Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Encyclopedia
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) is a scientific and educational organization, founded in San Francisco on February 7, 1889. Its name derives from its origins on the Pacific Coast, but today it has members all over the country and the world. It has the legal status of a nonprofit organization.
It is the largest general astronomy
education society in the world, with members from over 40 countries.
The ASP's goal is to promote public interest in and awareness of astronomy (and increase scientific literacy
) through its publications, web site, and many educational and outreach programs. These include:
The ASP assists with astronomy education and outreach by partnering with other organizations both in the United States and internationally, and organizes an annual meeting to promote the appreciation and understanding of astronomy.
Presidents of the ASP have included such notable astronomers as Edwin Hubble
, George O. Abell, and Frank Drake
. George Pardee
, who later became Governor of the State of California, served as President in 1899.
Mercury
, the ASP's quarterly on-line membership magazine, covers a wide range of astronomy topics, from history and archaeoastronomy to cutting-edge developments. First published in 1925, Mercury is now disseminated to thousands of ASP members and schools, universities, libraries, observatories, and institutions around the world.
The ASP also publishes the journal Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
(PASP) aimed at professional astronomers. The PASP is a technical journal of refereed papers on astronomical research covering all wavelengths and distance scales as well as papers on the latest innovations in astronomical instrumentation and software, and has been publishing journals since 1889.
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series (ASPCS) is a series of over 400 volumes of professional astronomy conference proceedings. Started in 1988, the Conference Series has grown to become a prominent publication series in the world of professional astronomy publications, and now publishes an average of 20-25 volumes per year. Volumes are sold to the attendees of the conferences of which the proceedings are published, as well as being offered through the Astronomical Society of the Pacific's AstroShop, and can be found in the libraries of major universities and research institutions worldwide. In 2004, the ASPCS stepped into electronic publishing, offering electronic access subscriptions for libraries and institutions, as well as individual access to volumes which they have purchased in hard copy form.
Astronomy Beat is an on-line column, which comes out every other week, and features a behind-the-scenes report on some aspect of astronomical discovery, astronomy education, or astronomy as a hobby, written by a key participant. Authors have included:
.
It is the largest general astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
education society in the world, with members from over 40 countries.
The ASP's goal is to promote public interest in and awareness of astronomy (and increase scientific literacy
Scientific literacy
Scientific literacy encompasses written, numerical, and digital literacy as they pertain to understanding science, its methodology, observations, and theories.-Definition:...
) through its publications, web site, and many educational and outreach programs. These include:
- Project ASTRO - a national program that improves the teaching of astronomy and physical science (using hands-on inquiry-based activities) by pairing amateur and professional astronomers with 4th through 9th grade teachers and classes.
- Family ASTRO - a project that develops kits and games to help families enjoy astronomy in their leisure time and trains astronomers, educators, and community leaders
- Astronomy from the Ground Up - a national program to help educators at smaller science museums, nature centers and environmental education organizations create or enhance astronomy education programs.
- The Night Sky Network - a program with the Jet Propulsion LaboratoryJet Propulsion LaboratoryJet Propulsion Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The facility is headquartered in the city of Pasadena on the border of La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena...
that supports a community of over 350 amateur astronomy clubs around the U.S. in public outreach activities, providing them with kits and training. The clubs have sky gazing events, solar viewings, and give presentations for the public.
- Classroom materials and resources in astronomy (many developed by the Society's educational staff) sold through their online AstroShop or made available free through their web site
The ASP assists with astronomy education and outreach by partnering with other organizations both in the United States and internationally, and organizes an annual meeting to promote the appreciation and understanding of astronomy.
Presidents of the ASP have included such notable astronomers as Edwin Hubble
Edwin Hubble
Edwin Powell Hubble was an American astronomer who profoundly changed the understanding of the universe by confirming the existence of galaxies other than the Milky Way - our own galaxy...
, George O. Abell, and Frank Drake
Frank Drake
Frank Donald Drake PhD is an American astronomer and astrophysicist. He is most notable as one of the pioneers in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, including the founding of SETI, mounting the first observational attempts at detecting extraterrestrial communications in 1961 in Project...
. George Pardee
George Pardee
George Cooper Pardee was an American doctor of medicine and politician. The 21st Governor of California, holding office from January 7, 1903, to January 9, 1907, Pardee was the second native-born Californian to assume the governorship, after Romualdo Pacheco, and the first governor born in...
, who later became Governor of the State of California, served as President in 1899.
