Charles Wesley Elmer (1872–1954) was an American amateur astronomer and court reporter who co-founded the
Perkin-Elmer
PerkinElmer, Inc., previously styled Perkin-Elmer, is an American global corporation focused in the business areas of diagnostics, life science research, food, environmental and industrial testing. Its capabilities include detection, imaging, inf ...
optical company in 1937.
He was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, and for most of his life he was employed as a court reporter. However, as a hobby he developed a strong interest in astronomy and optical telescopes.
In 1936 he met
Richard S. Perkin, and the two decided to form an optical business in New York.
This would grow to become the
Perkin-Elmer
PerkinElmer, Inc., previously styled Perkin-Elmer, is an American global corporation focused in the business areas of diagnostics, life science research, food, environmental and industrial testing. Its capabilities include detection, imaging, inf ...
optical company, which was officially incorporated on April 19, 1937. Charles Elmer served as the secretary-treasurer of the Perkin-Elmer company until he retired in 1949.
He was married to May Custer, the grand niece of General
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars.
Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...
. In 1937 he was awarded the Merit Award by the
American Association of Variable Star Observers
The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) is an international nonprofit organization, founded in 1911, focused on coordinating, analyzing, publishing, and archiving variable star observations made largely by amateur astronomers. ...
for his
"long continued service and devotion to the activities of the
Association".
The crater
Elmer
Elmer is a name of Germanic British origin. The given name originated as a surname, a medieval variant of the given name Aylmer, derived from Old English ''æþel'' (noble) and ''mær'' (famous). It was adopted as a given name in the United State ...
on the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
is named after him, as is the
asteroid 2493 Elmer.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elmer, Charles Wesley
1872 births
1954 deaths
Amateur astronomers
Optical physicists
American astronomers