Specola Guestbook | May 10-13, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 12
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, Nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
For the past few weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union. We have finally reached the last installment related to this event. Today's visitors came between May 10 and 13, 1922. They are: Sotero Prieto, Joseph Baldwin, Paul Stroobant, Albertus Nijland, Hendrik Jan Heuvelink, and Count de la Baume Pluvinel.
That red line underneath de la Baume Pluvinel indicates the end of visits related to the IAU meeting.
Sotero Prieto
Sotero Prieto (1884-1935) [Source: Mathemáticos en México]
In 1912, as a professor in the National School of Higher Studies (later the National University of Mexico), he taught the first advanced mathematics course in Mexico. In his tenure as professor, he taught several of Mexico's most prominent physicists and engineers.
He helped establish the Mathematics Section of the Mexican National Academy of the Sciences in 1932.
Prieto does not appear to have been a registered participant at the IAU meeting.
J. M. Baldwin
Joseph M. Baldwin (1878-1945)
Joseph Mason Baldwin FRAS (1878-1945) wrote, "Government Astronomer, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia."
He was director of the Melbourne Observatory from 1915 until 1920, at which time he became a government astronomer in Victoria. (I believe he continued to direct the Melbourne Observatory in this new role, but I haven't been able to confirm that.) He remained in that post until the observatory closed in 1944.
Baldwin presided over the Royal Society of Victoria from 1925-1926, and presided over Section A of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science from 1930-1931.
His research, severely limited by his administrative duties, involved studies of variable stars.
The Baldwin Rocks, an outcrop on the north side of David Island, are named for him.
Baldwin sat on the IAU finance committee, the commission on the Carte du Ciel, and the commission on variable stars.
Paul Stroobant
Paul Henri Stroobant (1868-1936)
Paul Henri Stroobant (1868-1936) visited on May 11, 1922. He wrote, "Prof'r directeur adj. observatoire royal, Uccle - Bruxelles." (Professor and vice-director of the Royal Observatory of Uccle, Brussels).
He was the son of the Belgian artist François Stroobant.
In 1925, he would become the director of the Royal Observatory of Belgium.
His early career was dominated by attempts to chart the Milky Way.
He also made several contributions to solar system astronomy. He did a statistical analysis of the population of asteroids and their relative sizes in the main belt.
The asteroid 1124 Stroobantia is named for him.
Stroobant was the vice president of the Belgian national committee of the IAU. (Later he would be president.) He also presided over the IAU commission on notation, units, and the economy of publications. He was a member of the IAU commission on the analysis of works and bibliography;, the commission on physical observations of planets; the commission on minor planets; and the commission on the observation of positions and calculation of ephemerides of minor planets, comets, and moons.
A. A. Nijland
Albertus A Nijland (1868-1936)
Albertus Antoine Nijland (1868-1936) wrote simply, "Utrecht."
Nijland was director of the Sonnenborgh Observatory of the University of Utrecht.
He studied variable stars and established a naming convention for them based on their constellations.
The lunar crater Nijland bears his name.
Nijland was a member of the IAU commission on the observation of positions and calculation of ephemerides of minor planets, comets, and moons; and the commission on variable stars.
H. J. Heuvelink
Hendrik Jan Heuvelink (1861-949) [Source: huygens.knaw.nl]
He is not to be mistaken with either the notable Dutch architect Hendrik Jan Heuvelink Sr. (1806-1867) or Hendrik Jan Heuvelink Jr. (1833-1901). This Hendrik Jan Heuvelink was the son of the latter.
He was a Dutch surveyor who worked for the Dutch government to implement national surveying and triangulation standards. His work is still relevant in the Netherlands today. He is associated with a method of theodolites in surveying.
He became a professor at the Technical University in 1897.
He was a member of the Dutch commission on the standards of the meter and the kilogram, and of the Dutch National Council for Geodesy and Geophysics.
Heuvelink was not a registered participant at the IAU meeting, but probably was a participant at the IUGG meeting.
Count de la Baume Pluvinel
Count Aymar de la Baume Pluvinel (1860-1938)
Count Aymar Eugène de la Baume Pluvinel FRAS (1860-1938) visited on May 13, 1922. Next to his name, he wrote, "26 bis av. Raphaël, Paris." (As a side note, today this address is the Gabonese embassy to France.)
A French nobleman whose lineage can be traced to the court of King Louis XIII, Count de la Baume Pluvinel was an astronomer with Observatory of Meudon, and later a professor at the École supérieure d'optique.
He made several advances in astrophotography. He was one one of the first to use a silver bromide plate to photograph the transit of Venus in 1882. He also participated in several eclipse expeditions between 1889 and 1932.
He also engaged in solar spectroscopy, pioneering the use of a clock-driven solar spectrograph.
In his spectroscopic studies of comets (for which he pioneered certain techniques) he was the first to observe a spectral signature in Comet Morehouse that was subsequently identified as a signature of CO+.
He invented the lunette coudée, a device for measuring latitude.
De la Baume Pluvinel recorded proceedings of the IAU general assembly and prepared French translations. He presided over the Commission on astronomical expeditions, eclipses, etc. He was a member of the IAU commission on latitude variations, the commission on comets, and the commission on astronomical instruments.
Specola Guestbook | May 10, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 11
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, Nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
For the past few weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union. Today's visitors all came on May 10, 1922. They are George Dodwell, Jean Bosler, Jules Jaumotte, Henri Deslandres, and Joaquín Gallo.
George F. Dodwell
George F. Dodwell (1879-1963) [Source: The State Library of South Australia B6254]
Dodwell, an Australian state astronomer from the Adelaide Astronomical Observatory, was accompanied by his wife, Annie Dodwell (also an astronomer), who also signed the guestbook.
Dodwell is credited with using radio time signals to establish the 141st and 129th meridian lines that mark the borders between various states in Australia.
He also photographed the 1922 eclipse that helped confirm Einstein's general theory of relativity. (This was the subject of another Specola Guestbook column, for William Wallace Campbell's visit in 1914.)
He also surveyed the magnetic field throughout South Australia.
I (a meteoriticist) should also take note that Dodwell participated in documenting the fall of the Karooonda meteorite (the prototype of CK carbonaceous chondrites) in 1930, and collected specimens.
Dodwell served on the IAU commission for meridian astronomy and the commission on time. He also served on the IUGG commission on longitudes.
Jean Bosler
Jean Bosler (1878-1973) [Source: Agence Meurisse]
Bosler was an astronomer at the Paris Observatory. In 1923 he would become the director of the Marseille Observatory.
His scientific work largely involved cometary orbits and physical properties. He observed the spectral lines of nitrogen in the halo of the comet Morehouse.
He also studied solar physics and observed bands due to ionized iron in the solar corona.
In 1916, he hypothesized that lunar craters are round because they result from meteoric impacts.
Bosler served on the IAU commission on analysis of works and bibliography.
Adelaid Bosler
Jean Bosler appears to have been accompanied by an "Adelaid Bosler," for whom I have found no information.