Publications
The society promotes astronomy education through several publications. The Universe in the Classroom, a free electronic educational newsletter for teachers and other educators around the world who help students of all ages learn more about the wonders of the universe through astronomy.Mercury
Mercury (magazine)
Mercury is a science magazine that features articles and columns about astronomy for a general audience. It is the bi-monthly magazine of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and was first published in 1972....
, the ASP's quarterly on-line membership magazine, covers a wide range of astronomy topics, from history and archaeoastronomy to cutting-edge developments. First published in 1925, Mercury is now disseminated to thousands of ASP members and schools, universities, libraries, observatories, and institutions around the world.
The ASP also publishes the journal Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific is a monthly scientific journal which publishes astronomy research and review papers, instrumentation papers and dissertation summaries....
(PASP) aimed at professional astronomers. The PASP is a technical journal of refereed papers on astronomical research covering all wavelengths and distance scales as well as papers on the latest innovations in astronomical instrumentation and software, and has been publishing journals since 1889.
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series (ASPCS) is a series of over 400 volumes of professional astronomy conference proceedings. Started in 1988, the Conference Series has grown to become a prominent publication series in the world of professional astronomy publications, and now publishes an average of 20-25 volumes per year. Volumes are sold to the attendees of the conferences of which the proceedings are published, as well as being offered through the Astronomical Society of the Pacific's AstroShop, and can be found in the libraries of major universities and research institutions worldwide. In 2004, the ASPCS stepped into electronic publishing, offering electronic access subscriptions for libraries and institutions, as well as individual access to volumes which they have purchased in hard copy form.
Astronomy Beat is an on-line column, which comes out every other week, and features a behind-the-scenes report on some aspect of astronomical discovery, astronomy education, or astronomy as a hobby, written by a key participant. Authors have included:
- Clyde TombaughClyde TombaughClyde William Tombaugh was an American astronomer. Although he is best known for discovering the dwarf planet Pluto in 1930, the first object to be discovered in what would later be identified as the Kuiper Belt, Tombaugh also discovered many asteroids; he also called for serious scientific...
, retelling the story of his discovery of the (dwarf) planet Pluto - Michael E. BrownMichael E. BrownMichael E. Brown has been a professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology since 2003....
, discussing the naming of the dwarf planet Makemake - Noted astronomical photographer David MalinDavid MalinDavid Malin is a British-Australian astronomer and photographer.Malin trained as a chemist and originally worked in England as microscopist...
describing the transition from chemical to digital photography - Virginia Louise Trimble explaining how she selected her list of the top ten astronomical discoveries of the last thousand years.
Awards
The ASP makes several different awards annually:- The Bruce MedalBruce MedalThe Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal is awarded every year by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for outstanding lifetime contributions to astronomy. It is named after Catherine Wolfe Bruce, an American patroness of astronomy, and was first awarded in 1898...
for lifetime contribution to astronomy research. The medal is named after Catherine Wolfe BruceCatherine Wolfe BruceCatherine Wolfe Bruce was a noted American philanthropist and patroness of astronomy.She was the daughter of the famous type founder George Bruce and Catherine Wolfe...
. This award is arguably the most prestigious award given in astronomy. - The Klumpke-Roberts AwardKlumpke-Roberts AwardThe Klumpke-Roberts Award was established from a bequest by astronomer Dorothea Klumpke-Roberts and recognizes outstanding contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy...
for outstanding contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy, named for Dorothea Klumpke-Roberts. - The Amateur Achievement Award in recognition of significant contributions to astronomy by one not employed in the field of astronomy in a professional capacity.
- The Bart Bok Award, named in honor of astronomerAstronomerAn astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
Bart BokBart BokBart Jan Bok was a Dutch-American astronomer.He was born in the Netherlands, but spent a good deal of his childhood days growing up in what was then known as the Dutch East Indies. He was educated at the Leiden and Groningen Universities. In 1929 he married fellow astronomer Dr...
, awarded jointly with the American Astronomical SocietyAmerican Astronomical SocietyThe American Astronomical Society is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC...
to outstanding student projects in astronomy at the International Science and Engineering Fair. - The Thomas Brennan Award for exceptional achievement related to the teaching of astronomy at the high school level.
- The Maria and Eric Muhlmann Award for recent significant observational results made possible by innovative advances in astronomical instrumentation, software, or observational infrastructure.
- The Robert J. Trumpler AwardRobert J. Trumpler AwardThe Robert J. Trumpler Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific is given annually to a recent recipient of the Ph.D degree whose thesis is judged particularly significant to astronomy. The award is named after Robert Julius Trumpler, a notable Swiss-American astronomer .-Previous award...
