George Ellery Hale Plenary Lecture at January 2019 Meeting

This week we remember the 150th anniversary of the birth of George Ellery Hale on 29 June 1868. He was one of the dominant figures in astronomy at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.

Hale founded three major observatories: Yerkes, Mt. Wilson, and Palomar. He was crucial in the building of the world’s largest telescope four times: the Yerkes 40-inch refractor, the Mt. Wilson 60-inch and 100-inch reflectors, and the Palomar 200-inch. Hale’s work in creating the Astrophysical Journal and the American Astronomical Society are only some of his astronomical achievements.

At a deeper level Hale fought to make physics-based problem solving the core of astronomical practice. At a larger level he was a key player in the revitalization of the National Academy of Sciences and the creation of its National Research Council during World War I. And after the war he campaigned for the reestablishment of international cooperation in science.

At the 2019 winter AAS meeting in Seattle, a plenary talk on Hale’s achievements and place in history will be given by astrohistorian David DeVorkin of the National Air and Space Museum.

To start your further reading visit the HAD webpage.