Jules Jaumotte
Jules Jaumotte (1887-1940) [Credit: Archives Baron Jaumotte]
He was Belgian aviator during the first World War, and pioneered aerial photography. In 1919 he became the director of the Belgian Royal Meteorological Institute, a post he maintained until 1940.
As director of the meteorological institute, he introduced new methods of weather reporting and forecasting, which greatly improved forecasts for Belgium. He also invented several instruments for aerial observations of weather.
He discovered the stratospheric thermal inversion.
From 1919 until his death, he was a member of the International Meteorological Committee.
He does not appear to have been a registered participant at the IAU meeting. He was a member of the Belgian National Committee of Geodesy and Geophysics, so was likely to have been a participant in the IUGG meeting.
Henri Deslandres
Henri Deslandres (1853-1948)
Next to his name, Henri-Alexandre Deslandres FRS (1853-1948) wrote "Dir'r de l'observatoire de Meudon" ("Director of the Meudon Observatory").
Deslandres was originally a spectroscopist who got into astrophysics through spectroscopy. He inventend (simultaneously with but independently of George Hale) the spectroheliograph.
He directed the Meudon Observatory in Paris from 1907 until it merged with the Paris Observatory in 1926, at which point he became director of both.
He was president of the French Astronomical Society 1907-1909.
During World War I, he served the French army as an engineering officer.
The crater Deslandres on the Moon is named for him, as is the asteroid 11763 Deslandres.
The French Academy of Sciences awards the Deslandres Prize in his honor.
Deslandres chaired the French national committee of the IAU. He presided over the commission on spectral determination of velocities. He sat on the commission on the solar atmosphere; the commission on notation, units, and economy of publications; the commission on astronomical expeditions, eclipses, etc; the commission on solar rotation; the commission on physical observations of planets; the commission on comets; the commission on shooting stars; the commission on nebulae; the commission on stellar radial velocities; and the commission on the reform of the calendar.
Joaquín Gallo
Joaquín Gallo (1882-1965) [Source: Mediateca INAH]
Gallo was director of the Tacubaya Observatory (the Mexican National Observatory) from 1914-1946. As director of the observatory, he was in charge of Mexico's role in the Carte du Ciel project.
His astronomical work focused on solar physics and spectroscopy.
He was also involved in the observatory's work of establishing and regularizing Mexico's time zones.
Gallo was a member of the IAU commission on the Carte du Ciel and the commission on time.
Specola Guestbook | May 10, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 10
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, Nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
For the past few weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union. Today's visitors all came on May 10, 1922. They are Annie Dodwell, Frank Littell, Cesare Bardeloni, Armand Baar, and Gustave Ferrié.
M. P. (or O.) Stroobant
There is a "M.P. Stroobant" who signed, possibly the spouse or family member of Paul Stroobant who signed on the next page.
I have not been able to find any references for this person.
Annie Dodwell
Annie L V Dodwell (1870-1924) [Source: Kathy Verran via geni.com]
She was an Australian government astronomer and worked with her husband, George Dodwell, who was also a career government astronomer for Australia.
Her husband (an IAU attendee) signed the guestbook several lines later.
She was also an expert on British imperial politics and a member of the League of the Empire.
Annie L.V. Dodwell died of cancer in 1924. She is not to be confused with George Dodwell's second wife, also named Annie, whom he married in 1926.
Frank Littell
Capt. Frank B. Littell (1869-1951) on a 1925 eclipse expedition. [Source: Smithsonian Institution SIA2017-003784]
I haven't found much information about Frank Littell. He was an astronomer for the U.S. Naval Observatory and participated in several eclipse expeditions as well as expeditions for longitude measurement.
He was a member of the IAU commission on meridian astronomy, the commission on theoretical optical research and instrumentation, the commission on latitude variations, and the commission on time.
Josephine M. Littell
Josephine Littell (1874-1946) [Source: Find a Grave]
Col. Cesare Bardeloni
Col. Cesare Bardeloni (1894-1933) [Source: Fondazione Guglielmo Marconi]
He was a specialist in the military use of radio. He invented the Bardeloni rectifier, a crystal receiver designed for use by the Italian army during World War I.
He was a member of the IAU commission on determining longitudes by wireless telegraphy.
Armand Baar
Armand Baar (1875-1942) wrote, "Liege"
I have found very little about Baar, but it appears that he was a mining engineer and entrepreneur who was also an art collector. He contributed a rather substantial collection of glass artworks to the Grand Curtius museum in Liège. He was president of the Liège Archaeological Institute.
He attended the IAU as an official delegate of the International Chamber of Commerce.
General Ferrié
General Gustav-Auguste Ferrié (1868-1932) [Source: Association Pour la Promotion de l'Arme des Transmissions]
Ferrié was an electrical engineer with the French army Corps of Engineers. He was a pioneer of French wireless telegraphy who established wireless communications between France and England in 1899. He invented components that improved the use of radio.
He actively promoted the application of the use of wireless radio in the determination of longitudes, the measurement of time, and in broadcasting.
In 1920 he became the first president of the French National Committee on Geodesy and Geophysics. He also presided over the International Scientific Radio Union, the International Commission of Longitudes by Radio, and the French Astronomical Society. He was vice president of the International Board of Scientific Unions. He was a fellow of the Institute of Radio Engineers and the French Academy of Sciences,
Ferrié was president of the IAU commission on determining longitudes by wireless telegraphy, and also served on the commission on time.
Specola Guestbook | May 10, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 9
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
For the past few weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union. Today's visitors all came on May 10, 1922. They are Jacques Liouville, Jules Baillaud, Oliver Justin-Lee, and Abbé Chauve-Bertrand.
Jacques Liouville
Jacques Liouville (1879-1960) [Source: F. Medina (2013) Hist. Geo. Space Sci. 4:73-82]
Dr. Liouville was the first director of the Chérifien Institute, which he directed from 1920 until 1937. His areas of specialty were medicine and marine biology. He was also an explorer who participated in two antarctic expeditions in 1908 and 1910. These expeditions resulted in a study of Antarctic cetaceans.
He was the son of the prominent French politician and doctor, Henri Liouville (1837-1887).
Liouville is not listed as a registered participant in the IAU meeting.
Maria Grazia Valeri-Curti
Anna Beatrice Valeri-Curti
There are two women who signed the book next: Maria Grazia Valeri Curti and Anna Beatrice Valeri-Curti (whose inscription includes what appears to be "V. Lansebri" but I can't be sure). I have been unable to find information about either of these two people.
Jules Baillaud
Jules Baillaud (1876-1960) [Source: iap.fr]
His father, Benjamin Baillaud (who was also present at the meeting and signed the guest book), was the president of the IAU. Jules Baillaud was an assistant astronomer at the Paris observatory from 1904 until 1925. He would become director of the Pic du Midi observatory from 1937-1947.
Between 1922 and 1947, he directed the Carte du Ciel program.
The asteroid 1280 Baillauda is named for him.
Jules Baillaud sat on the IAU Carte du Ciel commission and the commission for stellar photometry.
