Abstract
Edward Hitchcock's observations of the Great Comet of 1811, the partial solar eclipse of 17 September 1811, and others for determining his latitude and longitude, marked the development of a mature research program in theoretical and practical astronomy which he pursued vigorously for more than two years until his health failed. Hitchcock's results were communicated to astronomer John Farrar of Harvard College and extracts were published in the Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This paper compares Hitchcock's comet sightings with those of Farrar himself. Although astronomy did not become Hitchcock's final career choice, the mental skills which he perfected through instrumental observation and mathematical reduction were to be of service throughout his later professional life as an earth scientist.
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