H. Bradford Washburn, Jr. Papers

Bradford Washburn (born Henry Bradford Washburn, Jr.) was born on June 7, 1910 in Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in Cambridge with his father Henry Bradford Washburn (an Episcopal deacon and Dean of the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge), his mother Edith Hall Washburn, his young brother Sherwood, and his older half- sister Mabel Hall Colgate.

In July 1921, an 11-year-old Washburn had his first significant mountaineering experience when he climbed Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Over the next few years he made numerous return trips to Mount Washington and other peaks in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains and then, in 1926, began several years of regular mountaineering trips to the Alps. As a result of these experiences, the teenage Washburn acquired a reputation as a respected mountaineer and published several pieces on the subject.

In 1929, Washburn began his freshman year at Harvard. Although he majored in French Literature and History, he maintained his interest in mountaineering by taking courses at the newly established Institute of Geographical Exploration and by giving paid lectures about his exploits. Throughout the 1930s, as he completed his undergraduate degree and became a lecturer at the Institute of Geographical Exploration, Washburn participated in a number of mountaineering and scientific trips, including: the Harvard-Dartmouth Alaskan Expeditions and the first ascent of Mount Crillon (1933-1934), the National Geographic Yukon Expedition (1935), the first ascent of Mount Lucania (1937), and others. During this period, he also began the aerial photography work that would be a hallmark of his career.

On a flight to Philadelphia in November 1938, Washburn happened to meet John K. Howard, President of the Boston Society of Natural History, who was looking for help in saving the Society’s New England Museum of Natural History. Washburn was interested in the offer, which offered him more stability than his lecturing work at Harvard, and on March 1, 1939 became Director of the Museum.

Soon after beginning his new career, he met Barbara Polk, a Smith College graduate hired as his secretary. They were married on April 27, 1940 and raised three children together. Barbara accompanied her husband on many of his cartographic and mountaineering expeditions, beginning with a first ascent of Mount Bertha, Alaska on their honeymoon. Notably, Barbara was the first woman to summit Denali, a feat she accomplished while accompanying Brad on a 1947 expedition called “Operation White Tower.”

From 1942 through 1945, Washburn temporarily left his post at the Museum to serve as a civilian advisor for the United States Air Corps, where he participated in field tests of cold weather equipment in Alaska. After the war, Washburn returned to the New England Museum of Natural History, which was suffering from low attendance, budget problems, and an antiquated facility. Upon his return, he soon convinced the trustees of the Museum that the best solution would be to close down the old Museum, seek out a new site, and construct a new Museum that encompassed all of the sciences, not just natural history. In December, 1948, the Museum signed a 99-year lease with the Metropolitan District Commission (at one dollar per year) for a park site on the Charles River Dam, which was dubbed “Science Park.”

In late 1947, Washburn was recruited for an expedition to Amne Machin, a mountain in China reputed to be taller than Mount Everest. The expedition was initiated by Life Magazine with monetary support from Milton Reynolds, a Chicago-based entrepreneur who made his fortune manufacturing ballpoint pens. The Museum of Science was approached by Life Magazine and agreed to lend its name to the expedition (although it could not afford to provide any funds), as well as the services of its Director, Bradford Washburn. Planning for the trip took place throughout the first half of 1948, during which time Washburn traveled to China to meet with government officials and work out the logistics. However, the expedition was plagued by setbacks from the start, as Reynolds had exaggerated the degree to which the Chinese government had approved the expedition and he proved to be consistently uncooperative with other members of the group. The expedition was called off in April, 1948 after a mishap with the airplane. Reynolds subsequently fled China without permission and Washburn returned to the United States soon after.

The first building of the Museum of Science opened its doors on March 12, 1951. Throughout the next 30 years Washburn spent much of his time raising money and overseeing construction. He proved to be an able fundraiser; among the major donors he solicited were: the Charles Hayden Foundation (which funded the construction of the Hayden Planetarium), Mrs. Elihu Thomson (whose late husband would become the namesake of the Theatre of Electricity), and the Countway Charitable Foundation (which contributed a large sum to the completion of the Museum’s central building).

Washburn’s responsibilities as Director extended well beyond fundraising, as he had a hand in virtually every aspect of the Museum’s management. He played an active role in the creation of new exhibit content and was in frequent communication with the corporate partners that supplied many of the Museum’s early exhibits. In addition, Washburn was a relentless advocate for the Museum’s interests in government policy. For example, he oversaw the establishment, in 1954, of a program funded by the Metropolitan District Commission to provide free Museum admission to school groups. He also advocated for the construction of an M.B.T.A. station at Science Park, which opened in 1955.

In 1957, Brad and Barbara took an extended trip across Europe to tour over two dozen museums and learn as much as they could about exhibit design, construction, budget strategies, and educational philosophies. This trip contributed to a body of knowledge that made Washburn a respected figure in the field of museum administration. He was in frequent communication with other museum directors and served on planning and advisory boards for numerous institutions, including the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington.

To honor Washburn’s 25th anniversary at the Museum, the Board of Trustees established the Bradford Washburn Award in 1964. The Award is given annually to an individual in recognition of significant contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of science. Recipients of the Award during Washburn’s tenure included: Jacques- Yves Cousteau (1965), Jane Goodall and Hugo Van Lawick (joint recipients, 1974), and Arthur C. Clarke (1977).

During his time at the Museum of Science Washburn still found opportunities to pursue mountaineering, photography, and cartography. Notable achievements include: completing a new map of Denali based on aerial photographs in 1960, leading a 1965 mapping expedition to Mount Kennedy (a mountain in the Yukon named as a memorial to the President), and conducting surveying trips to the Grand Canyon that culminated in the publication of two new maps in 1978 and 1981.

After 41 years as the Director of the Museum of Science, Washburn retired in 1980. In his retirement, he continued his involvement in the Museum of Science for the rest of his life, acting as Chairman of the Corporation, then Honorary Director, and finally Founding Director. He also continued to pursue his career in cartography. Most significantly, he led a 1984 National Geographic effort to produce a highly-detailed map of Mount Everest through the use of aerial photography and GPS.

Another project Washburn undertook during his retirement was to continue his efforts to discredit Frederick Albert Cook’s claim of the first ascent of Denali in 1906. Washburn had begun these efforts in 1956 with an article in Life Magazine. The crux of Washburn’s argument was that Cook could not have made the ascent in the time frame given and with the equipment he purported to carry. Additionally, Cook’s photographs and subsequent testimony contradict his claim to have reached the summit. Washburn renewed his interest in these claims in the 1990s and in 1996 he organized and participated in a mock trial in Fairbanks, Alaska at which he presented his evidence against Cook’s claims before a panel of judges.

Bradford Washburn died on January 10, 2007 in Lexington, Massachusetts. He was survived by Barbara (who passed in 2014), their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.