Claim: James McDonald Chaney was a minister, teacher, inventor, and astronomer who invented a planetarium often used by schools.
Evidence: Dr. Chaney was an astronomer and inventor as well as a minister and teacher. Approximately 10 years prior to his death, he invented a planetarium for locating and observing celestial bodies, allowing the determination of the relative positions of all known planets in the solar system based on meridian passage or declination.