Large subsidy for Leiden Observatory

8 July 2008
The national conserving programme Metamorfoze granted €100,000 to conserve and digitalise the archives of the Leiden Observatory from the period 1830-1940. This concerns a cooperation between the Faculty of Science and the University Library of Leiden University. The subsidy comes shortly after the granting of a ‘super subsidy’ of €2.9 million for the restauration of the old observatory in Leiden’s city centre.
The archive is now kept at the Observatory. After an inventory is made, the archive will be digitalised and packed in acid-free boxes. Next, it will be transported to the University Library where it can be kept in a safe and climatised environment. Of course the archive will remain available for research. The inventory and the digital images will be made accessible via Digital Special Collections .
Letters from Einstein
The archive’s core consists of the collections of Frederik Kaiser (1808-1872, founder of the modern Leiden Observatory) and Willem de Sitter (1872-1934, director of the Observatory from 1918 and pioneer in modern cosmology). In addition there are objects from H.G. van de Sande Bakhuyze and Ejnar Hertzsprung, and their staff and students (among whom Jan Oort). The Leiden astronomers kept in close contact with prominent scientists from all over the world. As a result the archive also contains letters from Einstein, Lorents, Kapteyn, Lemaître, Leverrier, Quetelet and numerous others.
International interest
There is a lot of interest in the archive, both nationally and internationally. Dutch astronomers have ranked among the world top over the past one and a half century. The Leiden Observatory played an important role and continues to do so. The Observatory archive is the most important source for the history of modern Dutch astronomy. It provides a unique view behind the scenes of science: not only for research, but also for administrative and financial course of events.
Metamorfoze
Metamorfoze is a national programme for the conservation of paper heritage. It is coordinated by the National Library of The Netherlands and the Nationaal Archief and financed by Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
Five prominent pioneers
On the photo you can see five prominent pioneers of the Theory of General Relativity: Albert Einstein, A.S. Eddington, Paul Ehrenfest, H.A. Lorentz and Willem de Sitter. De Sitter  was one of the first to study the astronomical consequences of the new theory, which made him one of the founders of modern cosmology.Moreover he played a key part in the distribution of knowledgeabout the theory to the Anglosaxon world. The archive contains elaborate correspondence between these scientists, including 18 letters from Einstein.
More information on the conservation project
For information about the project you can contact: Dr. David Baneke, responsible for the archive at Leiden Observatory; tel. (+31) (0)71 5278412 Arend Pietersma MA, curator of archives at Leiden University Library.