Famous Givers and Their GiftsBolton, Sarah Knowles
History
Famous Givers and Their Gifts
Bolton, Sarah Knowles
Philanthropists
Mr. Lick's gift of the telescope has stimulated a love for astronomical
study and research, not only in California, but throughout the world.
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific was founded Feb. 7, 1889; and
any man or woman with genuine interest in the science was invited to
join. It has a membership of over five hundred, and its publications are
valuable. The society holds its summer meetings on Mount Hamilton. Very
wisely, for the sake of diffusing knowledge, visitors are made welcome
to Mount Hamilton every Saturday evening between the hours of seven and
ten o'clock, to look through the big telescope and through the smaller
ones when not in use. In five years, from June 1, 1889, to June 1, 1894,
there were 33,715 visitors. Each person is shown the most interesting
celestial objects, and the whole force of the Observatory is on duty,
and spares no pains to make the visits both interesting and profitable.
James Lick planned wisely when he thought of his great telescope, even
if he had no other wish than to be remembered and honored. Undoubtedly
he did have other motives; for Professor Holden says, "A very extensive
course of reading had given him the generous idea that the future
well-being of the race was the object for a good man to strive to
forward. Towards the end of his life, at least, the utter futility of
his money to give any inner satisfaction oppressed him more and more."
The results of scientific work of the Lick Observatory have been most
interesting and remarkable. Professor Edward E. Barnard discovered,
Sept. 9, 1892, the fifth satellite of Jupiter, one hundred miles in
diameter. He discovered nineteen comets in ten years, and has been
called the "comet-seeker." He has also, says Professor Holden, made a
very large number of observations "upon the physical appearance of the
planets Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn; upon the zodiacal light, etc.; upon
meteors, lunar eclipses, double stars, occultations of stars, etc.; and
he has discovered a considerable number of new nebulæ also." Professor
Barnard resigned Oct. 1, 1895, to accept the position of professor of
astronomy in the University of Chicago, and is succeeded by Professor
Wm. J. Hussey of the Leland Stanford Junior University.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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