Thilde Bardeloni
The next signature belongs to a "Thilde Bardeloni" who did not append any further information. I presume that she is the wife of Col. Cesare Bardeloni, who signed several lines further down the page.
Oliver Justin Lee
Oliver Justin Lee (1881-1964) [Source: University of Chicago Photographic Archive, [apf digital item number, e.g., apf12345], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.]
At the time of the IAU meeting, he was as astronomer at Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin, but would move to Northwestern University in 1928 and would be director of the Dearborn Observatory from 1931-1947.
Much of his scientific work involved classifying and cataloging stars, of which his work numbers more than 44,000. He also measured stellar parallaxes for several of them. Other work involved observations of the asteroid Eros and observations of solar eclipses.
In 1930, Lee proposed a theory for the origin of the moon as having been ripped from the Pacific basin.
He was the author of a popular astronomy text, Measuring our Universe (1949).
Lee wrote a lengthy article about the IAU meeting for Popular Astronomy.
Article by Oliver Justin Lee about the IAU meeting in Popular Astronomy. Curiously, he calls it the second meeting, even though it was the first General Assembly. He counts the meeting in Brussels in 1919 that created the IAU as its first meeting.
He served on the IAU commission on the solar atmosphere, the commission on solar physics, and the commission on stellar parallax.
Abbé Chauve-Bertrand
Abbé Chauve-Bertrand (1877-1962)
Fr. François Adolphe Chauve-Bertrand (1877-1962) wrote, "St. Reverien (Niévre)."
He had been a military chaplain from 1914-1919. Between 1922-1953 he was a priest in Saint-Révérien.
He had been working on the reform of the calendar at least as early as 1907, and in 1921 published a benchmark review of the subject (La Renaissance du Livre). On this topic, he became a consultant to the League of Nations as well as its successor, the United Nations. (It should be noted that in 1956 the topic was dropped, at least in part due to U.S. pressure. Thus, today we continue to use the same calendar system as we did in the previous few centuries.)
He was a member of the IAU commission on the reform of the calendar.
Specola Guestbook | May 10, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 8 – Delvosal, Armellini, Ferri, Roussilhe, and Krassowski
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
For the past few weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union. Today's visitors all came on May 10, 1922. They are Jules Delvosal, Giuseppe Armellini, Francesco Ferri, Henri Roussilhe, and Jan Krassowski.
J. Delvosal
Next to his name, Jules Joseph Désiré Delvosal (1876-1960) wrote, "Uccle (Belgique)."
This is a peculiar case where I have been unable to find any significant biographical information about the person, but his name appears in various publications, including the Transactions of the International Astronomical Union.
He was an astronomer at Uccle, and professor at the Collège Notre Dame in Antwerp, and he directed Uccle's involvement in the Carte du Ciel project.
He was author of a 1905 description of the Gambey meridian telescope and a coauthor of a 1936 catalog of astronomical observatories and astronomers.
He was a member of the IAU commission on astronomical instruments and the commission on the Carte du Ciel project.
Giuseppe Armellini
Giuseppe Armellini (1887-1958) [Source: Pontifical Academy of the Sciences]
At the time of the IAU meeting, he was a professor of celestial mechanics at the University of Pisa. After the meeting in 1922, he would become director of the observatory of Rome, which was located at the time in Campidoglio.
Monte Mario [Source: INAF]
He is noted for several astronomical accomplishments. He observed a connection between the eccentricity and mass under certain conditions for binary star systems. He studied the orbital dynamics of the moons of Jupiter and Neptune. Regarding comets, he established that they originated in connection with the solar system (not from outside the solar system).
In 1921 he published a paper "On the distances of the planets from the Sun," in which he proposed a new law for planetary distances from the Sun. This law was a modification of the Titius-Bode Law (dn=2n × 3 + 4, where dn is the distance to the nth planet and n is counted n=-∞,0,1,2...). Armellini's proposal took the form dn = 0.2792 × 1.53n, where n = 1,2,3,...). This proposal more accurately corresponded with measured distances to planets, though it contained several discrepancies. Of course, today with our increased understanding of other star systems as well as the orbital evoltion of our own solar system, we recognize that any attempt to formulate a general law of planetary distances is basically moot.
Armellini was a member of the Royal Accademia dei Lincei, and became an inaugural member of the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences in 1936.
The asteroid 6855 Armellini is named for him, as is the Istituto Tecnico Industriale Statale (State Industrial Technical Institute) G. Armellini in Rome.
He was a member of the IAU commission on relativity and the commission on astronomical dynamics and tables.
Francesco Ferri
Col. Ferri [Source: Giuseppemario.distefano]
Again, this is someone whose name appears on several documents that I have been able to track down on the interwebs, but I have found almost no basic biographical information about him. (Curiously, though, I did find a photograph.)
He was commander of the Italian Second Radiotelegraph Regiment from 1926-1929.
He is listed as a registered member of the IAU, but does not appear to have served on any commissions.
Emma Ferri Gabiani
Under Lt. Col. Ferri, there is a name that appears to be Emma Ferri Gabiani (though I am not sure about the last part). This is possibly the Lt. Col.'s wife, but I have not found any information about her.
Edward Pigot
Fr. Edward Pigot S.J. (1859-1929)
Fr. Edward Francis Pigot S.J. (1859-1929) wrote, "Riverview Observatory, Sydney, Australia." This was in fact the second time that he signed the guest book during the IAU meeting. He had signed previously on May 6.
[illegible]
The next entry reads ND (nobildonna) Luisa [something something]. The second part appears to be Gracciati, but I wouldn't put money on it, and I can't make out the last part.
If you might be able to provide any insight into this signature, please let me know.
Henri Roussilhe
Henri Roussilhe (1879-1945) [Source: CNAM France]
Roussilhe was a hydrographic engineer of the French Navy. From 1911-1912, he surveyed the lower Congo and charted the course of the Sangha, Ngoko and Ubangi rivers, with the goal of establishing ports and improving navigability.
From 1918-1945, he was a professor of geodesy at the École spéciale des travaux publics (School of public works; ESTP) in Paris.
Roussilhe was not a registered participant in the IAU meeting, but probably was in Rome for the congress of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG).
Jan Krassowski
Jan Krassowski (1883-1947) [Source: Małgorzata Szturomska, from the Piaseczno Review]
He was director of the Observatory of Warsaw from 1916-1919. In 1926, he constructed the Observatory of Piaseczno.
He also advised the Polish Military Geographical Institute on matters related to astronomy, cartography and geodesy.
Krassowski sat on the IAU commission on minor planets and the commission for the calculation of ephemerides of minor planets, comets, and satellites. He also was a member of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, and may have participated in both congresses at the time of his visit to the Specola.
Specola Guestbook | May 10, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 7 – Somigliana, Volta, Vercelli, Bauer, Baillaud, and Perrier
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
For the past few weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union. Today's visitors all came on May 10, 1922.
