David Peck Todd (March 19, 1855 — June 1, 1939) was an American

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

. He produced a complete set of photographs of the 1882

transit of Venus frameless, upright=0.5 A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and a superior planet, becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. During a trans ...

Biography

Todd was born in Lake Ridge,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, the son of Sereno Edwards Todd and Rhoda (Peck) Todd. He prepared at John C. Overhiser's School in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. He studied at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

from 1870 to 1872, then at

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

from 1873 to 1875, where he graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

in the class of 1875. He earned his M.A. from Amherst in 1878. He was awarded an honorary degree from

Washington and Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to ...

in 1888. Todd worked at the

US Naval Observatory United States Naval Observatory (USNO) is a scientific and military facility that produces geopositioning, navigation and timekeeping data for the United States Navy and the United States Department of Defense. Established in 1830 as the Depo ...

from 1875 to 1878, and at the US Nautical Almanac Office from 1878 to 1881. From 1881 to 1917 he was a professor of astronomy and director of the observatory at Amherst College. From 1882 to 1887, he was also a professor of astronomy and higher mathematics at nearby

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

. He married Mabel Loomis on March 5, 1879, and together they had one daughter,

Millicent Todd Bingham Millicent Todd Bingham (1880–1968), was an American geographer and the first woman to receive a doctorate in geology and geography from Harvard. She was also a leading expert on the poet Emily Dickinson. Biography Born Millicent Todd on Febr ...

. His wife had had an affair with

William Austin Dickinson William Austin Dickinson (April 16, 1829 – August 16, 1895) was an American lawyer. Known to family and friends as "Austin", he was the older brother of the poet Emily Dickinson. After graduating from both Williston Seminary and Amherst Coll ...

, the (married) brother of

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massach ...

. The affair was an open secret in Amherst, and David Todd seems to have accepted it willingly. A collection of the two lovers' letters were published in ''Austin and Mabel: The Amherst Affair & Love Letters of Austin Dickinson and Mabel Loomis Todd'' (). By 1917, David's deteriorating health and erratic mental behavior caused Amherst president

Alexander Meiklejohn Alexander Meiklejohn (; 3 February 1872 – 17 December 1964) was a philosopher, university administrator, educational reformer, and free-speech advocate, best known as president of Amherst College. Background Alexander Meiklejohn was born o ...

to force his early retirement from the College, and the couple moved to Coconut Grove, Florida,* where David was institutionalized in 1922.

Astronomical and other accomplishments

Todd designed and erected several observatories, including those at

from 1886 to 1888 and at Amherst College from 1903 to 1906. He established Standard Time in

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in 1907. He was chief astronomer at the

Lick Observatory The Lick Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of California. It is on the summit of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California, United States. The observatory is managed by th ...

during the

in 1882, and created the first known photographs of the transit. He was a member of the

American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...

, the

Philosophical Society of Washington Founded in 1871, the Philosophical Society of Washington is the oldest scientific society in Washington, D.C. It continues today as PSW Science. Since 1887, the Society has met regularly in the assembly hall of the Cosmos Club. In the Club's pr ...

, and the Japan Society. He was fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

, the

Society of Natural and Physical Sciences A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Socie ...

Cherbourg, France Cherbourg-Octeville () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.

; the Sociedad Geografica de Lima, Peru. In 1896 he was presented, by the

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his positio ...

, with the

Imperial Saké Cup Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

for services in the cause of education in Japan. In addition, Todd was the organizer and leader of a number of important astronomical expeditions: * The New England expedition to Texas for

solar eclipse of July 29, 1878 A total solar eclipse occurred on July 29, 1878, over much of North America including the region of the Rocky Mountains. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Su ...

* The American expedition to Japan for

solar eclipse of August 19, 1887 A total solar eclipse occurred on 19 August 1887. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's ...

* A U. S. scientific expedition to

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in 1889 and 1890 * The Amherst expedition to Japan for the

solar eclipse of August 9, 1896 A total solar eclipse occurred on August 9, 1896. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's a ...

* The Lowell expedition to

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

for

solar eclipse of May 28, 1900 A total solar eclipse occurred on May 28, 1900. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's app ...

* The Amherst eclipse expedition to the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

in 1901 * The Lowell Mars expedition to the Andes, 1907 * Expedition to Tripoli for the

solar eclipse of August 30, 1905 A total solar eclipse occurred on August 30, 1905. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's ...

* Expedition to Russia for

solar eclipse of August 21, 1914 A total solar eclipse occurred on August 21, 1914. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's ...

* Expedition to Florida for

solar eclipse of June 8, 1918 A total solar eclipse occurred on Saturday, June 8, 1918. The eclipse was viewable across the entire contiguous United States, an event which would not occur again until the solar eclipse of August, 2017. The path The path of totality started ...

* Expedition to Brazil and Argentina for

solar eclipse of May 29, 1919 A total solar eclipse occurred on Thursday, May 29, 1919. With the duration of totality at maximum eclipse of 6 minutes 50.75 seconds, it was the longest solar eclipse since May 27, 1416. A longer total solar eclipse would later occur on June 8 ...

Todd crater on Phobos (a moon or

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Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

) is named after him. In addition, asteroids

511 Davida Davida (minor planet designation: 511 Davida) is a large C-type asteroid. It is the one of the largest asteroids; approximately tied for 7th place, to within measurement uncertainties, and the 5th or 6th most massive. It was discovered by R. S. ...

and 510 Mabella are named after him and his wife.

Letter from James Clerk Maxwell to Todd

On the 19th of March 1879, Maxwell wrote a letter to Todd. After Maxwell's death in November 1879, Todd sent the letter to

G. G. Stokes Sir George Gabriel Stokes, 1st Baronet, (; 13 August 1819 – 1 February 1903) was an Irish English physicist and mathematician. Born in County Sligo, Ireland, Stokes spent all of his career at the University of Cambridge, where he was the Luc ...

, who read the letter in January 1880 at a meeting of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

Writings

* ''Astronomy: The Science of the Heavenly Bodies.'' New York: Harper, 192

Todd was also the author of ''New Astronomy''; ''Stars and Telescopes'', and many shorter articles. He also edited the Columbian Knowledge Series.

References

External links

* * * *
David Peck Todd papers (MS 496b). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Todd, David Peck 1855 births 1939 deaths American astronomers Amherst College alumni Amherst College faculty Columbia University alumni Emily Dickinson Smith College faculty