John Brashear
John Brashear | |
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Born | |
Died | April 8, 1920 | (aged 79)
Organizations | University of Pittsburgh |
Awards | Elliott Cresson Medal (1910) |
John Alfred Brashear (November 24, 1840 – April 8, 1920) was an American astronomer and instrument builder.
Life and work
Brashear was born in
Beginning in 1861, Brashear worked as a millwright in a rolling steel mill in Pittsburgh. He pursued his passion for astronomy during the night, with the assistance of his wife Phoebe Stewart, a Sunday school teacher whom Brashear met in 1861 and married in 1862.[1] With limited financial resources to purchase a telescope, Brashear constructed his own workshop using a three-meter-square coal shed behind his house. He then proceeded to build his own refractor.
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Starting in 1880, Brashear dedicated his time to manufacturing astronomical as well as scientific instruments and conducting various experiments. He notably developed an improved silvering method, which would later become the standard for coating first surface mirrors, known as the "Brashear Process," until vacuum metalizing began replacing it in 1932.
Brashear patented few instruments and never patented his techniques. He founded "John A. Brashear Co." with his son-in-law and partner, James Brown McDowell (now a division of
In 1892 Brashear made his second of three trips to Europe, this time providing a lecture tour. In 1898 he became director of the Allegheny Observatory in Pittsburgh, continuing in this post until 1900.
From 1901 to 1904, he was acting
John and Phoebe Brashear were active in their church as well. He served as the choir director of Bingham Street Methodist Episcopal Church, and organized the Cantata Society, composed of church choirs from Pittsburgh's South Side.
John Brashear was admired and beloved by fellow western Pennsylvanians and international astronomers, who familiarly called him "Uncle John".
In 1919, he suffered ptomaine poisoning (an outdated term for food poisoning), which induced a debilitating illness lasting six months. He died at age 79 at his home on Perrysville Avenue. His body was held in state in the Great Hall of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.[3]
His ashes are interred in a crypt below the Keeler Telescope at Allegheny Observatory, along with those of his wife. A plaque on the crypt reads: "We have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.", a paraphrase of the last line of the poem "The Old Astronomer to His Pupil" by Sarah Williams. He was survived by a daughter and several siblings.
Honors
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- In 1902, he was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society.[6]
- He was awarded the The Franklin Institutein 1910.
- The Brashear Association was founded in 1916 in his memory.
- In 2012, the
Named for him:
- The crater Brashear on the Moon[8]
- The crater Brashear on Mars[8]
- 5502 Brashear[8]
- Brashear High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1976)
- Brashear Street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- One of the telescopes at the Goodsell Observatory
- The Brashear 11-Inch Refractor at the Nicholas E. Wagman Observatory near Pittsburgh.
See also
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- List of astronomical instrument makers
- Chabot Space & Science Center, Oakland, California
References
- ^ John Lyon, The Allegheny Observatory in Riverview Park
- ^ Majors, Dan; Amy McConnell Schaarsmith (March 25, 2015). "Who owns the time capsule found at historic Brashear factory?". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ a b W. J. Holland, John Brashear, The Beloved, p. 4
- ^ The Allegheny Observatory in Riverview Park--a History by John Lyon.
- ^ John Lyon, The Allegheny Observatory in Riverview Park--a History
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
- ^ Bauder, Bob (September 23, 2012). "Historical status sought for Brashear's North Side home, factory". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
- ^ ISBN 978-3-642-29718-2.
Further reading
- Brashear, John A. (1925). W. Lucian Scaife (ed.). John A. Brashear, Autobiography of A Man Who Loved the Stars. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.- See also later reprints.
- Obituary notices:
- "Dr. Brashear to Be Honored at Funeral Sunday". The Pittsburg Press. April 9, 1920. p. 1.
- "'Uncle John' Brashear Is Dead". The Gazette Times. Pittsburgh. April 9, 1920. p. 1.
External links
- "The Unexpected Hero of Light," Initial Condition podcast, Episode 9
- Works by or about John Brashear at Internet Archive
- "John A. Brashear" History Cover Page
- "Uncle John" Brashear
Video