Gimbel Aeronautical History Library

From USAFA Folklore

The Colonel Richard Gimbel Aeronautical History Collection is housed in a specially equipped room on the sixth floor of the Academy's McDermott Library. The Gimbel Collection comprises an amazing array of items pertaining to the history of flight. Five thousand year-old seals carved from semi-precious stones document man's earliest dreams of flight. Included within the collections are over 5,000 books dating from the 15th century, letters and manuscripts pertaining to aeronautical events, artwork, commemorative medals, periodical literature and over 3,000 prints which reflect man's dream of flight.

Colonel Richard Gimbel was from the family that owned Gimbel department stores. He became a pilot during World War II and in 1951 was assigned to Yale University as a Professor of Air Science. After he retired, Yale appointed him as Curator of Aeronautical Literature. Colonel Gimbel began collecting his own aeronautical materials in London during World War II. When he died in 1970, he bequeathed his collection to the Air Force Academy Library. He did not leave an endowment for the maintenance of the collection, so in 1987, the Friends of the Air Force Academy Library, Inc. was formed. Through donations of members and grants from the El Pomar Foundation and the Boettcher Foundation the Friends maintain and continue to expand the collection.