Guide to the William E. Molett Papers, circa 2002 SPEC.PA.56.0136 Finding aid prepared by Audrey Wimbiscus Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections

1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210

2025 November This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2025-11-20T13:16-0500 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard William E. Molett Papers SPEC.PA.56.0136 Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 0.2 Cubic feet circa 2002 William E. Molett (1919-2005) was a member of the United States Air Force (USAF) who specialized in polar navigation. The William E. Molett Papers consist of reviews of Molett's writings on Robert Peary and polar navigation, latitudinal and longitudinal calculations related to his research on Peary's North Pole trip, several articles by Molett, and a spiral bound book of personal writings and drawings by Molett. All items in the collection are photocopies, made circa 2002, of original documents dating from the 1970s through 2003; the original item dates are listed in their titles. (1) 2.5" letter document box English Molett, William E. Arrangement of Materials

Materials are arranged in chronological order by the original item date, which are listed in each item's title.

Acquisitions Information

Accession No. PA.2003.0010: William E. Molett, 2003 December

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], William E. Molett Papers, SPEC.PA.56.0136, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program, Ohio State University

Access to Materials

Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the University Archives reading room only. Contact the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program at polararchives@osu.edu for more information.

Use of Materials

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.

Processing Information

Processed by: Audrey Wimbiscus, 2025 November; Finding aid written by: Audrey Wimbiscus, 2025 November

Biographical Note

William E. Molett (1919-2005) was a member of the United States Air Force (USAF) who retired as a Lieutenant Colonel after serving as a navigator in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. He specialized in polar navigation, and taught classes to other members of the USAF on how to navigate in polar landscapes. Molett was the author of Robert Peary & Matthew Henson at the North Pole (1996), where he used his expertise on polar navigation to determine whether they reached the North Pole based on their latitudinal and longitudinal measurements taken during the trip. He also wrote and illustrated a short story called "Wilbur the Lion" in 1947 that was turned into a stop motion animated movie in 1947.

Scope and Contents

The William E. Molett Papers consist of reviews of Molett's writings on Robert Peary and polar navigation, latitudinal and longitudinal calculations related to his research on Peary's North Pole trip, several articles by Molett, and a spiral bound book of personal writings and drawings by Molett. These writings and drawings are on a variety of biographical and fictional writing, as well as poetry and prose, and also contain the images and text for his short story "Wilbur the Lion." All items in the collection are photocopies, made circa 2002, of original documents dating from the 1970s through 2003; the original item dates are listed in their titles.

Molett, William E. Peary, Robert E. (Robert Edwin), 1856-1920 United States. Navy--Aviation United States. Navy--Officers Airplanes, Military--Piloting--Polar regions--20th century Explorers--North Pole--20th century Flight navigators, Military--Polar regions--20th century Geography--Polar regions--20th century "Average Heading: Polar DR" by William Molett 1970s photocopy 1 1 circa 2002 Writings and Drawings by William E. Molett circa 1980s-2003 photocopy 1 2 circa 2002 Latitude and longitude calculations, Robert Peary research 1990s photocopies 1 3 circa 2002 Book review clippings 1991-1998 photocopies 1 4 circa 2002 "Due North? Byrd's Disputed Flight to the Pole" by William E. Molett in Mercator's World 1998 March-April photocopy 1 5 circa 2002