Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-02-20
rsr,rIrS-Nrxr oF rur OBSERVATORY.


Rev. Jas. Curley. who was then the professor
Of astronomy. personally superintended the
erection OF the observatory building in ls4s.
At that time there were very few observatories
in this country. and those were mostly OF a ru-
dimen tary character. The observatory Of
Williams college, began in 1886. was the first
established in the United States That erected
by Prof. Elias Ioomis. of the Western Reserve
college, of Hudson. Ohio. soon followed
These. with the small tower observatory Of the
Philadelphia high school seem 10 have been
all that preceded the great national observatory
Father Curley had drawn his plans in ignor-
ance OF the fact that government obsoryators
was contemplated. Calling upon his friend
Capt Gilli.s. he showed him the drawings and
was surprised when the latter drew from his
drawer more elaborate designs 60 be presented
20 Congress during the following winter De-
lay occurred IN the sale Of property which was
10 furnish funds for building the college OBJ
servatory. and ~ Congress prompt m APP
propriatng $4,000. the sum needed for the
naval observatory. this was enabled TO precedc
the college building by about one year. The
great observatory Of Harvard was not estab-
lished for some years later
THE EXPENSE or TIE GEORGETOWN Ry-rinrxa
was defrayel by a legacy received by the Rev.
Thomas Meredith Jenkins. professor OF ltera-
ture This eminent man. to a most gentle aud
lovable character. added an intense zeal for
learning and the sciences. lie afterwards laid
down his life in Rio de Janeiro while attend
ing upon and instructing an American boy and
girl stricken with the yellow fever The build
inS thus erected go feet long and 30 wide and
Is divided from east 90 west into three rooms
The middle part OF the observatory il
three stories high and has a rotary dome
The dome-room contains a well-moun;ed eaua-
torial telescope, made by Troughton A Simms.
This instrument has S-l0-inch object-glass
giving powers from Is TO 400. IL would have
been one-third larger had il been made in
Paris as originally intended. but the maker
who had undertaken the contract diving IL was
transferred to London. and during the delay
thus caused Congress passed a tariff bill impos-
ing duty of b per cent ad valorcm on all In
struments imported from abroad even for COL
leges. For this reason the diameter of the lens
Was reduced by One-third 60 make the available
funds cover the expense No sooner was the
instrument finished and imported than Con-
gress, pettioned by all the colleges Of the
country. removed the duty. This instrument,
though of no great diameter as telescopes 20
nowadays,
! Is REMARKABLY CLEAR AND PERFECT
in definition. The eastern room contains a
frst-class meridian circle. by Troughton A
Simms, of London. The divided arc of the
circle has a diameter of As inches. reading by
microscopes to fractions of a second of an arc.
The telescope is i-inch glass. In the western
room is mounted fine transit instrument. by
Ertel Son. of Munich. 1t Is feet long. ana
has a A. s-inch object-glass. Formerly. when
the eye and ear method of recording the time
/ Of observations was depended upon. each OF
| these instruments was accompanied by a fine
sidereal clock. by Molly neaux. of London. But
| at present the clocks. one arranged for mean
| time. and the other for sidereal stand beside
the ehronograph on the pier of the central
I -. A. A a
| astronomical instruments. and Library of 500
works on astronomy, mathematics and the
| physical sciences. Many of these are rare and
! curious books.
The total cost of the building and instruments
was about $4,000. a very considerable sum %
be spent in those days in the interest of pure
science. In those early times these instruments
! constituted very ample and even splendid
equipment fully equal TO those OF the uniyer-
slty observatories OF the times.
Tue PROFESSORS OF ASTRONOMY.
Father Curley was the first TO make use OF
the building and instruments, and took great
satisfaction in knowing that he could furnish
| to the students interested in astronomy facili-
ties so much greater for the prosecution Of i'm.
yestigation in this science than had been posi-.
BILE before. A few years after the establish.
ment of the observatory, however, several dis
tinguished Italian Jesuits came 10 Georgetown
college, having been forced TO fee their nativ,
country by the revolution of ls47 and lsiS
Among them were Fathers de Vico, Secchi and
| Sestini The first of these, Father de yico hst
been the director Of the observatory of IA,
Roman college. Here, besides his more syste
matte astronomical work, he had discovered NJ
less than six comets. for which he had been til,
recipient Of a gold medal from the king o.
Denmark. This medal is still preserved in tn,
museum of Georgetown college. Father d,
Nico remained at Georgetown only shor
time, having been called back TO London Il
transact some important business, where b,
died few weeks later. Father Secchi taught
physics for one year, and then returned q