, named in honor of astronomerAstronomerAn astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
Robert J. Trumpler, given to a recent recipient of a Ph.D degree with a particularly notable thesis. - The Richard Emmons Award is given for a lifetime of contributions to the teaching of astronomy to college non-science majors.
Affiliations
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific is an affiliate of the American Association for the Advancement of ScienceAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
.
Recent Presidents
- 2011 (elect) William A. Gutsch (St Peters College, Jersey City)
- 2009–2011 Bruce Partridge (Haverford College}
- 2007-2009 James B. KalerJames B. KalerJames B. Kaler is an American astronomer and science writer.After elementary and high-school education in Albany, Kaler earned his A.B. at the University of Michigan in 1960...
(U. of Illinois) - 2005-2007 Dennis Schatz (Pacific Science Center, Seattle)
- 2003-2005 Catharine GarmanyCatharine GarmanyCatharine "Katy" D. Garmany is an astronomer. She was the President of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and has done research on star formation. She was awarded the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy by the American Astronomical Society.-External links:...
(U. of Colorado; National Optical Astronomy Observatories) - 2001-2003 Alexei FilippenkoAlexei FilippenkoAlexei Vladimir Filippenko is an American astrophysicist and professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley. Filippenko received a Bachelor of Arts in physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1979 and a Ph.D...
(U. of California, Berkeley) - 1999-2001 Frank N. Bash (U. of Texas)
Past Presidents
- 1997-1999 John R. Percy (U. of Toronto)
- 1995-1997 Bruce Carney (U. of North Carolina)
- 1993-1995 Russell Merle GenetRussell Merle GenetRussell Merle Genet is an American research scholar and astronomer, who specializes in photometric observations and analysis of very short-period eclipsing binary stars....
(Fairborn Observatory) - 1991-1993 Julie Lutz (Washington State U.)
- 1989-1991 Frank DrakeFrank DrakeFrank Donald Drake PhD is an American astronomer and astrophysicist. He is most notable as one of the pioneers in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, including the founding of SETI, mounting the first observational attempts at detecting extraterrestrial communications in 1961 in Project...
(U. of California, Santa Cruz) - 1987-1989 James Hesser (Dominion Astrophysical Observatory)
- 1985-1987 Sidney Wolff (U. of Hawaii, NOAO)
- 1983-1985 David MorrisonDavid Morrison (astrophysicist)Dr. David Morrison is director of the Carl Sagan Center for Study of Life in the Universe at the SETI Institute, former director of the NASA Lunar Science Institute, and senior scientist at the NASA Astrobiology Institute, at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. He is the past...
(U. of Hawaii & NASA Ames) - 1981-1983 Halton ArpHalton ArpHalton Christian Arp is an American astronomer. He is known for his 1966 Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies, which catalogues many examples of interacting and merging galaxies...
(Hale Observatories) - 1979-1981 Leonard Kuhi (U. of California, Berkeley)
- 1977-1979 Ann Boesgaard (U. of Hawaii)
- 1975-1977 Geoffrey BurbidgeGeoffrey BurbidgeGeoffrey Ronald Burbidge FRS was an English astronomy professor, most recently at the University of California, San Diego. He was married to astrophysicist Dr. Margaret Burbidge.-Education:...
(U. of California, San Diego) - 1973-1975 Ray Weymann (U. of Arizona)
- 1971-1973 Harold Weaver (U. of California, Berkeley)
- 1969-1971 George O. Abell (U. of California, Los Angeles)
- 1967-1969 Helmut Abt (Kitt Peak National Observatory)
- 1965-1967 Louis G. HenyeyLouis G. HenyeyLouis George Henyey was an American astronomer.His parents, Albert and Mary Henyey, were immigrants from Hungary...
(U. of California, Berkeley) - 1962-1965 Robert Petrie (Dominion Astrophysical Observatory)
- 1960-1962 Seth Barnes NicholsonSeth Barnes NicholsonSeth Barnes Nicholson was an American astronomer.Nicholson was born in Springfield, Illinois and was raised in rural Illinois...
(Mt. Wilson-Palomar Observatories; 2nd term) - 1958-1959 Nicholas MayallNicholas MayallNicholas Ulrich Mayall was an American observational astronomer. After obtaining his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, Mayall worked at the Lick Observatory, where he remained from 1934–1960, except for a brief period at MIT's Radiation Laboratory during World War II.During...
