Academic Hood, Doctorate, Robert H. Goddard

This is the doctoral hood presented to Dr. Robert H. Goddard on June 2, 1945 when he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Clark University, Worcester, Mass., the same institution at which he earned his Ph.D. in Physics in 1911. The honor was bestowed on Goddard for his life-long achievements in the development of the liquid fuel rocket. The yellow velvet on the hood indicates science while the white and green silk colors represent Clark University. Goddard died later that summer, on August 10, 1945.

Goddard's widow, Esther, gave the hood to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air Museum in 1958.