Boller and Chivens was an American manufacturer of high-quality

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe ...

s and

spectrograph An optical spectrometer (spectrophotometer, spectrograph or spectroscope) is an instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically used in spectroscopic analysis to identify mate ...

s headquartered in

South Pasadena, California South Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,619, up from 24,292 at the 2000 census. It is located in the West San Gabriel Valley. It ...

History

Founded about 1946 by Harry Berthold Boller (1915-1997) and Clyde Cuthbertson Chivens (1915-2008). the company was acquired in 1965 by

Perkin-Elmer PerkinElmer, Inc., previously styled Perkin-Elmer, is an American global corporation focused in the business areas of diagnostics, life science research, food, environmental and industrial testing. Its capabilities include detection, imaging, inf ...

. In the 1950s, Boller and Chivens collaborated with Perkin-Elmer to develop and manufacture the large-aperture Baker-Nunn satellite tracking camera for the United States

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...

space satellite program.

In culture

A 41-cm (16-inch) Boller and Chivens

Cassegrain reflector The Cassegrain reflector is a combination of a primary concave mirror and a secondary convex mirror, often used in optical telescopes and radio antennas, the main characteristic being that the optical path folds back onto itself, relative to th ...

originally housed at the Harvard-Smithsonian

Oak Ridge Observatory The Oak Ridge Observatory (ORO, code: 801), also known as the George R. Agassiz Station, is located at 42 Pinnacle Road, Harvard, Massachusetts. It was operated by the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian as a facility of the Smiths ...

in Massachusetts is available for public use at the

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...

's Public Observatory Project on the

National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institut ...

in Washington, D.C.NASM AirSpace Blog, March 29, 2009.
an
NASM Public Observatory Project

Notes and references

{{reflist

External links

www.bollerandchivens.com
a site by former employee Don Winans documenting the products made by Boller and Chivens. (Accessed 23 January 2012.)

* ttp://home.europa.com/~telscope/B&C Boller and Chivens image directory American companies established in 1946 Technology companies disestablished in 1965 Defunct technology companies of the United States Telescope manufacturers Instrument-making corporations South Pasadena, California 1940s establishments in California 1965 disestablishments in California 1965 mergers and acquisitions Technology companies established in 1946 Defunct manufacturing companies based in California