John August Anderson
Astronomer
1876 – 1959
Who was John August Anderson?
John August Anderson was an American astronomer. He was born in Rollag, a small community in Clay County, Minnesota to the south of Hawley.
Anderson received his Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University in 1907, and remained on the staff after graduation. In 1908 he became professor of astronomy at the university. In 1909 he was also given the responsibility for the Rowland ruling engines that were used for creating diffraction gratings, and the quality of these was considered excellent, especially the concave gratings.
In 1916 he left to work at the Mt. Wilson observatory. He remained on the Mt. Wilson staff until 1956. His most notable contribution was his adaptation of the Michelson's interferometer technique for measuring close double stars. He used a rotating mask at the focus to measure the separation of Capella.
From 1928 until 1948 he was Executive Officer of the Caltech Observatory Council, working on the instrument and optical design of the main Palomar Observatory telescope. During this period he collaborated closely with George E. Hale and the Rockefeller Foundation.
He died in Altadena, California. The crater Anderson on the Moon is named in his memory.
We need you!
Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!
- Born
- Aug 7, 1876
- Nationality
- United States of America
- Profession
- Education
- Johns Hopkins University
- Employment
- Johns Hopkins University
- Died
- Dec 2, 1959
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
Citation
Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"John August Anderson." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/john_august_anderson>.
Discuss this John August Anderson biography with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In