Loyal Blaine Aldrich

Who was Loyal Blaine Aldrich?

Loyal Blaine Aldrich was an American astrophysicist and astronomer of the Smithsonian Institution. Upon graduation from the University of Wisconsin in 1907, Aldrich became a Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory assistant to Charles Greeley Abbot. The observatory conducted astrophysical research on solar radiation and the amount of energy from the sun that strikes the outer edge of the earth's atmosphere. Abbot became director of the observatory in 1907 and established solar observing stations in the United States, South America, and Africa to carry out research on solar radiation. Aldrich became director of the observatory from 1942 to 1955. Harvard University astronomy department chairman Fred Lawrence Whipple became director of the observatory when Aldrich retired.