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TIlE LETfERS AND PAPERS OF JAN HENDRIK OORT AS ARCHIVED IN THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, LEIDEN ASTROPHYSICS AND SPACE SCIENCE LIBRARY VOLUME 213 Executive Committee W. B. BURTON, Sterrewacht, Leiden, The Netherlands J. M. E. KmJPERS, Faculty 0/ Science, Nijmegen, The Netherlands E. P. J. VAN DEN HEUVEL, Astronomical Institute, University 0/Amsterdam, The Netherlands H. VAN DER LAAN, Astronomical Institute, University o/Utrecht, The Netherlands Editorial Board I. APPENZELLER, Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Konigstuhl, Germany J. N. BAHCALL, The Institute/or Advanced Study, Princeton, U.S.A. F. BERTOLA, Universitii di Padova, Italy W. B. BURTON, Sterrewacht, Leiden, The Netherlands J. P. CASSINELLI, University o/Wisconsin, Madison, U.S.A. C. J. CESARSKY, Centre d'Etudes de Saclay, Gi/-sur-Yvette Cedex, France O. ENGVOLD, Institute o/Theoretical Astrophysics, University 0/ Oslo, Norway J. M. E. KmJPERS, Faculty 0/ Science, Nijmegen, The Netherlands R. McCRAY, University 0/Colorado, JILA, Boulder, U.S.A. P. G. MURDIN, Royal Greenwich Observatory, Cambridge, U.K. F. PACINI, Istituto Astronomia Arcetri, Firenze, Italy V. RADHAKRISHNAN, Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, India F. H. SHU, University o/California, Berkeley, U.S.A. B. V. SOMOV, Astronomical Institute, Moscow State University, Russia R. A. SUNYAEV, Space Research 'nstitute, Moscow, Russia S. TREMAINE: CIT).; University o/Toronto, Canada Y. TANAKA, Institute 0/ Space & Astronautical Science, Kanagawa, Japan E. P. J. VAN DEN HEUVEL, Astronomical Institute, University 0/Amsterdam, The Netherlands H. VAN DER LAAN, Astronomical Institute, University 0/ Utrecht, The Netherlands N. O. WEISS, University o/Cambridge, UK THE LETTERS AND PAPERS of JAN HENDRIK OORT AS ARCHIVED IN THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, LEIDEN by J. K. KATGERT-MERKELIJN Leiden Observatory, The Netherlands SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V. A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress ISBN 978-94-010-6432-3 ISBN 978-94-011-5764-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-011-5764-3 The portrait on the cover was painted in 1987 by Gerard de Wit (1931) and is reproduced with pennission of the Oort Family Printed on acid-free paper AU Rights Reserved © 1997 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1997 Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover Ist edition 1997 N o part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner. Jan Hendrik Oort, c. 1935 Page Inventory No. TABLE OF CONTENTS v PREFACE ix INTRODUCTION XI BIOGRAPHY xv 1. RESEARCH AND TEACHING 1.1. Research, general 1 1- 58 1.2. Specific research for special lectures 43 59- 64 1.3. Book reviews, biographies etc 45 65- 67 1.4. Popular lectures and articles 46 68-73 1.5. Courses of lectures at Leiden Observatory 49 74- 76 1.6. Other lectures 51 77- 81 1.7. Research ofcolleagues and students 52 82- 87 1.8. Lecture notes when a student 54 88- 89 1.9. Chapter 21 of Stars and Stellar Systems V; Book 55 90- 92 1.10. Notes on literature 56 93 2. CORRESPONDENCE 57 2.1. General correspondence 57 94-145 2.2. Personal correspondence 81 146-191 2.3. Strange letters and wild theories 92 192 2.4. Correspondence with foreign visitors 92 193 2.5. Correspondence on travel arrangements 93 194 2.6. Correspondence on projects financed by ZWO 93 195-196 2.7. Letters of recommendation 94 197 3. LEIDEN OBSERVATORY 95 3.1. Correspondence on the Observatory 95 198-210 at Hartebeespoortdam 3.1.1. Correspondence with Dr. and Mrs. Walraven 95 198 3.1.2. Other correspondence 95 199-210 3.2. Correspondence Rockefeller Telescope 98 211 3.3. Leids Sterrewacht Fonds 98 212 3.4. Leids Kerkhoven-Bosscha Fonds (LKBF) 98 213 v 3.5. Assistant Director 99 214-219 3.6. Director, 1945-1947 104 220-227 3.7. Kenya Expedition 106 228-231 3.8. Bosscha Observatory at Lembang 107 232-233 3.9. Diaries; day-to-day appointments 108 234 3.10. Jan Hendrik Oortfonds 108 235-236 4. LEIDEN UNIVERSITY III 4.1. Baccalaureate Committee, 1957-1960 III 237 4.2. Committee for the Development of Scientific III 238 Research 4.3. Boerhaave Museum for the History of Science 111 239 4.4. Academic Arts Committee III 240 4.5. Curatoren 112 241 4.6. Senate, 1951-1955,1963-1969 112 242-244 4.7. Faculty of Science 113 245-248 4.7.1. Council of the faculty of science 113 245 4.7.2. Faculty of science, General 113 246-248 4.8. Bachiene Foundation 114 249 4.9. Civitas Academica 114 250 5. ASTRONOMY IN THE NETHERLANDS 115 5.1. Netherlands Foundation for Radio Astronomy 115 251-263 5.1.1. Correspondence, 1944-1948 115 251 5.1.2. Correspondence SRZM-ZWO, 1959-1966 115 252-253 