Clinton Banker Ford (March 1, 1913 – September 23, 1992) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

investor, musician and

amateur astronomer Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers ...

specializing in the observation of

variable stars A variable star is a star whose brightness as seen from Earth (its apparent magnitude) changes with time. This variation may be caused by a change in emitted light or by something partly blocking the light, so variable stars are classified as e ...

Birth and family

Clinton Banker Ford, born on March 1, 1913, in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

, was the son of Walter and Edith (Banker) Ford. Ford had one brother, Sylvester Ford (1906–1956). The Ford side of the family hailed from Oneonta, New York where it survived until the 1930s. Ford's mother's family came from

Ovid, New York Ovid is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Seneca County, New York, Seneca County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 2,919 at the 2020 census. The town is named after the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovi ...

. Ford's father, Walter, was a mathematics professor at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

at Ann Arbor. Ford's first brush with the stars came in August 1927 when he went with his father to

Boulder, CO Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Colora ...

to a meeting of the AMA. It was at this point in his life that Ford first saw the splendor the sky could show.

First brush with the stars

In the Spring of 1927 Professor Ralph Curtiss loaned Ford two books: ''Splendour of the Heavens'' and ''The Friendly Stars''. In the back of the latter book's original edition there was an invitation by

William Tyler Olcott William Tyler Olcott (January 11, 1873–July 6, 1936) was an American lawyer and amateur astronomer. He was born in Norwich, Connecticut, to William Marvin Olcott and E. Octavia Tyler, and was educated at Trinity College at Hartford, then ...

of the

AAVSO 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 ...

to contribute to the advancement of astronomy by observing variable stars. Ford took Olcott and the

up on that invitation and on September 23, 1927, he reported his first variable star estimate - 184205 R Scuti at 5.3 magnitude. Ford made over 60,000 variable star observations and became the youngest member of 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. ...

at the age of fifteen.

The voyage to Europe

Ford, by virtue of a sabbatical his father took, was lucky enough to tour

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

when he was fifteen. Ford spent his sixteenth birthday in Alexandretta. Among several adventures Ford had at the time, one included climbing to the top of the

Great Pyramid The Great Pyramid of Giza is the biggest Egyptian pyramid and the tomb of Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu. Built in the early 26th century BC during a period of around 27 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World ...

and carving his name into it. Ford also visited several observatories, astronomers, and museums. He used the 6" refractor at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

, for example, to make 36 variable star estimates for the

at this time. Later he visited American astronomer George W. Ritchey then on staff at the Observatoire de Paris where Ritchey told Ford all about his wish to create the 300" Apalantic Supertelescope. We now know this general design today as the Ritchey-Chrétien telescope. Ford also attended a meeting of the Société Astronomique de France while in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Ford's astronomical adventures in

were brought to a conclusion when he visited

Greenwich Observatory The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in G ...

and stood, on May 31, "right below the transit slit, with one foot at 23h 59m 59.999s and the other one at 00h 00m 00.001s."

High school and college

Upon returning from

, and as he finished high school, Ford found himself working for the aging Professor Edwin B. Frost at

Yerkes Observatory Yerkes Observatory ( ) is an astronomical observatory located in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, United States. The observatory was operated by the University of Chicago Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics from its founding in 1897 to 2018. Owner ...

, partially on the strength of an article he'd written for ''

Popular Astronomy Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers ...

'' magazine. While at Yerkes he managed to do some variable star observing with some of the smaller telescopes, trace copies of the

charts that were in the Yerkes files, and learn about developing astronomical plates. College saw Ford at the

. Here he nearly decided to major in English and waited until his sophomore year to take his first astronomy course. In August and September 1932 Ford traveled to

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

to view the total solar eclipse on August 31. In the spring of 1933 Ford resolved to "return to science" with regard to his studies. A year later he gained Professor Heber D. Curtis, famous for his part in the Shapley-Curtis Debate on the nature of the galaxy, as his advisor.

Post-college

He served in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Later in life, he played

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

with the Stamford Symphony Orchestra of

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

. He became a member of the

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

Board of Trustees in 1966 and was awarded honorary status in 1988. The college has named its observatory in his honor. He was famous in amateur astronomical circles for his quote: "Never sleep more than 90 feet from your telescope." In 1987 he won the Amateur Achievement Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. The AAVSO: Headquarters
headquarters of the AAVSO in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

, is named the Clinton B. Ford Astronomical Data and Research Center. When he died, aged 79, he bequeathed a substantial endowment to the AAVSO, which continues to serve as its primary source of operating income.

Ford Observatories

The AAVSO previously owned the Ford Observatory named in his honor in southern California, near Wrightwood (Observatory Code 674); it was donated to the Los Angeles Astronomical Society (LAAS) in 2012.

in New York owns another observatory of the same name, Ford Observatory, named in his honor in 1998 (Observatory Code 845); it was previously known as Ithaca College Observatory.

Amateur music

Ford was an avid amateur violinist and chamber music player. He carried his violin with him on travels and in every location sought out local players to join him in string quartet sessions. He was one of the leading amateur musicians in the

Associated Chamber Music Players The Associated Chamber Music Players (ACMP) is an international organization of musicians - mostly amateur but also some professionals - devoted to playing chamber music. The organization publishes a directory of musicians worldwide—in print and o ...

(ACMP), an organization that encourages amateur chamber music and publishes an international directory of chamber music players. On his death, he bequeathed 6 million dollars to ACMP to establish a fund to advance chamber music education.

Bibliography

* AAVSO, ''Some Stars, Some Music: The Memoirs of Clinton B. Ford,'' AAVSO, 1986.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Clinton B. 1913 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American astronomers Musicians from Ann Arbor, Michigan Musicians from Connecticut Ithaca College University of Michigan alumni