Scope and Content Note
The papers of Ray Eber Brown (1892-1962), a key figure in the navy's development of helium gas for lighter than air craft, span the years 1916-1962 with the bulk of the material between 1923 and 1962. The papers are arranged into Diaries , Correspondence , Subject File , Miscellany , and Oversize series and include diaries, correspondence, notebooks, personal papers, reports, articles, memoranda, blueprints, charts, graphs, specification sheets, photographs, and newspaper clippings. The papers document the study of airships, cryogenics, and the uses of helium.
The diaries are technical and not personal. Most of the letters in the Correspondence series are routine; much of the substantial professional correspondence in the papers is part of the personal file of the Subject File , which includes correspondence with naval officers and proponents of lighter-than-air craft such as Garland Fulton and Charles E. Rosendahl. The bulk of the Subject File reflects Brown's career as a naval architect and engineer, particularly his role in the navy's dirigible program and the development of cryogenic methods for storing and transporting helium in liquid form.