History of Astronomy: Archives and libraries

Oral history

• Oral History Project of Department of Space History, National Air and Space Museum
  Including Space Astronomy Oral History Project (SAOHP) and Space Telescope History Project (STHP)
• Oral History Research Center, Indiana University
  Including oral history of astronomy (see Collections List)

Individual archives and libraries

• Armagh, Northern Ireland, UK
  • Armagh Observatory archives
  • Scientific Instruments [at Armagh Observatory] and Their Related Correspondence by John McFarland
    Paper from LISA-II, ESO Garching, 10-12 May 1995
• Australia
  • Archival sources for astronomers
    Follow the hyperlinks "Archival sources" in the biographic documents
• Berlin, Germany
  • Deutsches Historisches Museum, German Historical Museum
    • Library (rare books)
      Including books by Apian, Galileo, Kepler etc.
    • Bibliothek - Rara (in German)
• Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
  • AAAE: Archives of American Aerospace Exploration
    • AAAE: Astronomers
• Bologna, Italy
  • Antique section of the library of the Bologna Observatory
  • Archives of the Bologna Observatory (Or see this older version)
  • Vultus Uraniae: Illustrations from the Library of the Department of Astronomy, University of Bologna
    A virtual exhibition about Urania, the Muse of Astronomy
• Cleveland, Ohio, USA
  • University Library, Case Western Reserve University
    • History of Science and Technology Collection
    • Special Collections
      • Manuscript Collections
        • Charles Greeley Abbot Collection
        • Cleveland Rocket Society Collection
      • History of Science and Technology (including astronomy)
      • Manuscripts
• Edinburgh, UK
  • Library and Archives of the Royal Observatory Edinburgh
• Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
  • University of Exeter Library - Special Collections and Manuscripts
    Including the Sir Norman Lockyer papers and maps
• Frankfurt a. M., Germany
  • Institutsbibliothek des Instituts für Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften (in German)
    A considerable part of this history of science library is devoted to astronomy.
• Hamburg, Germany
  • Hamburger Sternwarte, Bibliothek (in German)
    Holds a considerable amount of historical literature. The observatory has also archival material from its history, but this is not mentioned here.
  • Warburg-Archiv (in German)
    Aby Warburg did something for history of astronomy. The archives deal also with history of emigration in science.
• Houston, Texas, USA
  • Johnson Space Center History Archive
• Kiev (Kyiv, Kiew), Ukraine
  • 150th Anniversary of Astronomical Observatory Library by A.K.Osipov and T.M.Solntseva
    Paper from LISA-II, ESO Garching, 10-12 May 1995
• Konstanz, Germany
  • Universität Konstanz - Bibliothek
    Holds a relatively large amount of books on history of astronomy. Type in "astronomie" at this search interface setting "Suchtyp" to "Schlagwort(e)"- most of the books found are historically oriented. Or type in "wissenschaftsgeschichte" to find general history of science titles. In German, but including English and other books.
• London, UK
  • Astronomy in the Science Museum Library
  • The Royal Astronomical Society Library
    The collection includes also Rare (or Historic ) Books; Manuscripts; Photographs and other illustrations; Portraits; Telescope Illustrations; Instruments and Miscellaneous Relics.
• Madison, Wisconsin, USA
  • History of the Woodman Astronomical Library
• Manchester, UK
  • Jodrell Bank Archive (13 May 1996: still under construction)
  • Manchester Astronomical Society Archives at Manchester Central Library
• Naples (Napoli, Neapel), Italy
  • Il fondo antico della biblioteca dell' Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte (in Italian)
• Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
  • Jacques Maritain Center, University of Notre Dame
    • Charles de Koninck, Papers, 1934-1965
      Including papers on astronomy
• Paris, France
  • La Bibliothèque de l'Observatoire de Paris (in French)
  • The Paris Observatory Library
    including manuscripts and incunabula
• Pisa, Italy
  • Domus Galilaeana
    see Biblioteca for Galileo correspondence and publications (in Italian)
• Santa Cruz, California, USA
  • Project Will Preserve Historical Materials at Lick Observatory (from AIP Center for History of Physics Newsletters: Fall 1995)
• St. Petersburg, Russia
  • The Library of the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy of the R.A.S. by Maria V. Lapteva
  • The Library of the Pulkovo Observatory by Elena Potter
    Papers from LISA-II, ESO Garching, 10-12 May 1995
• Szombathely, Hungary
  • Old Astronomical Books in the Library of Gothard Observatory
• USA
  • A Guide to Sources for Air and Space History: Primary Historical Collections in United States Repositories
    Electronic Edition. Edited by Cloyd Dake Gull
• Washington, D.C., USA
  • Library of Congress
    Holds a large amount of history of astronomy books and manuscripts.
    • Manuscripts
    • Rare Books and Special Collections
    • Online Services
  • National Air and Space Museum, Archives Division
  • Office of Smithsonian Institution Archives
    Including astronomy and astrophysics (see also here for Latino Resources in history of astronomy)
• Wellington, New Zealand
  • Carter Observatory
    See the Heritage section

Research institutes and departments

This section has moved to the page History of Astronomy: Research institutes and departments.

See also:

• History of Science: Archives and libraries

To the History of Astronomy homepage