Asaph Hall Jr

Asaph Hall Jr (1859-1939) was an American astronomer. He the son of Asaph Hall. He grew up in Washington, DC while his father worked at the United States Naval Observatory. Hall graduated from Harvard University in 1881, and received a doctoral degree from Yale in 1889. In the time between attending Harvard and Yale, Hall served as an assistant at the Naval Observatory for three years, and then while at Yale for four years he maintained the same position there.

Career

After his period at Yale he served as assistant astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory. In 1892 he moved to the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and served as professor of astronomy and director of the university's observatory. Under him, ornithologists were allowed to use the telescope to study bird migrations. While there, he had the opportunity to modernize the astronomy program, but psychological issues prevented him from doing so.

In 1905, Hall moved back to the United States Naval Observatory with the same rank he had while first there: assistant. Three years later however, he was elevated to astronomer and that same year he was offered a position of adjunct professor at The George Washington University. He retired in 1930, with little to show in the way of major achievments, and still in the shadow of his father who discovered the moons of Mars. He died in 1939.

References

* [http://books.google.com/books?id=1MWTvkPHJMIC&pg=PA127&lpg=PA127&dq=Asaph+Hall+Jr,+george+washington+university&source=web&ots=4XtE3MQLOx&sig=MPhOJjaq-ixZfZhoa5V5LV8DnJ8&hl=en]
* [http://www.umich.edu/~lowbrows/reflections/1998/dsnyder.13.html]