5.1.3. Research programmes, technical reports 115 254-262 5.1.4. Board meetings 118 263 5.2. Benelux Cross Antenna Project, 1958-1967 118 264-270 5.3. Space Research 122 271-277 5.3.1. GROC 122 271-273 5.3.2. Other 122 274-277 5.4. Bulletin of the Astronomical Institutes 123 278 of the Netherlands 5.5. Eclipse Commission 123 279 5.6. Summer course at Nijenrode, 1960 124 280 5.7. Scientific meetings 124 281-283 5.8. Dutch Telescope in Southern Europe 124 284 5.9. Academic Council, section Astronomy (SSAR) 125 285 vi 6. NETHERLANDS 127 6.1. KNAW (Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences) 127 286-287 6.2. Other learned societies and organizations, 127 288-288 both national and foreign 6.3. Speeches 128 289 6.4. Teacher's degree examinations, 1930-1941 128 290 6.5. Academic Council 128 291 6.6. KNMI (Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute) 128 292 6.7. Editorial Board of Natuur en Techniek 129 293 6.8. Christiaan Huygens 129 294 7. EUROPE 131 7.1. European Southern Observatory 131 295-297 7.2. Astronomy and Astrophysics, 1968-1972 131 298 7.3. Astronomy and Astrophysics, correspondence 132 299 and referee reports 7.4. European Conferences 132 300 7.5. Foreign Programme committees, 1971-1977 132 301-302 7.6. Astronomy in Germany, 1967 133 303 7.7. Pontifical Academy 133 304-305 7.8. Jury membership Prix Docteur A. de Leeuw 133 306 8. INTERNATIONAL (WORLD) 135 8.1. International Astronomical Union (IAU) 135 307-311 8.2. Inter-Union Committee for the Allocation 136 312 of Frequencies 8.3. International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) 137 313 8.4. Symposia 138 314-322 8.5. Foreign Visits, lectures, and seminars 144 323-332 8.6. Honours and prizes 149 333-335 8.7. International Computation Centre 152 336 8.8. Copernicus SOOth Anniversary celebrations 152 337 8.9. Periodical publications 152 338 8.10 Humanitarian Issues 153 339-340 vii 9. PERSONAL ARCHIVES 155 9.1 Correspondence 155 341-348 9.2 Documents and notes 156 349-358 9.3 Personal notes and diaries 158 359·361 9.4 Press cuttings 158 362 LIST OF PUBLICAnONS 161 LIST OF ABBREVIAnONS 173 NAME INDEX 176 SUBJECT INDEX 195 VJJJ PREFACE Some special names resound through the history of Leiden University: Boerhaave, to whose courses students flocked from all over Europe, Kamerlingh Onnes and Lorentz, who were awarded Nobel Prizes, and Huizinga and Snouck Hurgronje who enhanced the reputation of our university in the field of the humanities. Jan Oort should also be counted in this illustrious company. Oort is certainly among the most influential astronomers of the present century, and Leiden University is proud of having had so eminent a scientist in its midst. Of course a great part of Oort's significance extended well beyond the world of the University: his personal scientific research made him a leading figure in international astronomy, as did his organizational efforts on behalf of Dutch, European, worldwide astronomy. But he also contributed to University affairs, as Director of Leiden Observatory, as a member of the University Senate, and as Dean of the Science Faculty. He was actively involved in the organisation and evaluation of University teaching, and effectively concerned with furthering the physical sciences, at a time at which it seemed that the Netherlands were falling behind in training scientists in sufficient numbers to keep up with modern worldwide developments. He was a strong supporter of the ideal of the Civitas, the academic community of all students and staff that people strove to achieve after the second World War. This ideal led Oort to devote substantial amounts of time to the Leiden Academic Arts Center, as chairman of the section for pictorial arts. A classical university has an obvious dual responsibility: to create new knowledge and to convey knowledge to its students. But it also has an obligation to preserve knowledge. When after Oort's death a great deal of new material became available (augmenting that which had previously been inventoried with support from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research), Leiden University therefore decided to support the description and archiving of an encompassing collection of papers, letters, and other material describing the legacy of J.H. Oort. Through the efforts of Dr. Katgert-Merkelijn, the Leiden University Library now safely harbours in its Department of Western Manuscripts a remarkably complete collection of the papers and letters of a remarkably complete member of the University community, and, of course, of the international community of astronomers. On behalf of the board of Leiden University I am pleased to introduce the volume now lying before you.
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