Astronomy The Stars New Astronomy S. P. Langley cm191

"The Stars, The New Astronomy," by S. P. Langley. Article from Century Magazine, 1889.

Century Magazine, Vol. XXXIII, No. 4, August, 1884, 7 pp. (loose), 7 engraved illustrations. Shipping and Handling: U. S. - $2.50 for USPS First Class Mail, - $3.50 International First Class.

Samuel Pierpont Langley had an interest in Astronomy beginning in his youth, using a small telescope owned by his father. He, at age 20, and his only brother John W. Langley(seven years younger than Langley, who became a professor of Chemistry), started building small telescopes. Later on, they built a six-inch reflecting telescope from scratch, refusing to buy any finished parts as this would take away from the challenge. Due to young Samuel’s perfectionist streak, it was a long and tedious task—and, it was rebuilt more than once until Langley was finally satisfied with the result. After three years, Langley finally had an instrument capable of professional scientific observations.

His parents instilled an interest in reading in their children, and young Samuel was a frequent visitor to the Boston Public Library. Langley was very mechanically inclined, and he continued his interest in Astronomy as he neared high school graduation. However, with few employment opportunities in Astronomy, he was undecided about a career choice. Finally, he decided to become an architect or civil engineer. Yet, instead of attending college, after high school graduation, he decided to go to work immediately to learn these crafts.

Langley worked, for awhile, in an architectural firm in Boston; then, he obtained similar work in St. Louis, then in Chicago. Through this experience, he developed superb mechanical and free-hand drawing skills, a well as learning sound business procedures.

But he became disinterested in architecture and returned home in 1864. His brother had just been discharged from the Union Navy, after three years in the Civil War; apparently, Langley did not take part in the Civil War. In 1865, the Langley brothers toured the museums, historic sites, and centers of culture and learning in Europe; of course, this included many of Europe’s observatories.

On his return to America, Langley learned that the Harvard College Observatory, in nearby Cambridge, Massachusetts, was expanding. Impressed with Langley’s enthusiasm and experience in telescope construction, Observatory Director, Professor Joseph Winlock hired him as an observatory assistant. Langley’s chosen career had begun!

However, Langley stayed at Harvard less than a year. In 1866, he was offered the position of Professor of Mathematics at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, with the understanding that his primary duty would be to restore to operation the Academy’s small astronomical observatory, This observatory had been unused for several years, while the Naval Academy spent the Civil War years in the safer location of Newport, Rhode Island.

At the invitation of Western University of Pennsylvania Trustee William Thaw, a wealthy Pittsburgh philanthropist, Langley agreed to take charge of the University’s newly-acquired Allegheny Observatory as Professor of Astronomy and Physics in 1867. Thaw and two other wealthy Pennsylvanians had conceived the Allegheny Observatory in 1859, shortly after the passing Donati’s Comet. After hoping to purchase an eight-inch refractor telescope for the observatory, the Allegheny Observatory actually opened on 1861 November 27 with a 13-inch Fitz refractor telescope—third largest in the world(15-inch refractors existed at Harvard and in Russia)!

In the first years, Allegheny Observatory was used strictly for the entertainment of the members of the Allegheny Telescope Association. As interest in the Observatory waned, resulting in loss of club members, the Observatory went into debt. In May of 1867, the club voted to donate the Observatory to the Western University of Pennsylvania. This legal conveyance did occur through an act of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, but only after Thaw and others eliminated the Observatory’s debt.

Langley’s primary research at Allegheny, discussed in the section “Astronomical Contribution and Significance,” was of the Sun and the effect of solar radiation on the Earth’s atmosphere. He also helped fund his research by selling time to the railroads and others and started his research on aerodynamics, also discussed below.

Langley was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution on 1887 January 12. After Smithsonian Secretary Spencer F. Baird, a famed naturalist, died later that year, Langley was appointed the third Secretary of the Institution on 1887 November 18—at that time, the greatest scientific appointment in America. When Langley first came to the Smithsonian, arrangements had been made that he could retain the Directorship of the Allegheny Observatory(without pay) to continue his solar and aerodynamic research; half of his time was spent in Washington and half at Allegheny. This arrangement continued until 1891, when Langley’s former assistant, James E. Keeler, became Director of the Allegheny Observatory.

Langley continued as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution until his death in February of 1906. He suffered a paralytic stroke on 1905 November 22. He convalesced, with the assistance of a faithful nurse and his beloved niece, in Aiken, South Carolina. It seemed that, with Langley’s strong constitution, he would recover. However, he suffered a second stroke on 1906 February 25; he died two days later at the age of 71 and one-half years.

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