Materials are arranged in the order created during the interview process with the first file containing notes and correspondence created before, during, and after the interview.
Accession No. PA.2001.0023: Harley D. Nygren, 2001 November
[identification of item], Harley D. Nygren Oral History, SPEC.PA.56.0107, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program, Ohio State University
Contains audiocassettes.
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Processed by: Audrey Wimbiscus, 2020 December; Finding aid written by: Audrey Wimbiscus, 2021 August
Rear Admiral Harley Dean Nygren (1924-2019) began his career during World War II when he enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve in 1942. As part of the program, he graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor of science in 1945; he then was commissioned as an ensign in the Naval Reserve. During his time as an ensign, he also completed a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering at the University of Washington, finishing that degree in 1947.
Nygren left the Naval Reserve in 1947, and began working for the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey as a civilian deck officer; later that year, he was commissioned as an ensign in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps. He served on surveying expeditions to the Aleutian Islands, the Territory of Alaska, and Antarctica, as well as in the Pacific Ocean. In 1964, Nygren became the Chief of the Planning Staff for the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps, and was involved in the creation of a new United States Government scientific organization, the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA); ESSA controlled both the United States Weather Bureau, and the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps.
Nygren was an officer in the ESSA Corps until 1970, when it was replaced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He was the Acting Director of the NOAA Corps from October 1970 until February 1971, when he was appointed the first Director of the NOAA Corps by President Nixon. Nygren represented NOAA on projects and task forces related to maritime issues. He retired from his post as NOAA Corps director in January 1981, with the rank of rear admiral. Nygren passed away in 2019; Mount Nygren in Antarctica is named for him.
The Harley D. Nygren Oral History, dated 2001 and 2009, contains audio recordings, administrative information, and transcripts of the interview between Harley D. Nygren and Brian Shoemaker of the American Polar Society conducted on November 1, 2001. 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 Nygren's career as an officer in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps, surveying expeditions in the polar regions, experiences in Antarctica as a part of the United States Antarctic Treaty Inspection team, and his role in the creation and administration of the Environmental Science Services Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.