1850. Pioneers in astrophotography, the Bonds produced the first recognizable daguerreotype of the Moon and the star Vega in 1850; and the first photographic print of the Moon in 1857. The Observatory became the world's foremost producer of stellar spectra and magnitudes, established an observing station in Peru, and applied mass-production techniques to the analysis of data during the directorship of Edward C. Pickering from 1877 to 1919. Harlow Shapley, director of the Observatory in the 1950s, expanded the scope of the Observatory's galactic research tracking minor planets and asteroids in the Solar System and increasing its telescopic power with the establishment of the Oak Ridge station, also known as the George R. Agassiz Station, in Harvard, Massachusetts. In the 1960s and 1970s, Observatory directors Donald H. Menzel and Leo Goldberg maintained programs in solar and stellar astrophysics and space astronomy. In 1973, the Harvard College Observatory and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (founded in 1890) merged to form the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The Center is a research institute that carries on studies in astronomy, astrophysics, earth and space sciences, and science education.

Donald Howard Menzel (1901-1976), astronomer and astrophysicist, was the acting director of the Harvard College Observatory from 1952 to 1954, and then was appointed permanent director, a position he held until his retirement in 1966. Menzel received his AB degree in chemistry in 1920 and an AM degree in chemistry and mathematics the following year from the University of Denver. From Princeton University, he received an AM in astronomy in 1923, and a PhD in astrophysics in 1924. Before joining the Harvard College Observatory in 1932, Menzel was an instructor at the University of Iowa (1924 to 1925), an Assistant Professor at Ohio State University (1925 to 1926), and Assistant Astronomer at Lick Observatory of the University of California (1926 to 1932).

Menzel's general field of research included astrophysics, with a specialization on problems related to the sun and the solar system, and the interpretation of stellar and nebular spectra. During his lifetime, he participated in sixteen solar eclipse expeditions. Under Menzel's leadership, the Harvard College Observatory became a significant center for radio astronomy and space research. His most notable achievement was bringing the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory from Washington, D.C. to Cambridge, to share facilities with the Harvard College Observatory, which resulted in the establishment of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in 1973. Menzel held several positions at Harvard University, including Assistant Professor (1932 to 1935), Associate Professor (1935 to 1938), Professor of Astrophysics (1938 to 1954), Paine Professor of Astronomy (1954 to 1970), and Associate Director of Solar Research (1946 to 1954).

Over the course of his career, Menzel published more than 25 books, several of which discussed UFOs, a topic about which he felt strongly. In 1968, Menzel testified before a United States House Committee on Science and Astronautics Symposium on UFOs, explaining that he considered all UFO sightings to have natural explanations and that they were not evidence of alien life.

He married Florence Kreager in 1926; they met during Menzel’s time as a professor at Ohio State, where she was a student. Florence was always involved in Observatory functions, becoming friendly with Observatory students, faculty, and employees. The couple had two daughters, Suzanne and Elizabeth.

Menzel retired as director of the Harvard College Observatory in 1966, following health issues stemming from a heart attack. He died in 1976.