The materials are arranged chronologically.
Unprocessed additions (listed as Accession No. PA.2000.0001, Accession No. PA.2000.0013, Accession No. PA.2007.0024, Accession No. PA.2010.0019, Accession No. PA.2011.0014, Accession No. PA.2014.0009) follow the processed portion of the collection; the unprocessed additions are arranged in the order received.
[identification of item], Henry Brecher Papers, SPEC.PA.56.0030, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program, Ohio State University
Contains audiocassettes. Contains 469 megabytes. The file format is unknown.
Accession No. PA.2000.0001: Henry Brecher, 2000; Accession No. PA.2000.0013: Henry Brecher, 1999 December; Accession No. PA.2007.0024: Henry Brecher, 2007; Accession No. PA.2010.0019: Henry Brecher, 2010 November; Accession No. PA.2011.0014: Henry Brecher, 2011 March; Accession No. PA.2014.0009: Henry Brecher, 2014 December; Method of acquisition for some contents unknown.
Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the University Archives reading room only. Audiovisual materials and computer media may need a use copy produced before access is allowed. Contact the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program at polararchives@osu.edu for more information.
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.
Processed by: Polar student employees; Finding aid written by: Karen Glenn, 2018 January; Sierra Sales, 2026 February; Audrey Wimbiscus, 2026 April
Henry Heinz Brecher was an American engineer and polar expedition member active in the latter half of the twentieth century. Brecher joined Operation Deep Freeze V in 1959 to Byrd Station in Antarctica to study auroras and later joined the Victoria Land Traverse expedition traveling from Byrd Station to Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in 1960. During the expediton, he took snow measurements for Richard Goldthwait of Ohio State University’s Institute of Polar Studies (now the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center). Brecher was invited to work with Goldthwait at Ohio State in 1965, marking the start of his 60-year commitment to the Byrd Center. He participated in numerous field campaigns to Antarctica, Africa, Greenland, Canada, and Peru, working with various Byrd Center research teams. Brecher retired from Ohio State University in 1988, but continued to collaborate at the Byrd Center. Brecher passed away in 2024.
The Henry Brecher Papers, dated 1958-2007, contains photographic slides, photograph prints, notes, and reports documenting Henry Brecher's field work in Antarctica, Greenland, Canada, Peru, China and Tanzania. Captions are written on the slides. Brecher's diary and reports documents his work with Operation Deep Freeze V and the Victoria Land Traverse, which was the first American traverse to the South Pole from 1959-1960. Maps of mountains and regions in Antartica and digital reproductions of the slide images are included in this collection. Also included is an oral history interview on audiocassette of Brecher conducted in 1999 with a transcript; in it, he discusses how he became involved in Antarctic expeditions, as well as memories of the South Pole Traverse he participated in. Finally, the collection contains topographic maps and orthophotic maps of a landslide on Sherman Glacier, Alaska; Brecher plotted these maps for use by Cedomir Marangunic in his dissertation.
Accession No. PA.2000.0013, dated 1999-2000, consists of audio recordings and a transcript of the interview of Henry Brecher conducted by Raimund Goerler on December 28, 1999. This interview was a part of a series of polar oral histories sponsored by the American Polar Society and Ohio State University's Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Program, with funding from the National Science Foundation. Major topics discussed include Brecher's time working in Antarctica, aurora observation in Antarctica, the first American traverse to the South Pole, and Brecher's work with the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center.
Contains audiocassettes.
Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the University Archives reading room only. Audiovisual materials may need a use copy produced before access is allowed. Contact the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program at polararchives@osu.edu for more information.
Also available online:
Accession No. PA.2010.0019 dates from 1968-1969, and consists of six original topographic maps of the landslide on Sherman Glacier, Alaska; Henry Brecher plotted these maps for use by Cedomir Marangunic. Marangunic used them while writing his dissertation "Effects of a Landslide on Sherman Glacier, Alaska” at the Ohio State University.
Accession No. PA.2011.0014 dates from 1969, and consists of Sherman Glacier, Alaska orthophoto map negatives Sherman Glacier, Alaska; Henry Brecher photographed these orthophoto maps for use by Cedomir Marangunic. Marangunic used them while writing his dissertation "Effects of a Landslide on Sherman Glacier, Alaska” at the Ohio State University.
Contains 469 megabytes. The file format is unknown.
Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the University Archives reading room only. Computer media may need a use copy produced before access is allowed. Contact the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program at polararchives@osu.edu for more information.