Henry Norris Russell

by Devorkin, David H.

• ISBN13: 9780691049182
• ISBN10: 0691049181
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-06-01
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

Henry Norris Russell lived in two universes: that of his Presbyterian forebears and that of his science. Sharp-witted and animated by nervous energy, he became one of the most powerful voices in twentieth-century American astronomy, wielding that influence in calculated ways to redefine an entire science. He, more than any American of his generation, worked to turn an observation-centered discipline into a theory-driven pursuit centered on physics.Today, professional and amateur astronomers alike know Russell for the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, the playing field for much of stellar astrophysics, as well as for his work on the evolution of stars and the origin of the solar system. But of far greater importance than his own research, which was truly remarkable in its own right, is Russell's stamp on the field as a whole. Functioning as a "headquarters scientist"--some called him General--Russell was an astronomer without a telescope. Yet he marshaled the data of the Hales and the Pickerings of the world, injected theory into mainstream astronomy, and brought atomic physics to its very core, often sparking controversy along the way. His students at Princeton went on to populate the most prestigious astronomical institutions in the United States, bringing with them Russell's beliefs that astronomy is really astrophysics and that researchers should be theoretically as well as empirically minded.This first-ever book-length biography of the "Dean of American Astronomers" interweaves personal and scientific history to illuminate how Russell's privileged Presbyterian family background, his education at Princeton and Cambridge, and his personal inclinations and attachments both served and were at odds with his campaign to modernize astronomy. This book will be of interest not only to astronomers and historians (particularly those interested in the emergence of astrophysics), but to anyone interested in the process of disciplinary change.

Author Biography

David H. DeVorkin is Curator of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and is a former Chair of the History Division of the American Astronomical Society.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Acknowledgments	xvii
Religious Heritage	3	(18)
Russell at Princeton	21	(18)
Graduate Years: Entering the Profession	39	(12)
Postdoctoral Years at Cambridge	51	(17)
Return to a New Princeton	68	(11)
Parallaxes, Pedagogy, and the Lives of the Stars: Russell's First Years on the Princeton Faculty	79	(19)
Building a Life at Princeton	98	(8)
Building a Case for Giants	106	(15)
At the Theoretical Interface: Defending His Theory	121	(17)
Shifting Allegiance	138	(15)
The Great War: Transformations	153	(13)
Russell's Turn to Mount Wilson	166	(11)
Rationalizing Stellar Spectra	177	(22)
``A Reconnaissance of New Territory''	199	(22)
Princeton Astronomy in the 1920s	221	(15)
Stellar Evolution	236	(21)
Binary Stars and the Formation of the Solar System	257	(16)
The Royal Road	273	(19)
A Summer Place: The Lowell Observatory	292	(17)
Influencing Institutions and the Profession	309	(18)
Astronomical Isolationism	327	(12)
Searching for a Replacement	339	(22)
Russell's Universe	361	(12)
Abbreviations and Archival Sources	373	(4)
Notes	377	(72)
Glossary of Key Terms	449	(2)
Bibliography	451	(28)
Index	479