The definitive discovery of the Uranian Rings was made by astronomers James L. Elliot, Edward W. Dunham, and Douglas J. Mink on March 10, 1977, using the Kuiper Airborne Observatory, and was serendipitous.
Leto kasneje je postal predstojnik oddelka za matematiko na šoli bolnice Naval Asylum v Filadelfiji, Pensilvanija.