May 10 was the day of a formal, organized visit to the Specola. I believe it may also have been the day when Pope Pius XI graced the Observatory with his presence, as seen in a photo posted a few weeks ago. In attendance were not only the astronomers of the IAU, but also their guests and spouses.
IAU members and guests visiting the Vatican on May 10, 1922. Photo taken at the Cortile di San Damaso. [Source: Popular Astronomy] n.b. all of the visitors are in tuxedos or formal black dress. This would suggest that the visit included a Papal audience.
Capt. L. Beneš
[Note: For the attendees at the IAU meeting, I did not want to skip over any names in case they might have historical value. However, not every attendee is documented on the interwebs. If you happen to know who these people are, please submit a comment.]
There is a "Capitaine L. Beneš" who wrote, "Institut ge'ogr milit. à Prague, Tche'koslovaquie" ("Military geographical institute in Prague, Czechoslovakia"). I have been unable to find any information on this person.
Colonel Delcambre
There is a "Colonel Delcambre" who wrote, "Directeur de l'office national méteorologique de France." ("Director of the national meteorological office of France"). Public records should exist of such a person, but I have not been able to find any.
[Update: Thanks to a helpful comment from reader and friend of the Specola Fernando Comeron, I have some more information about this person.]
Colonel Émile Delcambre (1871-1951) (later General) was the first director of the French National Meteorological Office. He served in that post from 1921 until his retirement in 1934.
He mapped weather patterns over the Atlantic ocean and advocated for active weather monitoring and prediction in order to assist air travel.
He also worked to incorporate meteorology into French agriculture, establishing some basic meteorological instruments that could be distributed to farmers.
Delcambre founded the French meteorological review "La Météorologie" in 1925.
Colonel Seligmann
One "Colonel Seligmann" wrote "Directeur de l'institut cartographique mil're. Bruxelles Belgique" ("Director of the military cartographic institute, Brussels Belgium.")
Colonel Seligmann attended as a representative of the Commission of Longitudes of the Geodesy Section of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics. (The Union was having its triennial congress in Rome at the same time.)
I found a reference to a map of Belgium produced by a "General Seligmann" in 1931, but beyond that, I have been unable to find any information about this person.
Carlo Somigliana
Carlo Somigliana (1860-1955)
Carlo Somigliana (1860) wrote, "dell'Università di Torino" ("from the University of Turin").
He was chair of mathematical physics at Turin from 1903 until his retirement in 1935.
He was a mathematical physicist who researched in linar elasticity. His work contributed to understanding of seismic waves, gravimetry, and the flow of glaciers.
He developed an equation related to Green's formula, which is known as the Somigliana integral equation. He also developed equations for interactions at elastic interfaces, known as Somigliana dislocations.
He was a member of the Accademia dei Lincei (The predecessor of the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences, it was appropriated by the Italian government in the 1870s and served as the host institution of the 1922 IAU general assembly). In 1939 he would become a member of the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences.
Somigliana is not listed as a registered attendee of the IAU general assembly, but may have been present as a guest (probably of Luigi Volta--see below) or as a member of the organizing institution.
Luigi Volta
Luigi Volta (1876-1952) [Source: Accademia delle Scienze, Torino]
Luigi Volta was the great-grandson of the physicist Alessandro Volta (1765-1927; inventor of the voltaic pile {battery} and the man for whom the unit of electric potential "volt" is named). [n.b. From the same source, I discovered that Carlo Somigliana (see above) was also a great-grandson of Volta, and was Luigi's cousin.]
At the time of the IAU meeting, he was an astronomer at the observatory in Milan. In 1925, he would become the director of the Pino Torinese observatory of the University of Turin. In 1942, he would become director of the Observatories of Milan and Merate.
Much of his work involved precision measurements of latitude and longitude for various observatories (which was necessary for measuring stellar coordinates from those observatories).
He also observed and calculated orbits of comets and asteroids. He discovered five asteroids, including 1107 Lictoria and 1115 Sabaudia.
Volta served the IAU on the commission on longitude variations, and the one on latitude variations.
Francesco Vercelli
Francesco Vercelli (1883-1952) [Source: Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale]
He was a physicist and mathematician who, during the First World War served as an artilleryman and meteorologist.
He was director of the Geophysical Institute of Trieste from 1919 until his retirement. He served a term as president of the Italian National Council for Research (CNR).
His major scientific contributions are in the field of thallasography (maritime geography/oceanography) as well as meteorology and other related fields.
Vercelli is not listed as a registered attendee of the IAU, but like Somigliana he was a member of the Accademia dei Lincei. (Also like Somigliana, he would become a member of the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences.)
Alfred Lacroix
Alfred Lacroix (1863-1948)
Antoine François Alfred Lacroix FMRS (1863-1948) wrote, "Paris".
He was director of the mineralogical laboratory of the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris.
His research involved the geology of volcanic materials: igneous rocks and metamorphism. He wrote a major work on the mineralogy of France and its colonies.
Lacroix was not a registered attendee of the IAU, but he was president of the volcanology section of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics from 1922-1927 (and thus would have been at the Geophysics Union's congress in Rome at the time).
The Lacroix glacier in Antarctica is named for him, as is the species Oligodon lacroixi (an Asian snake).
G. B. Rizzo
Giovan Battista Rizzo (1863-1945) [Source: Università degli Studi di Messina]
He was director of the Institute of Terrestrial Physics and Meteorology of the University of Messina from 1908-1941.
His areas of research included meteorology, spectroscopy, magnetism, and volcanism.
Rizzo was not listed as a registered attendee of the IAU meeting, but may have been an attendee of the IUGG meeting.
Louis Bauer
Louis A. Bauer (1865-1932)
Louis Agricola Bauer (1865-1932) wrote, "Dept. Terrestrial Magnetism, Washington, D.C."
He was director of the department of terrestrial magnetism at the Carnegie Institute of Washington, D.C.
His research largely involved the global mapping of the Earth's magnetic field, particularly over the oceans. His work strayed into astronomy through the study of geomagnetic effects of solar activity.
He was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
He founded the journal Terrestrial Magnetism (today the Journal of Geophysical Research.)
Bauer served on the IAU commission on solar radiation and the commission on solar physics.
Benjamin Baillaud
Édouard Benjamin Baillaud (1848-1934)
Édouard Benjamin Baillaud (1848-1934) wrote, "Directeur d l'observatoire de Paris" (Director of the Paris Observatory)
I wrote a Specola Guestbook entry for Baillaud when he made an earlier visit on May 12, 1910. You can read that article for more about him.
Baillaud was the founding president of the International Astronomical Union. He also presided over the commission on the analysis of works and of bibliography, and served on the commission of astronomical telegrams, the Carte du Ciel commission, and the commission on time.
Georges Perrier
Georges Perrier (1872-1946)
Lt.-Col. (later Gen.) Antoine François Jacques Justin Georges Perrier (1872-1946) wrote, "chef de le Section du geodesie du Service Geographique français Paris" (Head of the geodesy section of the French Geographical Service, Paris).
He served the French army in the geographical services.