(Lick Observatory; 2nd term) - 1956-1957 Andrew McKellarAndrew McKellarDr. Andrew McKellar was a Canadian astronomer.He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to Scottish parents, one of six children of John H. and Mary Littleson McKellar. He studied mathematics and physics at the University of British Columbia, graduating in 1930...
(Dominion Astrophysical Observatory) - 1954-1955 Olin Chaddock WilsonOlin Chaddock WilsonOlin Chaddock Wilson was an American astronomer best known for his work as a stellar spectroscopist.Born in San Francisco, CA as the son of a lawyer, Wilson showed an interest in physics at an early age...
(Mt. Wilson & Palomar Observatories) - 1952-1953 Gerald Kron (Lick Observatory)
- 1951 Otto StruveOtto StruveOtto Struve was a Russian astronomer. In Russian, his name is sometimes given as Otto Lyudvigovich Struve ; however, he spent most of his life and his entire scientific career in the United States...
(U. of California, Berkeley) - 1950 Dinsmore AlterDinsmore AlterDinsmore Alter was an American astronomer and meteorologist.He was born in Colfax, Washington, and attended college at Westminster College in Pennsylvania. After graduating in 1909 with a B.S. degree, he married Ada McClelland...
(Griffith Observatory) - 1949 Robert Julius TrumplerRobert Julius TrumplerRobert Julius Trumpler was a Swiss-American astronomer....
(U. of California, Berkeley; 2nd term) - 1948 Ira Sprague BowenIra Sprague BowenIra Sprague Bowen was an American astronomer. In 1927 he discovered that nebulium was not really a chemical element but instead doubly ionized oxygen.-Life and work:...
(Mt. Wilson Observatory) - 1947 C. Donald ShaneC. Donald ShaneCharles Donald Shane was an American astronomer and director of the Lick Observatory of the University of California from 1945 to 1958, during which time he carried out his monumental program of counting external galaxies and investigating their distribution.In 1920, Shane received his doctorate...
(Lick Observatory; 2nd term) - 1946 Ralph Elmer WilsonRalph Elmer WilsonRalph Elmer Wilson was an American astronomer.He earned his B.A. from Carleton College and entered the University of Virginia in 1906, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1910 based on his work at the Leander Mccormick Observatory working with Ormond Stone. He then worked at the Dudley Observatory and by...
(Mt. Wilson Observatory) - 1945 Ferdinand Neubauer (Lick Observatory)
- 1944 Roscoe Frank SanfordRoscoe Frank SanfordRoscoe Frank Sanford was an American astronomer.He was born in Faribault, Minnesota, the eldest of five children of Frank W. Sanford and his wife Alberta Nichols. After an early education in his home town he attended the University of Minnesota, where he received an A.B. in 1905...
(Mt. Wilson Observatory) - 1943 Armin Otto LeuschnerArmin Otto LeuschnerArmin Otto Leuschner was an American astronomer and educator.Leuschner was born in the US but raised in Germany. He returned to the US for university studies, graduating from the University of Michigan in 1888 with a degree in mathematics...
(University of California, Berkeley; 3rd term) - 1942 Nicholas MayallNicholas MayallNicholas Ulrich Mayall was an American observational astronomer. After obtaining his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, Mayall worked at the Lick Observatory, where he remained from 1934–1960, except for a brief period at MIT's Radiation Laboratory during World War II.During...
(Lick Observatory) - 1941 Arthur Scott KingArthur Scott KingArthur Scott King was an American physicist and astrophysicist.He was born in Jerseyville, Illinois, the son of Robert Andrew and Miriam Munson King. In 1883 the family moved to Santa Rosa, California in an attempt to alleviate their son Arthur's chronic asthma...
(Mt. Wilson Observatory) - 1940 C. Donald ShaneC. Donald ShaneCharles Donald Shane was an American astronomer and director of the Lick Observatory of the University of California from 1945 to 1958, during which time he carried out his monumental program of counting external galaxies and investigating their distribution.In 1920, Shane received his doctorate...
(University of California, Berkeley) - 1939 Alfred Harrison JoyAlfred Harrison JoyAlfred Harrison Joy was an astronomer best known for his work on stellar distances, the radial motion of stars, and variable stars.-Early years:...
(Mt. Wilson Observatory; 2nd term) - 1938 Hamilton JeffersHamilton JeffersHamilton Moore Jeffers was a noted astronomer.Jeffers was born in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, to Presbyterian minister William Hamilton Jeffers, and Annie Robinson Tuttle...
