Harry W. Ross papers
Abstract
The Harry W. Ross papers (dated 1852-1977, bulk 1911-1945; 1.2 cubic feet; 5 boxes) comprise correspondence, literary manuscripts, photographs, newspaper clippings, engineering notebooks, books, and realia that document his service in both World War I and World War II as well as on board the Nautilus submarine expedition to the Arctic in 1931.
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Harry W. Ross papers
- Date
- 1852-1977 (inclusive)
- 1911-1945 (bulk)
- Extent
- 1.2 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Submarines (Ships)
- World War, 1914-1918.
- World War, 1939-1945.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged by format.
- Preferred Citation
- 1997ms262 : [identification of item], Harry W. Ross papers, 1852-1977, bulk 1911-1945, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Harry William Ross (1889-1969) graduated from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1911 with an ensign's commission. He was then attached to the Destroyers and Battleships Division of the U.S. Navy, where he served on board numerous ships. In 1914 he took part in the occupation of Vera Cruz while on the USS Florida. Later he participated in the occupation of Nicaraugua. He served as lieutenant, junior grade, on submarines and mine sweepers in the North Sea during World War I. He also served as a lieutenant commander during World War II, serving in the European Theater particularly Italy, Algiers, and Morocco. His most notable ship experience was likely his participation as an executive officer of the Nautilus submarine transarctic exploration expedition led by Sir Hubert Wilkins (1888-1958) in 1931. The private Polar expedition was headed by Wilkins and assisted by the U.S. Navy. It employed a 150 foot long 0-12 reconverted Simon Lake Class submarine named the Nautilus. The vessel was equipped with runners on its top surface to coast along beneath the ice. In late August, 1931 the expedition's attempt to reach the North Pole was aborted after a damaged horizontal diving plane prevented the ship from diving deep enough to avoid submerged obstructions. On orders from the Department of the Navy, the Nautilus was sunk off the coast of Norway in September, 1931. While the Nautilus experienced difficulties that forced them to turn around before reaching the North Pole, it was the furthest any submarine had traversed at that time. During the expedition numerous scientific experiments were conducted and ice core samples taken.
- Between active duty in military operations, Ross worked as a printmaker and newspaper compositor. He learned the trade at a young age from his grandfather, who was a printmaker. He retired from the composing room of the Washington Post newspaper in 1965. He served in an official role in the East New York Post 65 of the Jewish War Veterans. He was married to Sybil Lippmann Ross (b. 1898) and they had two children, Babette Ross (1921-2010) and Marvin Ross (1924-1979).
- Scope and Content
- The Harry W. Ross papers (dated 1852-1977, bulk 1911-1945; 1.2 cubic feet; 5 boxes) comprise correspondence, literary manuscripts, photographs, newspaper clippings, engineering notebooks, books, and realia that document his service in both World War I and World War II as well as on board the Nautilus submarine expedition to the Arctic in 1931. Ross' long military career is represented by service assignments, discharges, and health records during World War I and World War II. There are also U.S. Navy and War Department publications, news releases, and D-Day invasion maps. Realia includes medals, ribbons, bars, whistle, magnifying glass, sewing kit, and other items related to his uniform. Ross wrote stories about his time in the service, which are reflected in his 1919 column in the New York American titled "Sailing the Ocean Blue! Tales of a Luckless Gob". Also in the collection are short stories and poems written by Ross.
- His correspondence is primarily professional and pertains to deployments and the Nautilus expedition. The Nautilus is represented with papers, notebooks, photographs, and clippings regarding the expedition. Reference material include books and tools that Ross used for navigation. Of partifular interest is a well-worn copy of The Kedge-Anchor or Sailor's Assistant by William Brady in 1852. A note included with the volume, which is missing its covers, describes it as a book Ross treated like a Bible. Photographs in the collection portray Ross on board ships and submarines, as well as on land visiting sites after the war.
