William Cranch Bond (September 9, 1789 – January 29, 1859) 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, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...
, and the first director of
Harvard College Observatory
The Harvard College Observatory (HCO) is an institution managing a complex of buildings and multiple instruments used for astronomical research by the Harvard University Department of Astronomy. It is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United St ...
.
Upbringing
William Cranch Bond was born in
Falmouth, Maine
Falmouth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 12,444 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland– South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area.
This northern suburb of Portlan ...
(near Portland) on September 9, 1789. When he was young, his father, William Bond, established himself as a
clockmaker
A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and/or repairs clocks. Since almost all clocks are now factory-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by jewellers, antique shops, and places devoted strictly to ...
after a failed business venture; trained by his father and aided by his penchant for engineering, W. C. Bond built his first clock when he was fifteen years old. He eventually took over his father’s business, becoming an expert clockmaker himself. The William Bond clock shop remained in existence at 9 Park Street in Boston until the 1970s..
Amateur astronomer
In 1806, when he was seventeen years old, Bond saw a solar eclipse. Soon thereafter, he became an avid
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 ...
. When he built his first house, Bond made its parlor an observatory, complete with an opening in the ceiling out of which his telescope could view the sky.
Trip to Europe
In 1815, Bond traveled to Europe, commissioned by
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
to gather information on European observatories. On July 18, 1819, at Kingsbridge in Devon, England, Bond married his first cousin, Selina Cranch, who bore him four sons and two daughters. After Selina's death in 1831, Bond married her older sister, Mary Roope Cranch. He was elected a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
in 1832.
Harvard Observatory
In 1839, Bond was allowed to move his personal astronomical equipment to Harvard and serve as its (unpaid) "Astronomical Observer to the University." Later, in 1843, a sun-grazing comet aroused enough public interest in astronomy that Harvard was able to raise $25,730 towards the construction of a state-of-the-art observatory. Bond designed the building and the observing chair (both of which are still in working order today), and Harvard bought a fifteen-inch German-built
refracting telescope
A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens as its objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope design was originally used in spyglasses and a ...
, equal in size to the largest in the world at the time. The telescope was first put to use on June 24, 1847, when it was pointed at 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 ...
.
In 1852, Bond was elected as a member to the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
.
Discoveries
* Independently discovered the
Great Comet of 1811
The Great Comet of 1811, formally designated C/1811 F1, is a comet that was visible to the naked eye for around 260 days, the longest recorded period of visibility until the appearance of Comet Hale–Bopp in 1997. In October 1811, at its bright ...
* Bond and his son
George Phillips Bond
George Phillips Bond (May 20, 1825February 17, 1865) was an American astronomer. He was the son of William Cranch Bond. Some sources give his year of birth as 1826.
His early interest was in nature and birds, but after his elder brother Willia ...
discovered Saturn's moon Hyperion; it was independently co-discovered at the same time by
William Lassell
William Lassell (18 June 1799 – 5 October 1880) was an English merchant and astronomer.Crepe ring, when they pointed Harvard’s telescope towards Saturn in 1850.
* Working with John Adams Whipple, the Bonds pioneered
astrophotography
Astrophotography, also known as astronomical imaging, is the photography or imaging of astronomical objects, celestial events, or areas of the night sky. The first photograph of an astronomical object (the Moon) was taken in 1840, but it was no ...
Vega
Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is relatively close at only from the Sun, a ...
, in 1850) ever taken from America. In all, the three took between 200 and 300 photos of celestial objects.
Legacy
A number of celestial objects have been named in Bond's honor. A few of them include:
* The crater W. Bond on the Moon is named after him.
* A region on Hyperion is called the "Bond-Lassell Dorsum"
* Asteroid (767) Bondia is jointly named after him and his son.
* The Bond Gap within Saturn's C Ring is jointly named after him and his son.
References
Harvard's site on Bond and their observatory * Gillespie, Charles Couston, editor-in-chief. ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol 2.'' (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1970–80, )