Eric Mervyn Lindsay FRAS (26 January 1907 – 27 July 1974) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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 ...

. He was born at The Grange near

Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...

to Richard and Susan Lindsay. He was educated in Dublin at the King's Hospital School, then attended

Queen's University, Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

where he earned his BSc in 1928 and a MSc in 1929. He later went to

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 highe ...

and was awarded a

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in 1934. He then went to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

for a post-graduate astronomy studies, and on 20 May 1935 was married to Sylvia Mussells in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. He returned to Ireland in 1937 to become director of the

Armagh Observatory Armagh Observatory is an astronomical research institute in Armagh, Northern Ireland. Around 25 astronomers are based at the observatory, studying stellar astrophysics, the Sun, Solar System astronomy and Earth's climate. In 2018, Armagh Obs ...

. He remained the director of the observatory until his death of a sudden

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

in 1974.E. M. Lindsay, 1907 – 1974 July 27
SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS), p. 215 He is more noted for his political influence in favour of astronomy than for important astronomical discoveries. For example, he was responsible for persuading the Irish government and Harvard University to found a telescope at Boyden Station in South Africa for the purpose of charting the southern skies. Dr. Lindsay was also instrumental in the founding of

Armagh Planetarium Armagh Planetarium is a planetarium located in Armagh, Northern Ireland close to the city centre and neighbouring Armagh Observatory in approximately fourteen acres of landscaped grounds known as the Armagh Astropark. History Armagh Planeta ...

. Lindsay and his wife Sylvia had one son, Derek Michael Lindsay, who was born in 1944. Derek became a professor of chemistry in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and died six months before his Mother Sylvia in 1999.

Awards and honours

* The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, 1963. * Member of the Royal Irish Academy, 1939. * The crater Lindsay 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

Armagh Observatory

A modern vision: Eric Lindsay at Armagh
Oxford University Press

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsay, Eric Mervyn 1907 births 1974 deaths Harvard University alumni Officers of the Order of the British Empire Astronomers from Northern Ireland People from Portadown Alumni of Queen's University Belfast British expatriates in South Africa