Tag Archives: Specola Guestbook

Specola Guestbook | May 2-5 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 3 – Phillips, Stratton, de Roy, Davies, Ginori, and Hertzsprung

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This entry is part 60 of 60 in the series Specola Guestbook

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 Rev. Theodore Evelyn Reece Phillips FRAS (1868-1942) visited on May 2, 1922. Next to his name, he wrote, “Headley, Epsom, England.” An Anglican cleric, he was vicar of Headley from 1916 until his death in 1942.  He was also an accomplished amateur astronomer and meteorologist. … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | April 29-May 2, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 2 – Bigourdan, Belot, Donitch, Hough, and Crommelin

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This entry is part 59 of 60 in the series Specola Guestbook

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. Last week, we began highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.  This event will occupy the next several entries in this column.  The visitors for today’s column include Guillaume Bigourdan, Émile Belot, Nicholas Donitch, Sydney Hough, and Andrew Crommelin. Guillaume Bigourdan Camille Guillaume Bigourdan (1851-1932) visited on April 29. Next to his name, he wrote, “Paris, Observatoire national France.” His research primarily involved the study of nebulae, of which he measured the positions of thousands. He also attempted (mostly unsuccessfully) to measure their proper motions. He was director of the international bureau of time (Bureau International de l’Heure) from 1919-1928. He was vice president of the French Academy of Sciences in 1923, and its president in 1924. … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | April 13-28, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 1 – Aitken, Curtis, van Steenwijk, Cortie, and Stein

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This entry is part 58 of 60 in the series Specola Guestbook

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. In the middle of the page, between March and April 1922, there is a red line drawn in the guestbook. What’s that line doing there?  The explanation becomes apparent when you see what is written in the top margin of the book: The International Astronomical Union (IAU) was founded in 1919, with general assemblies of astronomical representatives from around the world to meet every three years.  The first general assembly was held in Rome in May 1922.  On the occasion of this meeting, a large number of attendees (starting with some arriving as early as April) would make a visit to the Vatican Observatory, which at the time was still located within the walls of Vatican City. Over the next several weeks starting with this entry, I … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | March 28, 1922: Raymond Archibald

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This entry is part 57 of 60 in the series Specola Guestbook

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. Today’s guestbook entry is from March 28, 1922, when Raymond Clare Archibald made a visit. Next to his name, Raymond Clare Archibald (1875-1955) wrote, “Professor of Pure Mathematics, Brown Univ., Providence, R.I.”  He was a mathematician, mathematics librarian, and mathematics historian. The year of his visit (1922), he was president of the Mathematical Association of America. He founded the journal Mathematical Tables and Other Aids to Computation. He edited several other mathematical journals. He grew the Brown University mathematical library into one of the preeminent resources in the field. He founded the Mary Mellish Archibald Memorial Library, which grew to over 23,000 volumes during his lifetime. He also served as librarian for the American Mathematical Society from 1921-1941.  

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Specola Guestbook | Feb 24, 1922: Mentore Maggini

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This entry is part 56 of 60 in the series Specola Guestbook

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. Today’s guestbook entry is from February 24, 1922, when Mentore Maggini made a visit. Next to his name, Mentore Maggini (1890-1941) wrote, “R. Osservatorio Astrofisico – Catania.” (Royal Astrophysical Observatory, Catania). He was an astronomer who studied binary stars and the Martian surface. In 1926, he would be named director of the Observatory of Collurania (in Teramo), where he would remain until his death in 1941. In his research on Mars, he focused on Martian cartography. Among his work, he studied the psycho-optic theory of Martian canals (i.e. the tendency of the eye to create connections between nearby points) at a time when most people thought the canals were real. He was among the first to do photometry using photoelectric cells, which he applied to the study … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | Oct 18, 1921: William Pickering

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This entry is part 55 of 60 in the series Specola Guestbook

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. Today’s guestbook entry is from October 18, 1921, when William H. Pickering made a visit. Next to his name, William Henry Pickering (1858-1938) wrote, “Harvard Observatory, Cambridge U.S.A.”  He was an astronomer who constructed several observatories. He was the brother of Edward Charles Pickering, director of the Harvard Observatory from 1877-1919. Edward was the subject of a previous Specola Guestbook post. He made a visit in 1913. It is possible that the occasion of the visit to the Specola was in preparation for the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.  That meeting took place in May 1922 in Rome. Pickering was an inaugural member, and served on the commission for lunar nomenclature and the commission for planetary physics. Among his scientific contributions, he discovered one … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | Feb 14, 1921: Guido Alfani

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This entry is part 54 of 60 in the series Specola Guestbook