- His later wife, Eve Ross, wrote numerous letters on behalf of securing a place for Harry's papers after his death; those letters are included in the collection and explain the collection's dates following Ross' death.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open to researchers by appointment
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
Literary manuscripts, 1919-1944, undated
Correspondence and personal papers, 1923-1977
Membership cards, financial records, ship tag, newsletter, United Synagogue of America convention report, 1932-1977
Professional correspondence, 1923-1958
Personal correspondence, 1931-1958
Eve Ross correspondence, 1963-1977
Lady Wilkins correspondence, 1959-1960
Rubber address stamp, undated
Military service and work at sea, 1907-1959, undated
Service records, 1923-1949
Medical records, 1943-1945
Ship: U.S.S. Ohio, 1907
Ship: U.S.S. Barne, 1944
Ship: S.S. Betty Zane (Liberty ship), 1943
Ship: S.S. Ville D'Anvers menus, 1943
Ship: S. S. Henry Jocelyn correspondence, timesheets, 1944
Steamship Charles Piez logbook cover (contents missing), undated
U.S. Navy and War Department publications and letterhead, 1941-1959
Pilot chart of the North Atlantic Ocean, 1941
WWII D-Day invasion maps and tactical maps for the Pacific, 1944
U.S. Navy discharge certificate, 1924
Whistle, undated
Sewing and mending kit, undated
U.S. Navy uniform details (buttons, insignias, bars, epaulets), undated
U.S. and State of New York WWI medals, 1917-1919
U.S. Navy Mexican Revolution medal, undated
Magnifying lens, undated
Jewish War Veteran medal, undated
Bullet, undated
Name tag, undated
Palm guards (four) used for sewing sail cloth, undated
Nautilus expedition, 1927-1976, undated
Nautilus expedition letterhead, undated
Arctic basin maps, 1927
Nautilus expedition description, undated
Harry Ross Nautilus notes, undated
Navigation notebook, undated
Navigation notebook, undated
Navigation notebook, undated
Sir Hubert Wilkins obituary and notes from a psychic, 1957-1976
Nautilus clippings, 1958
Nautilus newspaper clippings, 1931-1958
Nautilus newspaper clippings, 1931-1958
Clipping scrapbook, undated
Education and reference material, 1852-1945, undated
Class notes, undated
Mechanical notes, 1923
Engineering and navigation notes, undated
Reed's Ex-Meridian tables, Morse code indicator, undated
Ship signal notebook, undated
Diving, Submarine warfare, and military notes, undated
Work of the Signal Service in the Arctic Regions pamphlet, 1888
Star and constellation navigation tools, undated
Dutton, Commander Benjamin. Navigation and Nautical Astronomy, 1943
US Naval Institute, A Practical Manual of the Compass, 1921
Stowell, James A. Practical Marine Navigation, 1945
Wilson, Captain Russell. Watch Officer's Guide, United States Navy, 1941
Hastings, Frank Seymour. Navigation: A Short Course Explaining the Principal Problems Met with in Ordinary, Everyday Work at Sea, 1917
Brady, William. The Kedge-Anchor; or Young Sailors' Assistant, 1852
Newspaper clippings, 1919-1969
Travel, undated
Pompeii souvenirs, undated
Foreign currency and travel ephemera, undated
Rome souvenirs, including A Soldier's Guide to Rome pamphlet, undated
Postcards, undated
How to Get All You Want When Traveling in Germany, undated
Photographs, undated-1967
Harry Ross and family, 1923-1967, undated
Harry Ross in baseball uniform, undated
Harry Ross and others aboard USS Williamson, 1923
Harry Ross at ship controls, 1935
Harry Ross and men on board ship, negative, undated
Harry Ross on board ship, undated
Harry Ross and man beside hospital bed, undated
Harry Ross and sailors on deck of ship, undated
Harry Ross and officer in Roman ruins, undated
Harry Ross standing beside B-25 plane, undated
Harry Ross at parade, undated
Harry Ross with nurses, undated
Harry Ross with two unidentified soldiers, undated
Harry Ross at the controls of ship or submarine, undated
Harry Ross with unidentified women, undated
Harry Ross standing in front of monuments, undated
Harry Ross with dog on ship, undated
Harry Ross with unidentified man and woman, undated
Harry Ross with gun aboard ship, undated
Harry Ross with unidentified woman in front of monument, undated
