Andrew McKellar

Who was Andrew McKellar?

Dr. Andrew McKellar was a Canadian astronomer.

He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to Scottish parents, one of six children of John H. and Mary Littleson McKellar. He studied mathematics and physics at the University of British Columbia, graduating in 1930. He began graduate studies at the University of California, being awarded his M.S. in 1932 and a Ph.D. the following year. Applying to the United States National Research Council, he was awarded a post-doctoral study program for two years at MIT.

In 1935 he joined the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, where he performed research into astrophysics. He was married to Mary Crouch in 1938, and the couple bore two children, Andrew Robert William, and Mary Barbara Bulman-Fleming. During World War II he served with the Royal Canadian Navy, in the Directorate of Operational Research.

Following the war, from 1952 until 1953, he was visiting professor at the University of Toronto department of physics. Between 1956 and 1958 he served as president of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, then in 1959 he became president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada for a year.