He was president of the International Society for Photogrammetry from 1930-1934.
Perriertoppen (Perrier Peak), the second highest mountain in Svalbard, is named for him.
Col. Perrier attended as a representative of the Commission of Longitudes of the Geodesy Section of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics. He was at the time secretary of the Geodesy Section, and would later become its president.
"Madame Perrier"
Louise Marguerite Thérèse Pagézy (1883-1961), the wife of Col. Perrier, appended her husband's signature line with "et Madame Perrier"
Specola Guestbook | May 7-10, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 6 – Bemporad, Viaro, Turner, Russell, Philippot, and Vanderlinden
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
For the past few weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union. Today's visitors all came between May 7-10, 1922. They are Azeglio Bemporad, Bartolo Viaro, Herbert H. Turner, Henry Norris Russell, Hector Philippot, and Henri Vanderlinden.
Azeglio Bemporad
Azeglio Bemporad (1875-1945)
Azeglio Bemporad (1875-1945) visited on May 7. Next to his name, he wrote, "Napoli Dirett. Osservatorio Capodimonte" (Naples, Director of the Observatory of Capodimonte).
(Bemporad had also visited the Vatican Observatory on March 21, 1908, when he worked at the observatory of Catania. Unfortunately, I failed to produce a "Specola Guestbook" column on the occasion of that visit.)
He was director of the observatory at Capodimonte from 1912-1934, then became director of the observatory at Catania until he was fired for being a Jew in 1938. (Mussolini had enacted antisemitic laws.) He was reinstated in 1943, but did not return to work.
In his scientific career, he worked in several fields of astronomy. Much of his work involved the Carte du Ciel program, which he engaged both in Catania and Capodimonte. He also did solar physics, planetary observations, stellar photometry, and meteorology.
He produced a table of trigonometrical logarithms for calculating time, which was widely used.
Bemporad served on the IAU committee on solar radiation, the committee on solar physics, the Carte du Ciel committee, the committee on stellar photometry, and the committee on variable stars.
Bortolo Viaro
Bortolo Viaro (1870-1922)
Bortolo Viaro (1870-1922) also visited on May 7. He wrote, "Padova Astronomo" (Astronomer of Padua).
Just after IAU, he would become director of the Catania Observatory. There he would remain for only one month before contracting a fatal case of malaria in July 1922.
His research involved determining orbits of asteroids and cataloguing stellar positions.
Viaro served on the IAU committee on meridian astronomy and the committee on ephemerides of small bodies.
Herbert H. Turner
Herbert Hall Turner (1861-1930) [Source: The Royal Society]
This was not his first visit to the Specola. He had made at least two visits prior. I wrote a Specola Guestbook column about Turner on the occasion of his visit on January 15, 1909.
As a reminder, he discovered deep-focus earthquakes and coined the term, "parsec."
He served the IAU as president of the lunar nomenclature committee and the Carte du Ciel committee, and he was a member of the committee stellar photometry, the committee on variable stars, and the committee on notation, units, and the economy of publications.
NOTE ON MAY 10
Almost all of the remaining visitors associated with the IAU meeting made their visit on May 10, 1922. This would have been the day of an organized outing to visit the observatory. Not only the notable astronomers of the IAU were present, but also spouses and guests. The visits on previous days probably were arranged individually.
Henry Norris Russell
Henry Norris Russell (1877-1957)
Henry Norris Russell FRAS FMRS HFRSE (1877-1957) wrote, "Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A."
Russell was director of the Princeton University Observatory from 1912-1947.
I mentioned Russell a few weeks ago in the context of another IAU attendee, Ejnar Hertzsprung. The two are credited with the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram that plots stars according to their spectral type or temperature and their luminosity (see diagram below).
Russell and Heinrich Vogt independently proposed the hypothesis that the structure and evolution of a star is dependent only on its mass and the chemical distribution within its interior. This has been referred to as the Vogt-Russell theorem.
One other scientific contribution that bears his name is Russell-Saunders coupling (for which he also shares credit with Frederick Saunders). The two collaborated in 1923 to develop this description of the coupling of electron quantum spin states and orbital angular momenta.
The asteroid 1762 Russell is named in his honor. His work earned him the Lalande Prize, the Henry Draper Medal, the Bruce Medal, the Rumford Prize, the Franklin Medal, and the Janssen Medal.
Russell served the IAU on the committee on variable stars, the committee on spectral classification of stars, and the committee on stellar parallax.
HR Diagram [Source: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics]
Hector Philippot
Hector Philippot (1872-1925) wrote, "Uccle (Belgique)" (Uccle, Belgium).
He was a chief astronomer at the University of Liege, where he spent his career specializing in meridian astronomy and the measurement of time.
He was a knight of the Order of Leopold in Belgium.
Philippot served the IAU on the committee on meridian astronomy and the committee on time.
Henri Vanderlinden
Henri Louis Vanderlinden (1892-1983) wrote, "Uccle (Belgique)" (Uccle, Belgium).
He was an assistant astronomer at the Royal Observatory of Uccle. In 1925 he would take a post at the University of Ghent, where he would become a professor.
His research focused primarily on orbital dynamics and photometry.
He served a term as president of the Belgian National Committee of Astronomy.
Vanderlinden was present at the IAU meeting as a representative of Belgium, but does not appear to have served on any committee. After 1925, he served on the commissions on stellar photometry, stellar clusters, and stellar populations.
Next Week: Carlo Somigliana, Luigi Volta, Francesco Vercelli, Antoine Lacroix, Louis Bauer, Benjamin Baillaud, and Georges Perrier.
Specola Adjunct Scholar Chinnici Wins Osterbrock Book Prize
In addition to the full-time Jesuits of the Vatican Observatory, we support several adjunct scholars who are primarily based at other institutions but who use resources of the Vatican Observatory. These people are all very accomplished scholars in their respective fields--which cover a range of subjects from astronomy to philosophy.
Ileana Chinnici during a meeting at the Specola in 2015 [Photo: Br. Robert Macke]
Ileana Chinnici is a research astronomer at INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Palermo, in Sicily. She specializes in the history of astronomy and astrophysics, with current areas of research including Fr. Angelo Secchi SJ, Pietro Tacchini, and Fr. Giuseppe Piazzi CR. She began her association with the Vatican Observatory around the time she was a PhD student in the early 1990s. Early on, she collaborated with Fr. Sabino Maffeo SJ on the history of the Carte du Ciel project. She became an adjunct scholar in about 2009 at the invitation of then-director Fr. Jose Funes SJ.
