hydrological, and other scientific information, ca. 1847-91; diaries and journals of meteorological information, 17921889; scientific papers of Cleveland Abbe, ca. 1872-1909; and reminiscences of employees and miscellaneous historical information, 1907-46. RECORDS OF POLAR EXPEDITIONS. 1881-1923. 19 lin. ft. Included are correspondence, reports, journals, and scientific records of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition, 1881-86; letter books and journals of the expedition to Point Barrow, Alaska, 1881-83; and records of the expedition to Franz Joseph Land, 1898-99, and of the expedition to Refuge Harbor, Greenland, 1923. ADMINISTRATIVE AND FISCAL These records include station inspection reports, ca. 1871-1930, records describing weather stations, 1883-1904, annual reports of stations, 1888-96, building plans of Weather Bureau stations, 1896-1924, and letters received at Kitty Hawk, N.C., 1879-81, 1887-89, and 1895-96. CARTOGRAPHIC AND AUDIOVISUAL RECORDS. 18701965. 270,268 items. Cartographic records include maps of the United States (175,757 items) annotated to show surface weather conditions daily from 1870 to 1965, prepared by the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 1870-91, by the Weather Bureau Forecast Division, 1891-1941, and the Division of Synoptic Reports and Forecasts, 1941-65; historical synoptic maps (58,000 items) showing weather and related information for the Northern Hemisphere, prepared by the Meteorological Research Office in cooperation with the Army, Navy, Air Force, and certain colleges and universities, 1941-56; maps (19,506 items) published by the Division of Hydrologic Services and its predecessors, relating to U.S. river basins, 18971956; and charts (844 items) of the oceans and the Great Lakes relating to climatic conditions, which were pub lished monthly by the Marine Section of the Division of Operations and Reports, 1909-14. Audiovisual records (16,161 items) include photographs of personnel, facilities, projects, and meteorological instruments and apparatus of the Bureau, 1871-1945; of natural disasters, cloud formations, and freakish atmospheric conditions, 1871-1945; and of the Philippine rehabilitation project, 1947-50. See Lewis J. Darter, Jr., comp., List of Climato logical Records in the National Archives, SL 1 (1942); and Harold T. Pinkett, Helen T. Finneran, and Katherine H. Davidson, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Climatological and Hydrological Records of the Weather Bureau, PI 38 (1952). Microfilm Publications: Journal of Lockwood Expedition on North Coast of Greenland, April 3June 1, 1882, T298, 1 roll, and Climatological Records of the Weather Bureau, 1819-1892, T907, 564 rolls. RECORDS OF THE MARITIME ADMINISTRATION The Maritime Administration was established by Reorganization Plan No. 21, effective May 24, 1950, as one of the successor agencies to the U.S. Maritime Commission (see RG 178). It administers financial programs to develop, promote, and operate the U.S. merchant marine; determines services and routes necessary to develop and maintain American foreign commerce and requirements of ships necessary to provide adequate service on such routes; conducts research and development activities in the maritime field; regulates the transfer of U.S. documented vessels to foreign registry; maintains equipment, shipyard facilities, and reserve fleets of Government-owned ships essential for national defense; operates the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, N.Y.; and administers a grant-in-aid program for State-operated maritime academies in California, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and Texas. When the Federal Maritime Board (see RG 358) was abolished in 1961, its functions relating to the subsidization of the merchant marine were transferred to the Secretary of Commerce, who established the Maritime Subsidy Board within the Administration to perform these functions. This latter Board negotiates contracts for ship construction and grants operating-differential subsidies to shipping and shipbuilding companies. The Maritime Administrator is vested with the residual powers of the Director of the National Shipping Authority, which was established in 1951 in the Administration to organize and direct emergency merchant marine operations. There are 62 cubic feet of records dated between 1950 and 1962 in this record group. RECORDS. 1950-62. 