Frederick Atwood Greeley

Who was Frederick Atwood Greeley?

Frederick Atwood Greeley was an American astronomer who worked on the solar constant program of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, which had been started by Samuel Pierpont Langley. Greeley was a second cousin of Charles Greeley Abbot.

After graduating from a high school in Nashua, New Hampshire in 1916, Greeley joined up with the United States Army. His career as a soldier lasted only a few months and ended when the armistice was signed on 11 November 1918.

The Smithsonian had established a network of high-altitude stations around the globe - Mount Montezuma near Calama in Antofagasta Province, Chile, Mount Harqua Hala in Arizona, and lastly Mount Brukkaros in South West Africa, a site selected by Charles Greeley Abbot, and later moved to Mount St. Katherine, highest mountain on the Sinai Peninsula. Greeley's tours of duty as station director included all these stations as well as one at sea-level in Miami, Florida. His brother, Paul Greeley, also served at Mount Montezuma from 1920 to 1922, while Olive Greeley joined Frederick there during his 1942-46 stay.