Oral & video history documentation

The Lemelson Center's oral and video history projects increase historical documentation on invention and innovation in the United States.
Above: Guitarist G.E. Smith is featured in the Electric Guitar Video Documentation Project. Smithsonian photo by Jeff Tinsley.

Full descriptions of the following collections may be found by searching the archives and manuscripts section of SIRIS, the Smithsonian Institution Research Information System. Unless otherwise noted, all collections are housed in the NMAH Archives Center. For further information, contact the Archives Center Reference Desk.

Oral & video history documentation is listed in alphabetical order by subject of interview. Date of interview is in parentheses.

Paul MacCready, father of human-powered flight (2002) Born September 25, 1925 in New Haven, Connecticut; died August 28, 2007 in Pasadena, California. He began flying in his teens and received formal flight training from the Navy during World War II. After the war, MacCready earned a physics degree from Yale University and a doctorate in aeronautical engineering from California Institute of Technology. Paul MacCready, the father of human-powered flight, invented the Gossamer Condor and Gossamer Albatross. He also invented the Sunraycer, a solar-powered car. 9 original Beta Cam SP videos of interviews with Paul MacCready by Michael Judd, Lemelson Center educator. See related article »