Book cover for "Decoding the Stars." [Source: Brill.com]
In awarding the Osterbrock Prize to Chinnici, the Historical Astronomy Division recognized not only the value of Chinnici's research on the subject, but also the growing importance of Secchi himself to the history of astronomy. From their web page:
This is the first full-length biography of Italian astronomer Angelo Secchi (1818-1878) in English and will become the definitive work on this important figure in the history of astrophysics. Secchi became well known as part of the transition from classical positional astronomy to astrophysics. He was a pioneer of spectroscopy and its application to stellar classification and solar physics. At the 25th anniversary of Secchi’s death, George Ellery Hale praised his contributions “to the present widespread interest in Astro-physical research.” Chinnici’s book covers not only the research that Secchi is remembered for, but also the broader environment in which he worked. Based on extensive research in Italian and Vatican archives, it is richly illustrated with many color and black-and-white photographs. [Source: AAS-HAD]
Much of Chinnici's research for the book was performed in the library of the Vatican Observatory. As she told me in a 2017 interview, the library contains "probably the most complete collection of his works." These include (among other things) a complete collection of journal articles published by Secchi, and a collection of his teaching notes from the Collegio Romano.
I interviewed Chinnici in our library a few years ago for a YouTube video about Angelo Secchi. Here's the video:
You can also read a Sacred Space Astronomy blog post about Secchi.
The book prize will be presented at a virtual meeting of the HAD in January 2021.
Specola Guestbook | May 9, 2017: Sir Roger Penrose
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, Nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
We're going to interrupt the usual chronological order this week, due to an interesting development in current events. It may have slipped your attention in the midst of other breaking news bulletins, but this week the Nobel committee announced the recipients of the 2020 Nobel prize in physics. They are Roger Penrose "for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity" and Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez "for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy."
[Special mention should be made for Andrea Ghez, a professor at UCLA. Women are woefully underrepresented among Nobel laureates. She is only the fourth woman to receive the physics prize. She joins ranks with Marie Curie, Maria Goeppert-Mayer, and Donna Strickland]
While I am currently unaware of any visits to the Specola made by either Ghez or Genzel, the esteemed Sir Roger Penrose did grace our corridors with his presence for several days from May 9-12, 2017.
Sir Roger Penrose OM FRS
Next to his name, Sir Roger Penrose OM FRS (b1931) wrote, "Oxford U.K."
Normally, at this time I would spend a lot of words talking about his numerous accomplishments, such as his sharing the 1988 Wolf Prize in Physics with Stephen Hawking for their work on singularities (known as the Penrose-Hawking singularity theorems). Needless to say, our understanding of the physics of black holes and spacetime singularities owes a lot to Penrose.
Or, I would describe his communications with M.C. Escher in the 1950s and how they inspired the artist's work.
But, if you have been keeping up with the Nobel news much of this would already be familiar to you. Perhaps some day I will circle around to this date in the guestbook and give a lengthier description of all of his contributions.
Today I want to focus on the visit itself. Why did Penrose come to the Vatican observatory for the better part of a week in 2017?
Credit for that is due to our own Fr. Gabriele Gionti SJ. He organized a meeting to in honor of Msgr Georges Lemaître (1894-1966) on the theme of "Black Holes, Gravitational Waves, and Spacetime Singularities." In addition to Penrose, several key figures in the field participated including Gerard 't Hooft (Nobel prize in physics, 1999) and Alex Filippenko.
Title slide of Penrose's presentation
Penrose gave a talk entitled, "The Big Bang and its Dark-Matter Content: Whence, Whither and Wherefore." In an unusual move for this age of Powerpoint and Keynote, he used old-school overhead transparencies. (The link on the title connects to a video recording of the talk.)
Below are a few photos that I took of the eminent scientist during his visit.
Penrose speaking to Fr. Gabriele Gionti SJ (back to camera) while Francesca Vidotto looks on. [Photo credit: Robert Macke SJ]
Coffee Break. [Photo credit: Robert Macke SJ]
Penrose comparing notes with Carlo Rovelli. [Photo credit: Robert Macke SJ]
Sir Roger Penrose speaking at the Lemaître workshop in 2017. [Photo credit: Robert Macke SJ]
Specola Guestbook | May 5-6, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 5 – St. John, Fowler, Banachiewicz, Lockyer, Rodes, and Pigot
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
For the past few weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union. This event will continue to occupy the next several entries in this column. Today's visitors all came on May 5 or 6, 1922. They are Charles E. St. John, Alfred Fowler, Tadeusz Banachiewicz, William Lockyer, Luis Rodés, and Edward Pigot.
Charles E. St. John
Charles E. St. John (1857-1935) [Source: National Academy of Sciences]
He was a professor at Oberlin College from 1899-1908, serving as dean of the college of arts and science 1907-1908. In 1908, George Ellery Hale offered him a post at Mount Wilson Observatory, which he took.
Much of his research was focused on solar spectroscopy. He conducted some of the most precise and accurate measurements of solar field lines in his day. In particular, he studied lines associated with the element Iron. From its effect on spectral lines, he was able to confirm the presence of a strong magnetic field in sunspots. He also studied the motions of the gases in sunspots, the rotation of the Sun and its effect on the spectrum at the solar limbs, and the effect of general relativity on the solar spectrum.
Outside of solar spectroscopy, he also conducted spectroscopic studies of the atmosphere of Venus.
He presided over the IAU committee on wavelength standards and tables of solar spectra and served on the committee on solar atmosphere, the committee on solar physics, the committee on solar rotation, and the finance committee.
Alfred Fowler
Alfred Fowler (1868-1940)
Next to his name, Alfred Fowler CBE FRS (1868-1940) wrote, "Imperial College, London."
Fowler had been an assistant to Sir Norman Lockyer until Lockyer's retirement in 1901, after which Fowler's research focus shifted from astronomical spectroscopy to laboratory spectroscopy.
In a past entry of the Specola Guestbook on the visit of Edward Charles Pickering, I mentioned the Pickering-Fowler series. Pickering had detected this series in the spectrum of the star 𝜁-Puppis, which he attributed to hydrogen. In 1912, Fowler was able to reproduce the series in the laboratory using gaseous hydrogen. However, his hydrogen was mixed with helium, and it was (as Neils Bohr later determined) the helium that was in fact responsible for the spectral lines. [n.b. Bohr challenged the origin of the lines by deriving them from his atomic theory, thus strengthening the theory.]
He was secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society from 1912-1918, president 1919-1921, and foreign secretary 1931-1936.
He was the first general secretary of the IAU executive committee and served on the committee on solar atmosphere, the committee on astronomical expeditions, eclipses, etc., the committee on wavelength standards and tables of solar spectra, the committee on comets, the committee on spectral classification of stars, and the committee on solar physics.
The lunar crater Fowler is named in his honor.
Tadeusz Banachiewicz
Tadeusz Banachiewicz (1882-1954)
Next to his name, Tadeusz Banachiewicz (1882-1954) wrote, "Obserwatorjum Astronomiczne w Krakowie, Polska" (Astronomical Observatory in Krakow, Poland)
He was director of the Krakow Observatory.
His research involved orbital mechanics and determining orbital parameters. He developed a form of matrix algebra ("cracovians") for doing these calculations. He also introduced the concept of LU decomposition into linear algebra, which today is a vital part of any linear algebra course.
He is the inventor of the chronocinematograph, an instrument that couples a cinema camera and a precise timekeeping device for use in the observations of solar eclipses.
He founded the journal Acta Astronomica.
