Research Reveals the Rich History of the Washburn Observatory at UW-Madison
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is home to one of the oldest and most prestigious astronomy programs in the nation. The key to its history is the Washburn Observatory on Observatory Drive overlooking Lake Mendota. The Director of UW Space Place and member of the Department of Astronomy, James Lattis, and his colleague, Kelly Tyrrell, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Content Strategy in the Office of Strategic Communication, dove into this history to write Chasing the Stars, How the Astronomers of Observatory Hill Transformed Our Understanding of the Universe. The book outlines the history of the Observatory since its creation in 1878 and its tremendous influence on the field of astronomy since then. To capture this important history, Lattis and Tyrrell spent countless hours examining material found in Wisconsin libraries and elsewhere.
The most obvious and important sources for Chasing the Stars were found in the rich holdings of UW Archives. This included correspondence, especially of the observatory directors, observing notebooks, research reports and other internal communications. Also important were oral histories from individuals who were willing to be interviewed when this kind of history became more common beginning in the 1980s. Finally, the UW Photo Archives and UW Library’s Digital Collections supplied a large fraction of the relevant photos reproduced in the book.
At the same time, scholarly experts also played an important role in the book, including Carl Gawboy, a member of the Bois Forte Board of the Minnesota Ojibwe and an instructor, who relayed his oral history to the Public Broadcasting System, and UW Madison Professor Sissal Schroeder, whose knowledge and consultation were important helping to interpret the historical record of North America’s first stargazers.
In fact, the book begins with a chapter on the Indigenous people, the mound builders, who have lived on the land where Washburn Observatory can be found for more than 10,000 years. There is little doubt that stargazing on the hill has a long, if undocumented, history.
Washburn Observatory as an institution is significant in the history of the University, but that is due to the many individuals who contributed to the research that the Observatory generated. The Wisconsin Historical Society Archives were a source for documents relating to such individuals as Cadwallader Washburn and Cyrus Woodman, but others, such as James Watson, Edward Holden, Sherburne Burnham, George Cary Comstock, Sydney Turnley, Joel Stebbins, Jakob Kunz, Charles Morse Huffer, Albert Whitford, and Arthur Code each have their own story to tell. The Archives have many historical photos related to Washburn Observatory and the University. Many photos in the book came from there.
While it is true that most of the astronomers associated with the Washburn Observatory were men, there were a significant number of women who contributed to the work as well. In the chapter titled “Early Computers of the Human Kind”, we meet Elizabeth “Lizzie” Schofield and Emma Gattiker, who, in their day, along with Alice Jane Sanborn, performed most of the mathematical calculations needed to transfer data from telescopes to spreadsheets and journals that stored the records of the Observatory’s research.
Then in a later chapter, we learn the story of Alice Maxwell Lamb, who, in the 1880s, became an accomplished astronomer in her own right. Finally, there is an entire chapter devoted to the role of women in astronomy, aptly titled “Wisconsin Women in Astronomy”, focusing on the constraints that women have historically had to face in a male dominated world in order to prove their place in the natural sciences.
Publications of the Washburn Observatory contain not only major scientific results but also record personnel changes, major equipment and building modifications, and the like from the earliest days of the observatory until the series ceased publication in the 1930s. Similar information can be found for later dates in the “Observatory Reports,” contributed by Washburn and other major observatories, which were published annually in the Publications of the American Astronomical Society.
Published scientific papers in specialized journals (such as Astronomical Journal and Astrophysical Journal) began to replace dedicated observatory publications (not only at Washburn) in the early 20th century. These are essential materials for tracing and understanding the important technological and scientific efforts and developments of Wisconsin’s astronomers since then.
There were many important connections between Washburn Observatory and the University of California’s Lick Observatory. The Lick Observatory archives, which now reside at UC-Santa Cruz, are an irreplaceable source for the history of Washburn Observatory. Especially important is the correspondence of the directors and other astronomers of the two observatories, which are accessible with ease through the UW Digital Collections.
Subsidiary sources included texts, obituaries, and memoirs by astronomers, both published and unpublished, that often provided unique insights into the history and work of astronomers. In addition, newspapers and magazines provided many historical details as well as some insight into public perceptions of astronomers, observatories, and their work. A large body of such texts, often indexed and searchable, is readily available through UW library resources. Miscellaneous publications are now in the public domain and available, for example, at HathiTrust. Some very important sources, the Publications of Washburn Observatory for example, can be elusive in physical form, but are accessible through UW Digital Collections.
We owe a debt to Kelly and Tyrrell for compiling all these resources into a single, fascinating book about the Washburn Observatory. Their work underscores both the importance of the University of Wisconsin Libraries and Archives in preserving records regarding some of the world’s most cutting-edge astronomical inventions and demonstrates how crucial the Wisconsin astronomers were in the development of modern astrophysics and space astronomy.
The Friends of UW-Madison Libraries are pleased to give James Lattis and KellyTyrrell the opportunity to share their discoveries and insights on Tuesday, October 29 from 5:00-6:00 pm at the Wisconsin Historical Society Auditorium, 816 State Street, Madison, WI. A reception and book signing will follow the conversation.
This event will be recorded but not livestreamed. Register for event reminder and link to recording available after the event: https://go.wisc.edu/vr407g
| Tuesday, October 29, 2024 |
| James Lattis, Director of UW Space Place, UW-Madison Astronomy Dept. & Author with Kelly Tyrrell, UW-Madison Director of Media Relations and Strategic Communications and Author 5:00-6:00 P.M. Presentation and Q&A 6:00-7:00 P.M. Reception and book signing Wisconsin Historical Society Auditorium, 816 State Street |
We strive to ensure our events are inclusive and welcoming for all participants. If you need an accommodation, please contact us: friends@library.wisc.edu.