Harry Ross and son, both in uniform, undated
Harry Ross at the printing press, undated
Harry Ross as tourist, undated
Captain Harry Ross and Captain Sloan Danenhauer, undated
Harry Ross as tourist, undated
Harry Ross, undated
Harry Ross and unidentified woman, undated
Harry Ross with unidentified man and woman, undated
Harry Ross with monkey, undated
Harry Ross with dog on ship, undated
Harry Ross oath of office negative, undated
Harry Ross, undated
Harry Ross in front of printing factory in Wales, undated
Harry Ross, unidentified nurse and Army officer, undated
Harry Ross, unidentified nurse and Army officer, undated
Harry Ross with pipe and newspaper, undated
Harry Ross at work later in life, undated
Harry Ross at controls of ship or submarine, undated
Harry Ross, undated
Harry Ross with crew on ship, undated
Harry Ross, undated
Harry Ross and unidentified man in Pozzuoli, Italy, 1944
Harry Ross with unidentified man on boat, undated
Harry Ross portrait, undated
Harry Ross standing next to ship, undated
Harry Ross with unidentified man, undated
Harry Ross, undated
Harry Ross, undated
Harry Ross with unidentified men, undated
Marvin Ross and son in Israel, 1967
Marvin Ross' son, 1967
WWII era photographs, circa 1944
Harry Ross aboard ship during World War II, undated
Harry Ross at cafe in France during World War II, undated
Harry Ross on ship, undated
Anti-aircraft weapons on ship, undated
Harry Ross and Lt. Charles H. Ross, Briston, England, on the US Pembleton AKA 249, 1943
Harry Ross in front of church or cathedral in Rome, undated
Harry Ross and unidentified man in Pozzuoli, Italy, 1944
Harry Ross during World War II, undated
Harry Ross with enlisted men and one woman during World War II, undated
Harry Ross and Charles Ross on ship during World War II, undated
Harry Ross in front of building, undated
Harry Ross in front of building, undated
Harry Ross with two unidentified men by medical Jeep, undated
Unidentified building, likely with damage from World War II, undated
Nautilus, circa 1931-1958, undated
Harry Ross and 13 men on board Nautilus, undated
Babette and Marvin Ross (children of Harry Ross) with Nautilus, 1931
Sir Hubert Wilkins, undated
Nautilus diagram, undated
Nautilus diagram, undated
Nautilus skipper presenting a plaque, 1931
Man opening valve on deck, undated
Men on the prow of the submarine, undated
Submarine (likely Nautilus) at sea, undated
Submarine (likely Nautilus) near Statue of Liberty, undated
Officers on board submarine, likely Nautilus, undated
Officers on board ship (likely Nautilus), undated
Sir Hubert Wilkins and Harry Ross, 1958
Nautilus diagram, 1958
Nautilus diagram, 1958
Nautilus diagram, 1958
Sir Hubert Wilkins and officer looking at diagram of the Nautilus, undated
Unidentified people and places, undated
Man in uniform with guns, Mexico, undated
Unidentified man and woman in Tampico, undated
Unidentified men resting in sombreros, undated
Unidentified people around a hovel, undated
Street scene with young girls during World War II, Italy, undated
Unidentified people around a hovel, undated
Street scene with young girls during World War II, Italy, undated
Ship's officers at controls, undated
Sea with ships in background, undated
The Washington Monument, Washington, D.C., undated
Ship in the ocean, undated
Ships, undated
Docked ships, undated
View of ocean from ship, undated
Ship, undated
Ship, undated
Three men wearing medals and one man in civilian clothes, undated
Joke image as example of Harry Ross' sense of humor, undated
Unidentified man in uniform, undated
Ruins, undated
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Table of Contents
- Abstract
- Descriptive Summary
- Collection Overview
- Preferred Citation
- Restrictions on Access and Use
- Contents of the Collection
- Literary manuscripts, 1919-1944, undated
- Correspondence and personal papers, 1923-1977
- Military service and work at sea, 1907-1959, undated
- Nautilus expedition, 1927-1976, undated
- Education and reference material, 1852-1945, undated
- Newspaper clippings, 1919-1969
- Travel, undated
- Photographs, undated-1967
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If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