74 lin. ft. These include the original directives and administrative orders or "actions" of the Administrator and Deputy Administrator, 1950-60, consisting of reports, letters, and memorandums having the force of regulations; "actions" of the National Shipping Authority, 1951-61, concerning the operation of vessels; transfer-of-registry orders, 1950-62, relating to sale and mortgage of U.S. ships abroad; surrender-of-document orders, 1950-62, with supporting memorandums, relating to changes in ownership, home port, tonnage, or name of owning company, owning company official, or vessel; the manual of orders of the Administrator; and the manual of management orders relating to the organization and functions of administrative units in the Administration (some of which relate to the Federal Maritime Board). RECORDS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (RECORD GROUP 370) The Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA), established in the Department of Commerce by Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1965, is a consolidation of the Coast and Geodetic Survey (see RG 23) and the Weather Bureau (see RG 27). The Administration studies the oceans, the lower and upper atmosphere, and the size and shape of the earth to further the safety and welfare of the public, enhance and improve the Nation's economy, and assist those Federal departments concerned with nation al defense, exploration of outer space, and management of natural resources. Its operations include basic and applied research, observations, processing data, and disseminating weather forecasts and warnings and information about other phenomena within its areas of study. ESSA consists of staff offices and the Environmental Data Service, the Weather Bureau, the Research Laboratories, the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and the National Environmental Satellite Center. Its field organization BUREAU OF MARINE INSPECTION AND NAVIGATION were Navigation laws were passed by the First Congress in 1789 and enforced by customs officers under the supervision of the Treasury Department. Federal circuit courts directly handled matters relating to shipment, care, and discharge of seamen until this work was taken over in 1872 by shipping commissioners appointed and supervised by the courts. In 1884 responsibility for the administration of navigation laws, including those administered by the shipping commissioners, was given to the Commissioner of Navigation, who, with the Bureau of Navigation established under his control, was placed under the general supervision of the Secretary of the Treasury. Congress in 1838 had provided for inspection of ship hulls and boilers by local inspectors appointed by U.S. district court judges and for the promulgation of minimum standards regarding lifesaving and firefighting equipment. By the Steamboat Act of 1852 the Steamboat-Inspection Service was formally established to formulate rules and regulations for uniform administration of steamboat inspection laws. A Supervising Inspector General for the Service, directly accountable to the Treasury Department, was provided for by an act of 1871. In 1903 both the Bureau of Navigation and the Steamboat-Inspection Service were transferred to the Department of Commerce and Labor. In 1913, when a separate Department of Labor was established, they remained in the Department of Commerce, but customs officers of the Treasury Department continued to serve as a part of the field force of the Bureau of Navigation. The two units were combined in 1932 to form the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection, to which was transferred in 1934 the Sea Service Section of the U.S. Shipping Board Bureau of the Department of Commerce, which had inherited the functions and records of the Shipping Board Recruiting Service. The Bureau in 1936 was renamed the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, and in 1942 its functions relating to merchant vessel documentation were transferred to the Bureau of Customs while those relating to merchant vessel inspection, safety of life at sea, and merchant vessel personnel were transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard. By Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1946 this separation was made permanent and the Bureau was abolished. On February 4, 1967, the merchant vessel documentation function was transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard, which on April 1, 1967, became part of the newly created Department of Transportation. See Lloyd M. Short, The Bureau of Navigation (Baltimore, 1923), and The Steamboat Inspection Service (New York, 1922). There are 11,659 cubic feet of records dated between 1774 and 1958 in this record group. GENERAL RECORDS OF THE BUREAU OF NAVIGATION. 17911935, with a few dated as late as 1937. 1,750 lin. ft. Included are volumes of letters sent, chiefly from the Secretary of the Treasury and the Commissioner of Navigation, 1865-1907, with one volume for the period 1814-27 and some letters to 1850; letters received, 1884-1906; and general correspondence, 1906-35. Many of the early volumes are indexed individually, and there is a comprehensive index for the period 1905-34. There are also dockets, 1884-1906, listing most letters and other records received, summarizing their contents, and noting action taken; and dockets of incoming letters and other records relating to navigation, tonnage, fines, penalties, and forfeitures, 1867-87, for which the original records are missing. The correspondence relates to remissions and mitigations of fines and penalties imposed under navigation laws, official numbers assigned to merchant vessels, vessel documents, international conferences on maritime matters, and safety regulations concerning motorboats and dangerous cargoes. Although a large part of the material relates to routine administration and functions of the Bureau, much of it has value for the historian and social scientist. For