John Nelson Stockwell
John Nelson Stockwell (born April 10, 1832 in Northampton , Massachusetts , † May 18, 1920 in Shaker Heights , Ohio ) was an American astronomer and mathematician .
Live and act
Stockwell grew up with an uncle in Brecksville , Ohio . He showed a mathematical talent early on and at the age of 12 - triggered by a lunar eclipse - began to be interested in astronomy. Essentially as an autodidact , he acquired outstanding mathematical knowledge and skills. Under Benjamin Apthorp Gould , with whom he had a friendship for decades, he worked from 1854 as a human computer for the United States Coast Survey . In 1861 he received a corresponding position at the United States Naval Observatory . In 1876 Stockwell earned a Ph.D. at Western Reserve University.
Stockwell became friends with Leonard Case , from whose inheritance the Case School of Applied Sciences was founded in 1880 . Stockwell received the local professorship for mathematics and astronomy. From the Case School and Western Reserve University later was Case Western Reserve University . In 1887 Stockwell gave up his professorship again and devoted himself exclusively to research.
Stockwell did a great job calculating the orbits of numerous celestial bodies and the ecliptic . For example, he calculated the orbit of the asteroid Virginia and the dates of more than a hundred historical lunar and solar eclipses . Stockwell developed theories about the mutual orbital influence of celestial bodies and the calculation of tides . In 1875 he was elected as a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science , in 1889 as an Associate Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .
Stockwell was married to Sarah Healy (1833-1916) since 1855. The couple had six children, four of whom reached adulthood. John Nelson Stockwell's grave is in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland.
literature
- Thomas Jefferson Jackson See : Obituary Notice of John Nelson Stockwell. In: Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 32, 1920, p. 324, doi: 10.1086 / 123003 .
- Charles S. Howe: John Nelson Stockwell. In: Science. 53, 1921, p. 35, doi: 10.1126 / science.53.1359.35 .
- Biographical Sketch of John Nelson Stockwell. In: The Book of Clevelanders. Burrows Book Company, 1914.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Book of Members 1780 – present, Chapter S. (PDF; 1.4 MB) In: American Academy of Arts and Sciences (amacad.org). Retrieved November 2, 2019 .
- ↑ John Nelson Stockwell in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved November 2, 2019.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Stockwell, John Nelson |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Stockwell, John N. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American astronomer and mathematician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 10, 1832 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Northampton , Massachusetts |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 18, 1920 |
| Place of death | Shaker Heights , Ohio |