Pieces of the Past from Michigan Astronomy
Early in Tappan’s presidency, when he first became the president of the University of Michigan, A wealthy local man, Henry Walker, asked Tappan what he should raise money for. Tappan realized that in order to be a credible scientific university at the time, a high quality observatory was a must. He suggested that Henry […]
Observatory Funding Read More »
Biography from the Bentley Historical Library The Shapley – Curtis Debate on the Scale of the Universe in 1920
Information about Heber D. Curtis Read More »
Turns out Heber Curtis did not want the job as director (and in fact, turned down the headhunter from Michigan at least once). Yet on a trip through Ann Arbor, the President of the University and Dean of LSA prevailed upon him (with “foot, horse, and guns” – a phrase he may have picked up
Recruitment of Heber Doust Curtis in 1930 Read More »
DIRECTOR 1863-79 James Craig Watson was born in Canada on January 28, 1838. His family moved to the Ann Arbor area in 1850 to pursue a better education for Watson and his siblings. After three years of private instruction, he entered the University of Michigan at age fifteen. Watson graduated in 1857, and then received
DIRECTOR 1879-91 Mark Walrod Harrington was born in Sycamore, Illinois on August 18, 1848. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1868, and received a Master’s degree in 1871. After experiences such as being assistant curator of the University of Michigan Museum of Natural Science; astronomer’s assistant for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey
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DIRECTOR 1892-1905 Asaph Hall, Jr. was born at Cambridge, Massachusetts on October 6, 1859. He was the son of the famous astronomer, Asaph Hall, Sr., who was trained by Brünnow at the Detroit Observatory and made his career at the United States Naval Observatory. Asaph Hall, Jr. was trained at Harvard and Yale, receiving his
DIRECTOR 1905-26 (AND ACTING DIRECTOR 1891-92) William Joseph Hussey was born on August 10, 1862 at Mendon, Ohio. Hussey received a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1889. He experienced delays in his studies due to lack of funds, during which time he worked as a school principal in Ohio. Following
DIRECTOR 1927-29 (ACTING DIRECTOR 1926) Ralph Hamilton Curtiss was born in Derby, Connecticut on February 8, 1880. He received a B.S. in 1901 and Ph.D. in 1905 from the University of California. Curtiss then worked at the Allegheny Observatory in Pittsburgh until he came to the University of Michigan as an Assistant Professor of Astronomy
RALPH HAMILTON CURTISS Read More »
DIRECTOR 1930-41 Heber Doust Curtis was born in Muskegon, Michigan on June 27, 1872. He attended the University of Michigan but did not study the sciences. While teaching Latin and Greek, he became interested in astronomy as an amateur and volunteered at the Lick Observatory in California. After taking a teaching position in mathematics and
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ACTING DIRECTOR 1929-30 AND 1942-45 Will Carl Rufus was born in Chatham, Ontario, Canada July 1, 1876. He earned degrees in 1902 and 1908 from Albion College and became a high school mathematics teacher in Flint and Lansing, then a Methodist Episcopal pastor for two years. He traveled to Korea to teach mathematics and astronomy
