Frederick Slocum (February 6, 1873 – December 4, 1944) 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 was the director of ]Van Vleck Observatory
Van Vleck Observatory (VVO, IAU code 298) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Wesleyan University. It was built in 1914 and named after the former head of the Department of Mathematics and Astronomy at the university, Prof. John ...
.
Biography
He was born in Fairhaven, Massachusetts
Fairhaven (Massachusett: ) is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the South Coast of Massachusetts where the Acushnet River flows into Buzzards Bay, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean. The town shares a harbor wit ...
to Frederick and Lydia Ann Jones Slocum. His father was a whaling ship captain, and Frederick spent much of his youth mastering boat handling. He enrolled at Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
in 1891, and was awarded his A.B. in 1895 and a Ph.D. in 1898.[ He joined the staff of Brown University as a mathematics instructor, then became an assistant professor of astronomy in 1900 under the influence of Professor ]Winslow Upton
Winslow Upton (October 12, 1853 – January 8, 1914) was an American astronomer. He published extensively on the subject of meteorology.
Biography
He received his undergraduate degree from Brown University and was valedictorian when he graduated ...
at Ladd Observatory
Ladd Observatory is an astronomical observatory at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1891 it was primarily designed for student instruction and also research. The facility operated a regional timekeeping service. It was re ...
.[ Frederick Slocum took a leave of absence 1908–9 to study at the Royal Astronomical Observatory in ]Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.[ He joined ]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. Owne ...
in 1909 as an assistant, and remained there until 1911. He assisted Samuel A. Mitchell in research with parallax
Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to foreshortening, nearby objects ...
measurement techniques, and these were published in 1913.
In 1914 he became the first professor of astronomy at Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...
, where he planned and supervised the construction of the Van Vleck Observatory.[ He became director of the observatory in 1915, and held this post until 1944. During ]World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, he was absent while training merchant captains in the skill of navigation at the United States Shipping Board. He also spent some time at Brown University as professor in charge of the Department of Naval Science, before returning.[ He retired from Wesleyan in failing health on November 1, 1944.][
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 ...
and would join the Committee on Stellar Parallaxes. Their work would eventually result in the "Yale Parallax Catalogue". He served as a vice president of the society from 1935–37.[ In 1934 he served as Vice-President of Section D in 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 ...
.[
He married Carrie E. Tripp in 1899, and the couple remained together until her death in 1942.][ Slocum died in 1944 at the age of 71. He was survived by his brother, Edward M. Slocum.][ Edward's daughter ]Lois Tripp Slocum
Lois Tripp Slocum (May 8, 1899 – May 25, 1951) was an American astronomer. She taught astronomy at Wellesley College, Smith College, and Wilson College during her career.
Early life
Lois Tripp Slocum was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, ...
(1899-1951) was also an astronomer.
Published works
*
*
Awards and honors
* Awarded an honorary doctorate of science from Brown in 1938.[
* Elected fellow of the ]Royal Astronomical Society
(Whatever shines should be observed)
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of London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,[ on November 10, 1911.
* Member of the ]Société Astronomique de France
The Société astronomique de France (SAF; ), the French astronomical society, is a non-profit association in the public interest organized under French law (Association loi de 1901). Founded by astronomer Camille Flammarion in 1887, its purpose ...
and the Astronomische Gesellschaft
__NOTOC__
The ''Astronomische Gesellschaft'' is an astronomical society established in 1863 in Heidelberg, the second oldest astronomical society after the Royal Astronomical Society.
In 1882, the ''Astronomische Gesellschaft'' founded the Centra ...
.[
* Member of the National Research Council, 1934–37.][
* The crater Slocum 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.
References
External links
*
F. Slocum
@ Astrophysics Data System
The SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) is an online database of over 16 million astronomy and physics papers from both peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed sources. Abstracts are available free online for almost all articles, and full scanned a ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slocum, Frederick
1873 births
1944 deaths
Brown University alumni
Wesleyan University faculty
American astronomers
People from Fairhaven, Massachusetts