He was the first president of the Polish Astronomical Society. He also served as vice president of the Geodetic Committee for the Baltic States.
He served on the IAU committee for variable stars, the committee on time, and the finance committee. From 1932-1938, he would be the IAU vice-president.
The asteroid 1286 Banachiewicza is named for him, as is the lunar crater Banachiewicz.
There is a line in the guest book for a "P. [Fr.] Eugenio da Balerna (Svizzera) Cappuccino." I have found no record of this person in attendance at the meeting. Perhaps he was an unregistered guest. The person was apparently a Capuchin Franciscan priest from Balerna, Switzerland, known as Fr. Eugenio. Beyond that I can say nothing.
William Lockyer
William J. S. Lockyer (1868-1936) [Source: National Portrait Gallery]
He is most notably the son of the famous astronomer Sir Norman Lockyer, the founder of the journal Nature. He was himself an astronomer and served as director of the observatory that was renamed after his father, the Norman Lockyer Observatory in Sidmouth.
His astronomical research was primarily involved with solar astronomy and sunspot cycles. He, along with Edouard Brückner and Charles Egeson, are credited with the Brückner-Egeson-Lockyer cycle. This is an approx. 30-40 year climactic cycle influenced by solar activity.
He helped establish the International Meteorological Committee.
He served on the IAU committee on stellar parallax and the committee on spectral classification of stars.
Luis Rodés
Fr. Luis Rodés S.J. (1881-1939)
Fr. Luis Rodés y Campderà S.J. (1881-1939) wrote, "Ebro Observatorio Tortosa, Spagna."
He was director of the Ebro observatory from 1919-1939.
Much of his scientific work was on solar physics, solar activity, and terrestrial magnetism. He is the author of the popular astronomy book El Firmamento (1927).
He was a member of the IAU committee on solar physics.
Edward Pigot
Fr. Edward Pigot S.J. (1859-1929)
Fr. Edward Francis Pigot S.J. (1859-1929) wrote, "Riverview Observatory, Sydney, Australia."
Pigot's scientific interests were mainly in the areas of meteorology and seismology. He established a Riverview College Observatory as a seismological station in 1909. He also participated in several solar eclipse expeditions and studied the connection between solar radiation and terrestrial weather.
He did not serve directly on any committee of the IAU, but spoke to the committee on solar radiation in hopes of establishing a solar radiation observatory in Australia.
Jesuit participants at the First IAU General Assembly, on a visit to the Vatican Observatory. They are accompanied by Pope Pius XI and two of his entourage. Vincenzo Cerulli (President of the Italian Astronomical Society) also accompanied the visit. [n.b. They did not all sign the guest book on the same day, yet this photograph shows them at the Vatican Observatory together. This suggests that there were multiple visits.]
Next week: Azeglio Bemporad, Bartolo Viaro, Herbert Hall Turner, Henry Norris Russell, Hector Philippot, and Henri Vanderlinden
Specola Guestbook | May 5, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 4 – Miller, Markwick, Newbegin, Parr, and Shapley
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
For the past few weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union. This event will continue to occupy the next several entries in this column. Today's visitors all came on May 5, 1922. They are John Miller, Col. E. Markwick, A. M. Newbegin, W. Alfred Parr, and Harlow Shapley.
John A. Miller
John A. Miller (1859-1946) [Source: Rittenhouse Astronomical Society]
From 1913-1926, he was vice-president of the college.
Miller used the 24-inch Sproul telescope mostly to study stellar parallax, which he measured for several hundred stars. He also participated in several eclipse expeditions between 1905 and 1932.
He was secretary of the American Philosophical Society from 1920-1941.
He was named a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society just one month after the IAU meeting in 1922.
He served the IAU as a member of the committee on stellar parallax and the finance committee.
Col. E. E. Markwick
Col. E. E. Markwick (1853-1925) [Source: British Astronomical Association]
He was a career military officer from 1872 until retirement in 1905, returning during World War I from 1914-1919.
He was also an avid amateur (but published) astronomer. As an astronomer, his area of expertise was variable stars. He carried out a systematic study of variable stars consisting of almost 8000 observations. In the course of his work, he also discovered a few of them.
He was a founding member of the British Astronomical Association, directed its Variable Star Section from 1899-1909, and presided over the organization from 1912-1914.
He served the IAU as a member of the committee on variable stars.
A. M. Newbegin
A. M. Newbegin (1885?-1965) [Source: Popular Astronomy]
He built his own observatory in Sutton, installing a 6.25-inch Cooke refractor and a Littrow spectroscope. His observations focused primarily on the sun. He observed solar prominences in the H𝛼 band, and charted sunspots. His records include over 21,000 observations of solar prominences.
The proceedings of the first General Assembly of the IAU show Newbegin as present at the meeting, but he does not appear to have served on any committees. He would serve on the committee for solar activity a decade later.
W. Alfred Parr
W. A. Parr (1865? - 1936)
Next to his name, William Alfred Parr (ca. 1865-1936) wrote, "Hampstead, London"
The son of a wealthy British merchant, his primary profession was as a pianist and teacher of piano, but he was also an avid amateur astronomer. In his early years, he studied music in both Germany and Italy and was fluent in both languages. While in Florence, he became acquainted with the director of the observatory at Arcetri.
He was president of the British Astronomical Association from 1932-1934 and also served as its Librarian from 1919-1932 and again from 1934-35.
His astronomical work was primarily focused on its history and literature. He did possess a 4-inch Cook refractor that was eventually given to St. Albans High School for Girls, but he did not carry out systematic observations. He read many foreign papers and wrote English summaries for the Journal of the British Astronomical Association.
The proceedings of the first General Assembly of the IAU show Parr as present at the meeting, but he does not appear to have served on any committees. It is reported, however, that his linguistic skills were invaluable for helping the diverse members of the IAU to communicate during the meeting.
Harlow Shapley
Harlow Shapley (1885-1972)
Next to his name, Harlow Shapley (1885-1972) humorously wrote, "Cambridge, England Mass. U.S.A." (Who knew he had a sense of humor?)
He was the director of the Harvard College Observatory, located in Cambridge MASSACHUSETTS (not England). His life as an astronomer has rather inauspicious beginnings. He attended the University of Missouri, which today has a highly reputable school of journalism. As the story goes, he intended to be one of the first students in the program, but its opening was delayed. For his first year, he had to choose a different major. He just chose alphabetically, rejecting the first listing (archaeology) and taking the second (astronomy). The rest, as they say, is history.
I mentioned Shapley's name three weeks ago in the context of Heber Doust Curtis. Curtis and Shapley famously debated the nature of spiral nebulae in 1920. Shapley thought that they were relatively small and were located within the Milky Way Galaxy, while Curtis supported the theory that they were much larger and lay outside the Milky Way.
One of Shapley's most significant astronomical contributions lay in mapping the distribution of 69 globular clusters in the Milky Way, using Cepheid variables as a standard candle. (See figure below.) [Note: this made use of the period-luminosity relation established by Henrietta Swan Leavitt.] By doing this, he established that the Sun is not at the center of the galaxy, but rather lies off to the side in a nondescript neighborhood.
