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Melvin N. Gough Papers

 Collection
Identifier: Ms-1987-057

Scope and Content

The Melvin N. Gough collection spans from 1919 to 1971 and includes a wide variety of materials reflecting Gough's career as a test pilot, NACA administrator, and flight safety investigator. It is especially rich in materials from his years at Langley and equally rich on the topics of aviation safety and accident investigation procedures.

The papers are organized largely according to Gough's own filing system, and there is some degree of overlap in the contents of folders. Many of the folders include manuscript materials and other items such as magazine articles and newspaper clippings. The NACA reports and other documents that are individually listed include manuscript annotations, correspondence, or other items that make them unique. Documents published before 1930 are also listed individually, whether they have manuscript items associated with them or not. Other NACA reports and miscellaneous publications are arranged chronologically. NACA reports are usually grouped by year; other publications are grouped by decade.

Dates

  • 1919 - 1971

Creator

Language of Materials

The materials in the collection are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to research.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Biographical Note

Melvin N. Gough was born in Washington, D. C., in 1906. He received a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University in 1926. In the same year he began a long career with the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in Hampton, Virginia. From 1926 to 1958, Gough was successively an engineer, a test pilot (he was commissioned as a naval aviator in 1929), Chief Test Pilot, and Chief of Flight Research at NACA-Langley.

When the NACA became the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958, Gough transferred to Cape Canaveral, where he was Director of NASA Operations at the Atlantic Missile Range for two years. In 1960, he became Director of the Bureau of Safety for the Civil Aeronautics Board. From 1962 to 1964 he was Director of Aircraft Development of the Federal Aviation Agency, retiring from government service in 1964. He died on March 6, 1994.

Gough's professional organization memberships include the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (of which he was a Fellow) and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (also a Fellow). He served on the Board of Governors of the Flight Safety Foundation and was a charter member of the Society of Air Safety Investigators. He received the Octave Chanute Award for Test Pilots from the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences in 1941 for "outstanding contributions in the field of aeronautics"; the Distinguished Service Award from the Flight Safety Foundation in 1956 for "distinguished service in achieving safer utilization of aircraft"; and the Flight Safety Foundation's Laura Taber Barbour Award in 1960 for championing "through unstinting personal activity the cause of flight safety." For his contributions to aeronautical history, Gough was elected to the Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame.

Extent

30.9 Cubic Feet (22 boxes; 1 folder)

Abstract

The Melvin N. Gough collection spans from 1919 to 1971 and includes a wide variety of materials reflecting Gough's career as a test pilot, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) administrator, and flight safety investigator. Types of materials include NACA and Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development (AGARD) reports and documents, articles, correspondence, notes and speeches, and newspaper and magazine clippings.

Arrangement

The arrangement of the collection is chronological, with all the files within a given year arranged alphabetically. Where the contents of folders span two or more years, they are arranged by period, with all the entries for 1941-1943 (for example) before the entries for 1941-1944.

Physical Access

Material is in off-site storage and requires 2-3 days notice for retrieval. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives for further information.

Scope and Contents

The Melvin N. Gough Papers were donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 1987.

Related Archival Material

Virginia Tech Special Collections and University Archives also has the following related collections: Christopher C. Kraft Papers, Ms1985-001, Robert R. Gilruth Papers, Ms1990-053, and Hartley A. Soule Papers, Ms1987-004.

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Melvin N. Gough Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/).

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Melvin N. Gough Papers commenced and was completed in 1990.

Title
Melvin N. Gough Papers, 1919-1971
Status
Completed
Date
2009 (CC0 1.0)
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Revision Statements

  • 2020-08-19: Finding aid notes updated to new department standards. juliags
  • 2022-02-16: Tyler Williams updated titles, dates, and typos.

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech Repository

Contact:
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg Virginia 24061 US
540-231-6308