It would be rather easy to dismiss him as a harmless fanatic except that everything known of him indicates that he was not. It is reasonable to believe that his mirrors were made more in the hope than in the certain expectation that they would stimulate the study of astronomy in the institutions receiving them. He was probably well aware of the difficulties of establishing so large a telescope at a newly founded institution such as American University, and, content in the knowledge that he had done his part, could only hope that others might be inspired to do likewise. Dr. Peate’s great mirror will shortly be put to use in a manner that could hardly have been predicted by its maker. It has been in the Smithsonian Institution for over 20 years. The huge glass will form a part of the exhibition of optics and astronomy in the new Museum of History and Technology that the Smithsonian Institution will open to the public about 1962. There it will be seen by some millions of persons each year. Because of its spectacular size it should catch the attention of most museum visitors. Surely it will awaken in more than one potentially able worker an interest in astronomy. If so, it will have accomplished Dr. Peate’s purpose. FOOTNOTES [1] Instruments surviving from 18th-century America are almost exclusively of European origin, products of the numerous and famous shops which sprang up, particularly in England and France, to meet the demand occasioned by the popularity of the telescope among amateurs and dilettanti. [2] U.S. National Museum catalog nos. 152078 and 152079. [3] W. I. Milham, _Early American Observatories_, Williamstown, Mass., Williams College, 1938. [4] _Mechanics Magazine_, 1830, vol. 13, pp. 114-115 and frontispiece. [5] See p. 184 for a list of Holcomb’s instruments in the U.S. National Museum. [6] H. C. King, _The History of the Telescope_, London, Charles Griffin, 1955, pp. 246-248. Milham _op. cit._ (footnote 3), p. 10. [7] As reported in the _Journal of the Franklin Institute_ for July 1834, new ser. vol 14 (whole no. 18), pp. 169-172; July 1835, new ser. vol. 16 (whole no. 20), pp. 11-13; and August 1836, new ser. vol. 18 (whole no. 22), p. 110. The first two of these are given in the appendix, pp. 181-184. [8] Reported by “R. K. M.” in _Sky and Telescope_, March 1942, vol. 1, p. 21. The “Catalog of Objectives Made by Henry Fitz,” the time span of which is unspecified, lists 428 objectives up to 13 inches and only 6 mirrors. It is not clear, however, that these represent finished units. [9] Langley’s work at the Allegheny Observatory, particularly his invention of the bolometer, brought him international reknown as a scientist. In January 1887 he was appointed assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and later in that year became its third Secretary, serving from 1887-1906.