William Edmund Harper

Who was William Edmund Harper?

William Edmund Harper, March 20, 1878–June 14, 1940, was a Canadian astronomer.

William Harper was born in Dobbington, Ontario. He attended high school in Owen Sound, then taught for three years following his graduation. When he had sufficient funds, in 1902 he entered the University of Toronto.

He graduated in 1906 and became a member of the staff at the Dominion Observatory in Ottawa, Canada. He worked with the astrophysics staff, measuring the radial velocity of stars and determining the orbits of spectroscopic binaries.

He was awarded his masters degree in 1907 from the University of Toronto. In 1909 he was married to Maude Eugenia Hall. The couple would have two daughters.

The need for more powerful equipment was becoming apparent, and Dr. Harper suggested Victoria as a suitable location. In 1913, the government approved the project and Dr. Harper was sent to make measurements of the observing conditions at various sites. Observatory Hill was finally selected as the location. In 1918 the observatory was completed, and a year later Dr. Harper was transferred to the site. He would become assistant director in 1924, then the observatory's second director in 1936.