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.