(Lick Observatory) - 1937 Harold D. BabcockHarold D. BabcockHarold Delos Babcock was an American astronomer, and the father of Horace W. Babcock, of English and German ancestry. Educated at the University of California, Berkeley, he worked at the Mount Wilson Observatory from 1907 until 1948. He specialized in solar spectroscopy and mapped the distribution...
(Mt. Wilson Observatory) - 1936 Armin Otto LeuschnerArmin Otto LeuschnerArmin Otto Leuschner was an American astronomer and educator.Leuschner was born in the US but raised in Germany. He returned to the US for university studies, graduating from the University of Michigan in 1888 with a degree in mathematics...
(U. of California, Berkeley; 2nd term) - 1935 Seth Barnes NicholsonSeth Barnes NicholsonSeth Barnes Nicholson was an American astronomer.Nicholson was born in Springfield, Illinois and was raised in rural Illinois...
(Mt. Wilson Observatory) - 1934 Sturla Einarsson (U. of California, Berkeley)
- 1933 Edwin HubbleEdwin HubbleEdwin Powell Hubble was an American astronomer who profoundly changed the understanding of the universe by confirming the existence of galaxies other than the Milky Way - our own galaxy...
(Mt. Wilson Observatory) - 1932 Robert Julius TrumplerRobert Julius TrumplerRobert Julius Trumpler was a Swiss-American astronomer....
(Lick Observatory) - 1931 Alfred Harrison JoyAlfred Harrison JoyAlfred Harrison Joy was an astronomer best known for his work on stellar distances, the radial motion of stars, and variable stars.-Early years:...
(Mt. Wilson Observatory) - 1930 William Meyer (U. of California, Berkeley)
- 1929 Frederick Hanley SearesFrederick Hanley SearesFrederick Hanley Seares, May 17, 1873–July 20, 1964 , was an American astronomer. He worked at Mount Wilson Observatory and won the Bruce Medal in 1940....
(Mt. Wilson Observatory) - 1928 Joseph Haines MooreJoseph Haines MooreJoseph Haines Moore was an American astronomer.He was born in Wilmington, Ohio, the only child of Quaker parents John Haines Moore and Anne Haines. He attended Wilmington College, receiving a A.B. degree in 1897. Thereafter he studied astronomy at Johns Hopkins University, and was awarded his Ph.D...
(Lick Observatory; 2nd term) - 1927 Paul W. MerrillPaul W. MerrillPaul Willard Merrill was an American astronomer whose specialty was spectroscopy.He received his Ph.D at the University of California in 1913. He spent the bulk of his career at Mount Wilson Observatory, from which he retired in 1952...
(Mt. Wilson Observatory) - 1926 Bernard Benfield (2nd term)
- 1925 Bernard Benfield (San Francisco engineer)
- 1924 Arthur Black (San Francisco banker)
- 1923 Walter Sydney AdamsWalter Sydney AdamsWalter Sydney Adams was an American astronomer.-Life and work:He was born in Antioch, Syria to missionary parents, and was brought to the U.S. in 1885 He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1898, then continued his education in Germany...
(U. of California, Berkeley) - 1922 Exum Lewis (U. of California, Berkeley)
- 1921 Charles Cushing (San Francisco attorney, 2nd term)
- 1920 Joseph Haines MooreJoseph Haines MooreJoseph Haines Moore was an American astronomer.He was born in Wilmington, Ohio, the only child of Quaker parents John Haines Moore and Anne Haines. He attended Wilmington College, receiving a A.B. degree in 1897. Thereafter he studied astronomy at Johns Hopkins University, and was awarded his Ph.D...
(Lick Observatory) - 1919 Beverly L. HodgheadBeverly L. HodgheadBeverly Lacy Hodghead was the first mayor of the City of Berkeley, California, serving from 1909 to 1911. Although Berkeley had been incorporated since 1878 as a Town, the office of mayor did not exist until the adoption of a new charter which transformed Berkeley into a City.Mr...
(San Francisco, attorney) - 1918 William Wallace Campbell (Lick Observatory, 3rd term)
- 1917 Frank Cornish (San Francisco)
- 1916 Sidney Dean TownleySidney Dean TownleySidney Dean Townley was an American astronomer and geodeticist.He was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin to Reverend Robert Townley and his wife Mary Wilkinson. After the equivalent of a high school education, he gained a job as a clerk in the local town bank. A year and a half later he was admitted to...
(Stanford U., 2nd term) - 1915 Robert Grant AitkenRobert Grant AitkenRobert Grant Aitken was an American astronomer.He worked at Lick Observatory in California. He systematically studied double stars, measuring their positions and calculating their orbits around one another...
