Collection Summary
Holden Chester Richardson
Papers
1844-1946
(bulk 1897-1944)
1844-1946
(bulk 1897-1944)
MSS53124
Richardson, Holden
Chester, 1878-1960
3,600
items
13 containers
5 linear feet
English
Collection material in
English
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Naval officer. General
and family correspondence, speeches, articles, book material, subject files,
and miscellany relating primarily to Richardson's activities in
aeronautics.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Fechet, James E. (James Edmond), 1877- --Correspondence.
King, Ernest Joseph, 1878-1956--Correspondence.
Pace, Ernest M. (Ernest Milton)--Correspondence.
Packard, Edward T.--Correspondence.
Richardson family--Correspondence.
Richardson, Holden Chester, 1878-
Wenzinger, Carl J. (Carl Joseph), 1903-1988--Correspondence.
Yates, Isaac I.--Correspondence.
Organizations
United States. Navy--Aviation.
Subjects
Aeronautics.
Naval aviation.
Occupations
Naval officers.
Provenance
The papers of Holden Chester Richardson, naval officer, were
deposited in the Library of Congress by the Naval Historical Foundation in 1967
and converted to a gift in 1998.
Processing History
The papers of Holden Chester Richardson were arranged and described in
1971. The finding aid was revised in 2011.
Additional Guides
In 1980 the Library published
Hilary Pollard Jones, Holden Chester Richardson: Registers of
Their Papers in the Library of Congress.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Holden Chester
Richardson is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17,
U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Holden Chester Richardson are open to research.
Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to
visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to
retrieve these items for research use.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Holden Chester Richardson Papers,
Naval Historical Foundation Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1878, Dec.7
Born, Shamokin, Pa.
1901
Graduated, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.
1901
1904
Duty in USS
Massachusetts
circa 1906
Married Margaret Jones (later divorced)
1907
M.S. degree, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
Mass.
1912
Duty as naval constructor
1915
Designated naval aviator
1916
1918
Construction officer, Pensacola, Fla.
1919
Pilot, Plane NC-3, transatlantic flight
1919
1923
Chief engineer, Naval Aircraft Factory, Philadelphia,
Pa.
1923
1929
Member, Bureau of Aeronautics, U.S. Navy
1926
Promoted to captain
1928
Published
Aircraft Float Design
. New York: Ronald Press Co.
1929
Retired from the U.S. Navy
1929
1933
Director of engineering, Allied Motor Industries, Chicago,
Ill.
1934
Recalled to active duty
1934
1946
Duty in the Bureau of Aeronautics
1942
Published with Wellwood E. Beall and Charles W. Manly
Flying Boats
. New York: National Aeronautics Council
1943
Married Diana Rawlings
1952
Released from active duty
1960 Sept. 2
Died, Bethesda, Md.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Holden C. Richardson (1878-1960) span the years
1844-1946, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1897-1944.
The papers relate chiefly to Richardson's career and services in the field of
aeronautics and consist of general and family correspondence, speeches,
writings, a subject file, photographs, and other papers.
The subject files include blueprints, charts, reports, and patents
documenting Richardson's contribution in the field of aeronautics and naval
aviation. He was one of the first naval pilots, and he flew test flights of
naval aircraft. His patents for floats for airplanes and an airplane catapult
used for launching seaplanes from battleships are in the subject file. In the
1930s he worked with several companies that attempted to design airplanes that
would be powered by steam.
The family correspondence consists chiefly of Richardson's letters to
his parents, brother, and sister, 1897-1917. For the 1936-1937 period it
contains letters from Diana Rawlings, who was to become his second wife.
Richardson's early letters to his parents discuss his social activities and his
studies and cruises while he was a midshipman at the United States Naval
Academy. The general correspondence consists of incoming letters, carbons of
outgoing letters concerning both official and personal matters, and reports and
memoranda. Correspondents include James E. Fechet, Ernest Joseph King, Ernest
M. Pace, Edward T. Packard, Carl J. Wenzinger, and Isaac I. Yates.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is organized by type of material.