instance, there are letters relating to Cuban filibustering, 1895-96, negotiations of a fisheries treaty with Great Britain, 1880's, and "crimping" and other maritime labor practices, 18841906. There are also reference lists and volumes, 1791-1931, including a digest of decisions of the first comptroller, 17911819, and of decisions and instructions of the Secretary of the Treasury, 183363; records relating to navigation and tonnage statistics, 1793-1926; accounting records, 1833-1932, dealing chiefly with the collection of the tonnage tax, fines, and penalties; correspondence and other records relating to adoption of international regulations on safety of life at sea, 1813-32; records concerning codification of navigation laws and various international conventions on maritime regulations, 1919-30; logbooks of patrol vessels used in enforcing navigation laws, 192037; and a few photographs of Bureau officials. RECORDS OF THE STEAMBOAT INSPECTION SERVICE. 1838-1942. Records of the Supervising Inspector General. 1852-1941. 750 lin. ft. These consist of letters sent by the Supervising Inspector General, 1873-1905, a few letters received relating chiefly to personnel, 1852-1902, registers of letters received, 1866-1907, general correspondence, 1905-34, and letters sent by the Secretaries of the Treasury and of Commerce and Labor, 1852-1907. Many of the early volumes are indexed individually, and there is a comprehensive index for the period 1905-34. These records relate to Service inspection of vessels, licensing of officers, certification of crewmembers, and administration of laws and regulations for protection of life and property at sea. Also included are annual reports of local and supervising inspectors, 18521941; annual statistical statements, 1911-39; issuances, 1917-38; records relating to personnel and accounts, 18661933, and vessel casualties, 1871-1939; reports on foreign steam vessels inspected, 1882-1900; commissions issued to local inspectors, 1852-96; a bibliography of articles relating to steam vessels, printed in nautical magazines, 1937-41; correspondence and technical sketches of committees, principally the U.S. Load Line Committee appointed in 1928 by the Secretary of Commerce to study ship construction and loading, 1919-29; loadline certificates, 1921-40; and correspondence and other records regarding the adoption and enforcement of the international loadline convention signed at a 1930 conference at London, 193034. Records of the Board of Supervising Inspectors. 1852-1942. 75 lin. ft. This Board, established in 1852, formulated rules and regulations for administering steamboat inspection laws and approved equipment for merchant vessels. The records consist of journals of proceedings at annual and special meetings, 1852-1942, including minutes, annual inspection reports, decisions, and general rules and regulations; journals of the executive committee, 1936-38 and 1941; correspondence and blueprints relating to Regulations 1-3826 concerning proposed safety devices, 1911-42; circular letters and instructions implementing Board decisions, 1877-1941; samples of forms and placards, 1897-1941, many of which were posted by law in merchant. vessels; and compendiums of Board rules and regulations relating to pilots, vessel inspections, and safety devices, 1852-1941. Records of the Offices of Supervising and Local Inspectors of Steam Vessels. 1838-1942. 75 lin. ft. After 1852 local inspectors formed boards that were grouped geographically into supervising inspection districts, each under a supervising inspector. Supervising inspectors collectively constituted the Board of Supervising Inspectors. Duties of local inspectors included inspecting hulls, boilers, machinery, and lifesaving, firefighting, and other equipment to ensure safety on merchant vessels; examining, licensing, and certifying officers and crewmembers; investigating and trying licensed officers and certified personnel charged with negligence, misconduct, and other infractions of law; and conducting boat and fire drills. The records, which are fragmentary, comprise certificates of inspection of steam vessels issued by local inspectors at New Haven and Middletown, Conn., 1838-52; a journal, records relating to the issuance of licenses and certificates, and correspondence of local boards at Juneau and Sitka, Alaska, 1898-1942; orders of the Secretary of the Treasury kept by the local New York board, 188386; reports and certificates of inspection of the local Philadelphia board, 1845-71; correspondence and reports of the Supervising Inspector of the 3d District, Norfolk, 1869-71; records relating to licenses issued, revoked, and surrendered at the local Baltimore board, 186570; loyalty oaths and affidavits for officers of steam vessels, 1862-65, applications and certifications for licenses, 1861-67, and correspondence, blueprints of equipment, decisions on appeals, and an office diary of the office of the Supervising Inspector of the 6th District, Louisville, chiefly 1907-36; reports of investigations of the local Louisville board, 1895-1909; correspondence of the Supervising Inspector of the 7th Dis trict, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, 1908 |