(Lick Observatory; 2nd term) - 1914 Russell Crawford (U. of California, Berkeley)
- 1913 Alexander George McAdieAlexander George McAdieAlexander George McAdie was an American meteorologist.While in college he joined the Army Signal Service, the predecessor of the U.S. Weather Bureau. He graduated from Harvard University in 1885....
(U.S. Weather Bureau) - 1912 Heber Curtis (Lick Observatory)
- 1912 John Galloway (Berkeley)
- 1911 Fremont Morse (U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey)
- 1910 Wlliam Wallace Campbell (Lick Observatory, 2nd term)
- 1909 Charles Burckhalter (Chabot Observatory, 2nd term)
- 1908 Charles Cushing (San Francisco attorney)
- 1907 Armin Otto LeuschnerArmin Otto LeuschnerArmin Otto Leuschner was an American astronomer and educator.Leuschner was born in the US but raised in Germany. He returned to the US for university studies, graduating from the University of Michigan in 1888 with a degree in mathematics...
(U. of California, Berkeley) - 1906 Sidney Dean TownleySidney Dean TownleySidney Dean Townley was an American astronomer and geodeticist.He was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin to Reverend Robert Townley and his wife Mary Wilkinson. After the equivalent of a high school education, he gained a job as a clerk in the local town bank. A year and a half later he was admitted to...
(Latitude Observatory, Ukiah) - 1905 George Edwards (University of California, Berkeley)
- 1904 Otto von Geldern (San Francisco)
- 1903 Charles Dillon PerrineCharles Dillon PerrineCharles Dillon Perrine was an American astronomer living in Argentina.Born in Steubenville, Ohio, a son of Peter and Elizabeth McCauley Perrine, and a descendant of Daniel Perrin, "The Huguenot", he worked at Lick Observatory from 1893 to 1909 and then was director of the Argentine National...
(Lick Observatory) - 1902 John DolbeerJohn DolbeerJohn Dolbeer was a partner in the Dolbeer & Carson Lumber Co., one of the early major Humboldt County, California lumber operations in based in Eureka. While in that business, he invented the logging engine, more commonly known as the steam donkey or donkey engine...
(San Francisco lumber businessman) - 1901 James Edward Keeler (Lick Observatory)
- 1900 George PardeeGeorge PardeeGeorge Cooper Pardee was an American doctor of medicine and politician. The 21st Governor of California, holding office from January 7, 1903, to January 9, 1907, Pardee was the second native-born Californian to assume the governorship, after Romualdo Pacheco, and the first governor born in...
(eye doctor and Governor of California) - 1899 Robert Grant AitkenRobert Grant AitkenRobert Grant Aitken was an American astronomer.He worked at Lick Observatory in California. He systematically studied double stars, measuring their positions and calculating their orbits around one another...
(Lick Observatory) - 1898 William AlvordWilliam AlvordWilliam Alvord was a San Francisco merchant, banker and political leader. He was the 14th Mayor of San Francisco from 1871 to 1873 and served as president of the Bank of California from 1878 until his death.- Biography :...
(San Francisco merchant/banker; Bank of California president; 14th mayor of San Francisco) - 1897 William HusseyWilliam HusseyWilliam Joseph Hussey was an American astronomer.He is most famous for the discovery and study of close binary stars. In the period from 1898 to 1899, he reobserved all binaries discovered by Otto Struve, with at least three observations of each...
(Lick Observatory) and William Alvord (San Francisco bank president) - 1896 Charles Burckhalter (Chabot Observatory; Co-founder)
- 1895 William Wallace Campbell (Lick Observatory)
- 1894 Eusebius Molera (San Francisco civil engineer)
- 1893 John Martin SchaeberleJohn Martin SchaeberleJohn Martin Schaeberle was a German-American astronomer.-Biography:...
(Lick Observatory) - 1892 William Montgomery Pierson (San Francisco attorney; drew up Society's articles of incorporation)
- 1889-1891 Edward Singleton HoldenEdward Singleton HoldenEdward Singleton Holden was an American astronomer.-Early years:He was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1846 to Jeremiah and Sarah Holden. From 1862-66, he attended Washington University in St. Louis, where he obtained a B.S. degree...
(Lick Observatory; Founder}
Sources
History of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific http://www.astrosociety.org/about/history.htmlExternal links
Research resources
- Online guide to Astronomical Society of the Pacific records, 1909-1969, The Bancroft Library