Catalog Record: [https://lccn.loc.gov/mm70053124]
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Aviator flight logbooks and report,
1919-1945 (3 vols. and unbound report)
1
General correspondence
1
1907-1944, June
1907-1944, June
(7
folders)
2
1944, July-1945
1944, July-1945
(4
folders)
2
Family correspondence
2
1897-1899
1897-1899
(7
folders)
3
1900-1902
1900-1902
(8
folders)
4
1903-1919, undated
1903-1919, undated
(7
folders)
5
Writings
5
“Airplane Banking”
5
“Big Flying Boats”
5
“Experiments with Models of
Hulls for Hydro-Aeroplanes for the United States Navy”
5
“Factors Involved in High
Airplane Speed at Great Altitudes,”
1920
1920
5
“History of Naval Aviation,”
unpublished book
5
Typed draft
(2 folders)
5
Holograph notes
5
Note cards
(2 folders)
6
Note cards
7
Note cards
7
“Hydromechanic Experiments With
Flying Boat Hulls,” 1914
7
“A New Disease, Navy Fever”
7
“Prophecy in Retrospect,”
Southern Flight
, with notes and illustrations, 1943
7
“St. Pierre, Martinique”
7
“Steam Power Plant for Aircraft”
7
“Tank Testing of Models of
Seaplane Floats”
7
“What Naval Architecture Can
Teach the Aeronautical Engineer”
8
Subject files
8
Aeronautics
8
Air force and moment for design
no. 91 amphibian
8
Air craft design
8
Airplane horsepower
curves
8
Bureau of Aeronautics, material
design
8
Cabin plane
8
Front view
8
Plan view
8
Side view
8
Curtiss geared conqueror
engine
8
Design of airplane hull and
floats
(2
folders)
8
“Developable Surfaces in Naval
Architecture”
8
E. H. P. velocity
curves
(2
folders)
9
Eiffel design
9
Floats
9
Aircraft design
floats
9
Beam formula to determine
proportions
9
Float and boat designs
9
Service floats and boats
9
Curves of lift and drift for
airplane float model no. 1845
9
PBN-triple float
9
Seaplane floats
9
Great Lakes Aircraft
Corp.
9
Amphibian landing gear
9
Cirrus engine data
9
Diesel engines
9
McDonnell airplane
9
Model amphibian hull
9
Steam power plant calculations
9
Steam power plant for aircraft
and marine installation
10
Hydrofoils data
10
Hydroplane
10
Hydrovane
10
Liberty engines
10
Airplane design chart, speed
10
HD-4, report
10
NC flying boat,
report
10
Outboard motor
10
PB-1 (Boeing patrol boat),
reports
10
Pontoon for use with
Burgess-Wright airplane
10
Propellers
10
Design
(2
folders)
10
Powerplants
10
Three-bladed air
propeller
10
Two-bladed air propeller
(2 folders)
(2 folders)
10
R.A.F.6
11
Resistance of cabin fuselage with
various windshields
11
System of steam generation as
applied to airplane power units
11
Transatlantic flying boat
11
U.S. patents
11
“Airplane catapult,”
1928
1928
11
“Float for aeroplanes,”
1916-1917
1916-1917
11
Patents of others,
1885-1933
1885-1933
11
Wind tunnel tests on airplane
wheel cowlings
11
Wing stress analysis
11
Miscellaneous blueprints, charts,
and reports (3 folders)
12
Miscellany
12
Biographical file
12
Certificates and a commission
12
Miscellaneous items including
calling cards, invitations, programs, and a notebook
12
Naval academy, Annapolis,
Md.
12
Academic class reports
12
Announcements, programs, pay
voucher, account statement
12
Class papers
12
Examinations
12
Material related to social
life
13
Newspaper clippings,
1844-1946
1844-1946
(2
folders)
13
Photographs
13
Printed matter,
1911-1946
1911-1946
(7
folders)