Simon Newcomb, astronomer and personality

Abstract

Expending the time and effort to write a book review is a selfless service that often goes unrecognized. We thank Bradley Schaefer for his knowledgeable and incisive review of Simon Newcomb: America’s Unofficial Astronomer Royal (Physics Today, February 2007, page 66 ). However, one of our primary goals in writing the book was to dispel the notion that Newcomb was “cold, ruthless, and more feared than liked,” a characterization that we found little basis for in the extensive collection of correspondence archived at the US Naval Observatory Library and the Library of congress. Newcomb knew and corresponded with virtually every leading astronomer of his era, not to mention many of the physicists, mathematicians, and economists. Colleagues regularly stayed at his home when visiting Washington, DC, and he and his family reciprocated in visiting colleagues across Europe and South Africa. It should not be surprising to learn that when Newcomb left the Naval Observatory for the Nautical Almanac Office, he left behind more than a few jealous colleagues, who would await their opportunities to “get even” for any number of imagined slights. But the world-class astronomers of the day recognized his achievements with nearly every prestigious award, and dozens of universities conferred honorary degrees on him as well.We did not mention in our book that some have suggested Newcomb as the “intentional prototype for Arthur Conan Doyle’s arch-villain Professor James Moriarty” or as the “learn’d astronomer” in Walt Whitman’s famous “When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” because we found only speculations 1 1. B. E. Schaefer, J. Br. Astron. Assoc. 103(1), 30 (1993). but no credible evidence that either claim is true. In fact, several scientists have been suggested as possible models for Professor Moriarty, among them Carl Friedrich Gauss. But the model that Doyle seems to imply in The Valley of Fear 2 2. A. C. Doyle, The Valley of Fear, originally published by A. L. Burt, New York, 1914; available at http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/3776. is the London arch-criminal of the 18th century, Jonathan Wild. Why would Doyle choose as his prototype for Moriarty a relatively remote American astronomer rather than Wild, the locally well-known British villain and criminal?Historians who do not practice science seem often to see differences of opinion between scientists as indicative of personal dislike, but scientists on opposing sides of scientific issues are frequently close friends. Scientists Virginia Trimble and Markus Aschwanden concluded that “Simon Newcomb has, in recent years, been something of a victim of bad publicity, being cited for his reluctance to include spectroscopy … in our discipline and societies. … In his own later writing, however, he comes across as the sort of person you might well want to go on an observing run or a country ramble with.” 3 3. V. Trimble, M. J. Aschwanden, Astron. Soc. Pac. 114, 475 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1086/341673 It is about time that many of the unfounded myths about Newcomb be exposed and expunged. He was certainly one of America’s greatest astronomers, a respected colleague, and a devoted husband and father, fully worthy of the respect and honors accorded him in his own time.REFERENCESSection:ChooseTop of pageREFERENCES <<1. B. E. Schaefer, J. Br. Astron. Assoc. 103(1), 30 (1993). Google Scholar2. A. C. Doyle, The Valley of Fear, originally published by A. L. Burt, New York, 1914; available at http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/3776. Google Scholar3. V. Trimble, M. J. Aschwanden, Astron. Soc. Pac. 114, 475 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1086/341673 , Google ScholarCrossref© 2008 American Institute of Physics.