James Melville Gilliss
James Melville Gilliss (born September 6, 1811 in Georgetown , Washington, DC , † February 9, 1865 in Washington, DC) was an American astronomer and officer in the Navy .
Life
Gillis joined the US Navy in 1827 at the age of 15, he had the rank of midshipman . He served on the "Delaware", the "Java" and the "Concord".
In 1831 he received the opportunity for a higher education by the Navy and studied first a year at the University of Virginia and then continued his studies in Paris . In 1837 he was transferred to the naval depot for displays and instruments as an assistant . He was also responsible for astronomical observations there.
He undertook an astronomical research trip under Captain Charles Wilkes , worked out corrections for the longitude determination, lunar orbit, invented new observation instruments and examined meteorological phenomena. In 1838 he was promoted to lieutenant .
Gilliss founded the United States Naval Observatory (Marine Observatory) in Washington DC in 1841 , which he headed from 1861 to 1865 with the rank of captain , as the first national research observatory in the USA. From 1848 to 1851 he made determinations on the parallax of the sun . He published many of his observations. In 1848 he was elected to the American Philosophical Society and in 1861 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .
In 1996 a library was named after him.
literature
- Gilliss, James Melville . In: James Grant Wilson, John Fiske (Eds.): Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography . tape 2 : Crane - Grimshaw . D. Appleton and Company, New York 1887, p. 649 (English, Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
Web links
- James Melville Gilliss. In: Encyclopædia Britannica . (English).
- portrait
- Library Dedication
- Publications by JM Gilliss in the Astrophysics Data System
- CH Davis: Biographical notes on the late director of the Washington Observatory, Capitain Gilliss . In: Astronomische Nachrichten , Volume 64, 1866, S. 199, bibcode : 1866AN ..... 64..199G (obituary, English)
- James Melville Gilliss in the database of Find a Grave (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Member History: J. Melville Gilliss. American Philosophical Society, accessed August 20, 2018 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gilliss, James Melville |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American astronomer and naval officer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 6, 1811 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Georgetown |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 9, 1865 |
| Place of death | Washington, DC |