He became director of the Harvard College Observatory in 1920 after the death of Edward Charles Pickering (who visited the Specola back in 1913).
Despite initially opposing the idea of spiral nebulae being distinct galaxies from the Milky Way, the 1921 discovery by Hubble of Cepheid variables in Andromeda convinced him otherwise. He himself went on to study the distribution of galaxies in the universe. He supervised Georges Lemaître's PhD studies in 1924-25, during which the priest would develop the core of his Big Bang theory. [Note: The supervisor of record was a professor at MIT, but Lemaître really worked with Shapley.]
He was president of the American Astronomical Association from 1943-46. He advocated for the founding of the National Science Foundation. He was also named president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1947, just before he was scheduled to appear before the infamous House Un-American Activities Committee. During the hearing, he gave a scathing rebuke of the HUAC.
There is a crater Shapley on the Moon, an asteroid 1123 Shapleya, and a supercluster of galaxies named the Shapley Supercluster. In addition, the American Astronomical Society sponsors the Harlow Shapley Visiting Lectureships.
Shapley had some noteworthy children. These include Mildred Shapley Matthews, an author and astronomy book editor (who was acquainted with Br. Guy Consolmagno); Lloyd Shapley, an economist/mathematician who received a Nobel Memorial prize in economics; and Willis Shapley, a NASA administrator during the Apollo program.
Shapley presided over the IAU committee on variable stars, and further served the IAU as a member of the committee on astronomical telegrams, the committee on stellar parallax, the committee on stellar photometry, and the committee on spectral classification of stars.
Distribution of globular clusters in the Milky Way, from Shapley, 1918, Pub. Astr. Soc. Pacific 30, 42-54. The earth is the solid circle in the cross-hairs, whereas the center of the cluster distribution is marked by concentric dashed circles.
Next week: Charles St. John, Arthur Fowler, Tadeusz Banachiewicz, William Lockyer, Luis Rodés, and Edward Pigot.
Specola Guestbook | May 2-5 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 3 – Phillips, Stratton, de Roy, Davies, Ginori, and Hertzsprung
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
For the past couple weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union. This event will continue to occupy the next several entries in this column. Today, in order to finish off this page of the guestbook, we will highlight six names instead of five. They are T. E. R. Phillips, F. J. M. Stratton, Felix de Roy, Charles Davies, Nello Venturi Ginori, and Ejnar Hertzsprung.
T. E. R. Phillips
T.E.R. Phillips (1868-1942) [Source: Kibworth History Society]
An Anglican cleric, he was vicar of Headley from 1916 until his death in 1942. He was also an accomplished amateur astronomer and meteorologist.
His astronomical work focused on planetary observations. A member of the British Astronomical Association, he directed the Association's section on Jupiter (1900-33) and Saturn (1935-40).
He became the president of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1927.
He served the IAU as president of the committee on physical observations of planets, and was a member of the committee on variable stars.
Frederick J. M. Stratton
F. J. M. Stratton (1881-1960) [Source: Society for Psychical Research]
He was a decorated military officer. During World War I he served in the Corps of Royal Engineers. As a result of his service, he was declared a knight of the French Légion d'honneur. He would also volunteer for service in World War II.
He was also an astronomer and professor at Cambridge University. His astronomical work was focused on solar physics. He also was a pioneer in spectroscopy of novae.
He was director of the Cambridge Solar Physics Observatory from 1928-46.
He presided the Royal Astronomical Society from 1933-35.
He was a devout Unitarian. He presided the General Assembly of the church in 1948.
His interests also strayed into parapsychology, possibly due to his friendship with Sir Oliver Lodge. In 1953, he became president of the Society for Psychical Research. His research attempts in the field were (unsurprisingly) without positive results.
He was a member of the IAU committee on astronomical expeditions, eclipses, etc., the committee on spectral classification of stars, and the finance committee. He would serve as the IAU General Secretary from 1925-1935 and would be the only IAU member to attend all of the first ten general assemblies (spanning 1922-1958).
Félix de Roy
Félix de Roy (1883-1942) at the 4th IAU General Assembly, 1932 [From Specola Vaticana archives]
He was both an astronomer and a journalist. As a journalist, he wrote for Le Matin (Antwerp) from 1926-1940.
His research focused on variable stars. He made observations of more than five thousand of them. He also studied comets and asteroids.
He was director of the Variable Star Section of the British Astronomical Association from 1922-1939.
He founded and was served as president of the Astronomical Society of Antwerp.
He was a member of the IAU committee on shooting stars (meteors) and the committee on variable stars.
The crater De Roy on the moon is named in his honor.
Charles D. P. Davies
Charles D. P. Davies (1856 - 1931) [Source: The Bellringer no.7 vol.1, April 1, 1907]
Researching C.D.P. Davies was a bit of a challenge, particularly since there is no record of him in the Transactions of the International Astronomical Union (vol. 1, 1922). Apparently he was present as an unregistered guest. A shallow internet search did not produce anything. I almost skipped the name for this blog post, but then I happened to stumble upon his death notice in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (Feb 1932).
Davies was an Anglican minister and astrophile who took an interest in the construction of telescopes and telescope mirrors, including (what was quite advanced for the time) parabolic mirrors. His expertise contributed to some of the portable telescopes used on eclipse expeditions.
He was one of the founding members of the British Astronomical Association, served as its president in 1924.
He became a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1889.
He was also an accomplished change ringer, and served as editor of Church Bells.
Nello Venturi-Ginori
Nello Venturi Ginori Lisci (1884-1943) also visited on May 4. He wrote, "Florence, Italy."
This was not his first visit to the Vatican Observatory. He first signed the guestbook on January 18, 1912, and was the subject of a previous Specola Guestbook column. Interested readers can check out that article.
He is listed in the IAU record as a representative of Italy, but did not apparently serve as a member of any IAU committee.
Ejnar Hertzsprung
Ejnar Hertzsprung (1873-1967)
Ejnar Hertzsprung (1873-1967) visited on May 5. He wrote, "Leiden, chief-assistant."
He studied the relationship between temperature (spectral type) and luminosity of stars. He correlated spectral line widths and proper motions with distance of stars, which was a necessary step in establishing absolute magnitude and hence luminosity.
Today, every introductory astronomy course includes a section on the famous Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, which plots stellar luminosity against surface temperature (or spectral type). ("Russell" is for Henry Norris Russell, who also attended this IAU meeting and will be discussed in a future post.)
He was among the first to use Cepheid variables to measure distances, building on the work by Henrietta Leavitt.
The planetary scientist Gerard Kuiper (for whom the Kuiper belt is named) was one of his students.
He was awarded the Bruce Medal in 1937. The asteroid 1693 Hertzsprung is named for him.
Hertzsprung served the IAU as a member of the committee on stellar photometry, the committee on double stars, the committee on variable stars, and the committee on spectral classification of stars.
Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram [Source: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics]