Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-04-10
UNCLE JOHN BRAsHEAR
Pennsylvania Most Eminent
Citizen"-"The Scientist Hay.
ing the Most Friends in
the World"
JINGLE JOHN has joined his wife in
! tho simmprland.

.TTNCLE JOHN has joined his wife in
~ the summcrland. Nv.
That is the way Pittsburghcrs. who
loved him. will think of the death of
DIR. John \. Brashcar. ongc officially
named as Pennsylvania most dtstin
guished citizen.
lie wouldn't have IL that he was a
self made man. though he began his
working life in a rolling mill. lie was
n wife made man. he said.
It was because of his wife that he
favored woman suffrage - woman $
rights" he preferred to phrase it.
During her lifetime shc7w where !
went, had what I had. aud | always
desired that she should have the politi-
cal privileges l had
She went where he went. Invariably
she was near when he made public ad-
dresses. II the gathering was at all
informal land he had n way of taking
the frills out of functiOnS) he included
her in his DISCOURSE
lie has been known to stop in the
middle of sentence, look inQuiringly
at his wife and say, understandings.
"Oh! Tic" and then Straightcn his
ncckwcar and resume his address. lie
seemed to take a boyish delight in the
embarrassment he caused her in this
way.
There is much I want to do before
die" he said in a letter TO the present
writer few years ago. "Thcrc are so
many things unfinished. But at last |
shall be glad to be with the one who
walked with me and always Under
stood.
THERE are old timers on the South
u side. Pittsburgh. old millmcn. who
remember BraShear as a mllIwright.
lie had recently married. and he and
his wife. ambitious As he was. spent
their evenings in the study Of astron
omy. Because they had no money to
buy telescope. they set TO work to
make one for themselves. In their home
they set up an engine and lathe and
here. after the days work, they made
the tubes and ground the lenses. Their
first glass, o five Inch one, took three
years to grind. Then they started a
twelve inch glass-and broke it during
the sivering process after two years
patient grinding and correcting. That's
the time. boys, when fellow needs the
right kind Of wife.
another. and this one proved successful.
DROF. S. =. LANGLEY has won
L high pOSthumous fame because he
visualizcd the aircraft Of today. Lang
lcy's folly an airplane. the sport Of
generation. is now known to have
been constructed on scientific lines, the
one thing lacking being adequate engine
=. ,.1, -
have died broken hearted man. but
We doubt it. \ man takes joy in doing
thing worth while for its own sake.
Moreover. Professor Langley did very
many useful things in busy lifetime.
Not the least important of the useful
and kindly things he did was the On =
couragcmcnt he gave Brashcar.
Langley was at this time in charge
of the Allegheny Observatory. lie was
both surprised and pleased with the
work done by tho young millwright and
began to iutruSt him with the obScrva-
tory instruments. 1t was turning
point in Brashcar's S life.
DRASHEAR continued his work in the
- Southsidc mill. studied and worked
in the evenings and ever and anon
wrote brief articles about the heavenly
bodies in the Pittsburgh newspapers
! These attracted the attention of Will
! liam Thaw. one Of the patrons of the
observatory, and he advanced the money
which made it possible for Brnsheur tc
move to Allegheny, now the NorthSidc
/ Pittsburgh. and set up n shop there
There Brashear began his real work
! in the field of science. As one writer
puts it. at is safe to say that an ac-
count of the accomplishments Of hi
shop would be n history Of modern as
tronOmy and that without it much o
that history could not have been writ
ten.
The excellence Of tho work done N
the Lick Observatory is freely attribu
ted to Doctor braShcar'S skill auC
genius. aud many of the SpCctrOScOpcl
from the principal obScrvutorirs of tn,
world were sent to him to be rcwUrkcC
and rcmod"lrd.
In 1SSt he prepared the spectrum
plates for the famous difraction graf
lug of Professor Rowland. with limit
ing error Of one two hundred and fifty,
thouSandthS Of an inch. lie next com
plrtcd the optical parts of the inter
fcrumctcr Of Professor Nicholson. will
an error limit of one five hundred
thousandth part of an inch. In col
laboratiOn with Professor Langley. h.
constructed the bOlometcr, which reg
isterS a temperature change of one one
hundred thOusandth of degree.
TN 1919 when Governor Brumbaug
was asked by the officials of tn
Panama Pacific Exposition to furnis
the namo of the states most emincn
citizen. he named DIR. John Brashcar
1t is said that it was Charles VI
} Schwab who made the nomination, a
it were. declaring positively that tn
state had no equal to Uncle John.
Two Philadclphians, John Wana
, maker and the Rev. DIR. Russell II. Con
we'll. were named by Governor Brun
buugh as second and third choice,
TT WAS in that year, too. on hi
i seventy fifth birthday, that Iondin
citizens of Pittsburgh, in recognition q
his valuable services to the city and t
the scientific void, organized n won
derful demonstration, love feast, !
which Uncle John was described as eth
scientist having the most friends in tn
world" A fund of 5000 was raised
5 providing for the continuance after hi
, dqnth Of the teachings along scicntifi