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. Today’s guestbook entry is from February 14, 1921, when Fr. Guido Alfani made a visit. Next to his name, Fr. Guido Alfani Sch. P. (1876-1940) wrote, “Osservat. Ximeniano di Firenze” (Ximeniano Observatory of Florence).  He was a Piarist priest (Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools, also known as the Scolopi). He directed the Ximeniano Observatory from 1904 until his death in 1940. As a scientist, his interest spanned several disciplines, including astronomy, and meteorology, but primarily seismology. He specialized in the development of scientific instruments. He is particularly noted for the invention of several seismographical instruments, including a portable tripod-mounted seismograph and the Alfani photoseismograph.  He was able to pinpoint the epicenters of several earthquakes in Messina, Avezzano, and … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | June 8, 1920: Charles Cushing

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This entry is part 53 of 60 in the series Specola Guestbook

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. Today’s guestbook entry is from June 8, 1920, when Charles Cushing made a visit. Next to his name, Charles S. Cushing FRAS (1867-1946) wrote, “+ Mrs. Cushing {Astronomical Society Pacific San Francisco, Cal.}”  He was accompanied on the visit by his wife, Anne Sessions Cushing. Cushing was a career attorney with a passion for astronomy.  He was one of the earliest members of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, having joined shortly after its founding in 1889.  He would become its president in 1921. He was also president of the California Bar Association from 1918-1919, and (a few times) president of the Society of California Pioneers (an historical society).  

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Specola Guestbook | April 1, 1920: Sydney Chapman

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This entry is part 52 of 60 in the series Specola Guestbook

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. Today’s guestbook entry is from April 1, 1920 (no foolin’!), when Sydney Chapman made a visit. Next to his name, Sydney Chapman FRS (1888-1970) wrote, “Professor, The University, Manchester, lately of Greenwich Observatory.”  He was the Beyer Chair of Applied Mathematics at the University of Manchester. He was a mathematician who turned his skills to various astronomical and atmospheric phenomena.  Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Manchester in 1919, he was assistant to the Astronomer Royal Sir Frank Dyson at the Greenwich Observatory.  Much of his work there involved studying the influence of the Sun and Moon on terrestrial magnetism. He became Sedleian Chair of Natural Philosophy at Oxford in 1946. After retiring in 1953, he relocated to the US. He spent much of … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | January 29, 1920: Emilio Bianchi

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This entry is part 51 of 60 in the series Specola Guestbook

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. Before going further, I would like to note a considerable gap in the guestbook between 1914-1920, denoted in a few blank lines in the book.  In fact, the last entry was January 8, 1915 (Giovanni Boccardi, the subject of last week’s Specola Guestbook column), and the next entry was not until January of 1920.  There are two possibilities for this gap. One possibility is that, for whatever reason, a different guestbook was being used during this gap period.  However, our archivist is not aware of any such book.  The other possibility is that during these years — during which the world was at war, followed by the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1919 — the Vatican Observatory was closed to visitors. It should be noted that the work … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | January 8, 1915: Giovanni Boccardi

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This entry is part 50 of 60 in the series Specola Guestbook

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. Today’s guestbook entry is from January 8, 1915, when Giovanni Boccardi made a visit. Next to his name, Fr. Giovanni Boccardi C.M. (1859-1936) wrote, “Direttore R. Osservatorio Pino Torinese” (Director of the Royal Observatory Pino Torinese).  He was an astronomer and a Lazzarist priest. (The Lazzarists, or the Congregation of Mission, are a Catholic religious congregation.) In the late 1890’s, while working at the observatory of the Collegio Romano, he calculated the orbit of an asteroid for which he successfully proposed the name 416 Vaticana. For the period of ca. 1899-1903, he was a professor at the University of Catania, where he was engaged in the work of the Carte du Ciel project. He catalogued over 3000 stars. He became director of the observatory at the University … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | July 15, 1914: Caroline Furness

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This entry is part 49 of 60 in the series Specola Guestbook

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. Today’s guestbook entry is from July 15, 1914, when Caroline Furness made a visit. Next to her name, Caroline Ellen Furness (1869-1936) wrote, “Vassar College Observatory, N.Y.”  She was an astronomer who directed the Vassar observatory. She was the first woman to receive a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1896. She studied there under Harold Jacoby. At Vassar, she taught the first course on variable stars offered in any American university. She literally wrote the book on the subject, with her 1915 tome, Introduction to the Study of Variable Stars. In 1910, she became acting director of the Vassar observatory while the previous director, Mary Whitney, was on medical leave.  After Whitney’s retirement in 1915, Furness formally took the director’s title. She would hold the post until … Continue reading →