This post is by Gwen Hubbard
August 17, 1866
This letter discusses a trip made to the Dublin Observatory sometimes between the beginning of July and the middle of August 1866.
The first president of the University of Michigan, Henry Philip Tappan visited the Astronomy Observatory belonging to Dublin University. Throughout the letter, Tappan makes several comments about how impressed he was with the institution and says of the person in charge of the observatory, “Dr. Brunnow has absolute control of the Observatory…he is both Director of the Observatory and Professor of Astronomy under the title of ‘Astronomer Royal.’” Later Tappan says, “My ambition was to make the University of Michigan equal to anything in the world…” The astronomy department at U of M was founded in 1854 (twelve years before Tappan’s Dublin visit) and Tappan clearly had desires to improve the U of M department to meet the standards that were meet by other observatories of the world such as the Dublin Observatory. He then goes to say that it can be done with proper men and measures.
Location of Original:
Bentley Historical Library
Henry Philip Tappan Box 1
Call Number: 86101 Aa2
Second folder titled Tappan, Henry Philip Correspondence 1864-1870
