W.W. Campbell
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William Wallace Campbell (April 11, 1862 – June 14, 1938) was an American astronomer, and director of
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 ...
from 1901 to 1930. He specialized in
spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...
.MNRAS 99 (1939) 317 Obituary
/ref> He was the tenth president of the University of California from 1923 to 1930.


Biography

He was born on a farm in
Hancock County, Ohio Hancock County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 74,920. Its county seat is Findlay. The county was created in 1820 and later organized in 1828. It was named for John Hancock, the first s ...
, the son of Robert Wilson and Harriet Welsh Campbell. After a few years of local schooling he entered in 1882 the University of Michigan to study civil engineering, graduating Bachelor of Science in 1886. Whilst at university he developed his interest in astronomy when he read Simon Newcomb's ''Popular Astronomy''. After graduating he was appointed Professor of Mathematics at the University of Colorado but soon moved back to Michigan as an instructor in astronomy. In 1891 he was invited to work on spectroscopy at
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 ...
in California. Campbell was a pioneer of astronomical spectroscopy and catalogued the radial velocities of stars. He was also recognized for his work in solar eclipse photography. In 1893 he discovered the Wolf–Rayet star HD 184738 (also known as Campbell's hydrogen envelope star). He was made a director of Lick Observatory from 1901 to 1930. In August 1914, Campbell and
Erwin Freundlich Erwin Finlay-Freundlich FRSE FRAS (; 29 May 1885 – 24 July 1964) was a German astronomer, a pupil of Felix Klein. Freundlich was a working associate of Albert Einstein and introduced experiments for which the general theory of relativity coul ...
of the Berlin Observatory were in Russia to photograph a solar eclipse, in an early attempt to test the validity of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity. The outbreak of World War I (and in particular Germany's declaration of war against Russia) led to the seizure of Freundlich and his equipment in the Crimea by Russian officers. Campbell, from neutral America, was permitted to continue with his plans, but cloud cover obscured the eclipse. Campbell undertook another attempt to photograph a solar eclipse on June 8, 1918, in Goldendale, in Washington state. But his precision photographic equipment had been retained in Russia four years earlier, and he had to improvise the needed apparatus from existing equipment at the Lick Observatory. The cameras he used were not adequate to provide the measurement accuracy needed to confirm the deflection of star light predicted by Einstein's theory.Earman, John and Glymour, Clark (1980).
Relativity and eclipses: the British eclipse expeditions of 1919 and their predecessors
, ''Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences'', Vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 49-85.
The equipment from Russia was finally shipped back on August 15, 1917, arriving August 21 the following year. Confirmation of Einstein's theory came in 1919 in the wake of an expedition led by
Arthur Eddington Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington (28 December 1882 – 22 November 1944) was an English astronomer, physicist, and mathematician. He was also a philosopher of science and a populariser of science. The Eddington limit, the natural limit to the lumin ...
to photograph the eclipse of May 29, 1919. But some uncertainty remained, as well as scepticism fueled in part by anti-German sentiment in the wake of World War I. Final and uncontested confirmation is generally dated to Campbell's 1922 Lick Observatory expedition to Australia to photograph the solar eclipse.Burgess, A. (August 11, 2017).
The 1922 Eclipse Adventure That Sought to Confirm the Theory of Relativity
, ''Atlas Obscura''. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
Campbell's report of the results state that the observations "furnish a value … which agrees exactly with Einstein's prediction." He served as 10th President of the University of California from 1923 to 1930. He also served on the board of trustees for Science Service, now known as Society for Science & the Public, from 1923 to 1926. He served three terms as president of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (in 1895, 1909 and 1918). He committed
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
in California at the age of 76 by leaping to his death from a fourth-story window in San Francisco. He was mostly blind and suffering from bouts of aphasia. This was not only very frustrating to him, but he felt that it left him a burden to his family in terms of care and expense, according to notes he left behind at the time of his death. He married Elizabeth Ballard Thompson in 1892; they had three sons (one of them was WWI ace Douglas Campbell).


Honors and awards

*
Lalande Medal The Lalande Prize (French: ''Prix Lalande'' also known as Lalande Medal) was an award for scientific advances in astronomy, given from 1802 until 1970 by the French Academy of Sciences. The prize was endowed by astronomer Jérôme Lalande in 1801 ...
of the
French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific me ...
(1903) * Henry Draper Medal from the National Academy of Sciences (1906) * Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1906) * Janssen Medal (1910) * Bruce Medal (1915) * Foreign Member of the Royal Society of London (1918) * Honorary Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...
(1920) *Trustee of the Carnegie Institution (1929–1938) *Crater Campbell on the Moon *
Crater Crater may refer to: Landforms *Impact crater, a depression caused by two celestial bodies impacting each other, such as a meteorite hitting a planet *Explosion crater, a hole formed in the ground produced by an explosion near or below the surfac ...
on Mars *
Asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...
2751 Campbell 2751 Campbell, provisional designation , is a stony Nysian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 7 September 1962, by IU's Indiana Asteroid Program at Goethe Link Obs ...
* Campbell Hall on the University of California, Berkeley campus


Crocker expeditions led by Campbell

Charles Frederick Crocker Charles Frederick Crocker (December 26, 1854 – July 17, 1897) was vice president of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. Biography He was born in Sacramento on December 26, 1854, the eldest son of Mary Ann and Charles Crocker. He was educate ...
and
William Henry Crocker William Henry Crocker I (January 13, 1861 – September 25, 1937) was an American banker, the president of Crocker National Bank and a prominent member of the Republican Party. Early life Crocker was born on January 19, 1861 in Sacramento, Califor ...
financed numerous Lick-Crocker solar eclipse expeditions. Campbell led several of these expeditions. *
Solar eclipse of January 22, 1898 A total solar eclipse occurred on January 22, 1898. 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 ...
, Jeur,
Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
, India *
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 ...
, Thomaston, Georgia * Solar eclipse of August 30, 1905, Alhama, Spain * Solar eclipse of January 3, 1908, Flint Island, Kiribati *
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 ...
, Brovary, Ukraine * Solar eclipse of June 8, 1918, Goldendale, Washington * Solar eclipse of September 21, 1922, Wallal,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...


Family

He married Elizabeth Ballard Thompson in 1892; they had three sons (one of them was WWI ace Douglas Campbell). Elizabeth contributed greatly to Campbell's work and played an important role in his success as a scientist. She adopted the role of hostess during his time as director of the Lick Observatory, also undertaking public relations work on behalf of the Observatory by writing letters to staff and potential donors and supporters of her husband's work. Elizabeth organised many of the expeditions that Campbell led, arranging the expedition members travel, food, supplies and living quarters. She contributed to the work of the expeditions by undertaking astronomical spectroscopy, developing plates and extensively documented the expeditions including writing two manuscripts.


References


External links

*
Bruce Medal pageNational Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir

Portraits of William Wallace Campbell from the Lick Observatory Records Digital Archive, UC Santa Cruz Library's Digital Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, William Wallace 1862 births 1938 suicides People from Hancock County, Ohio American astronomers University of California regents Recipients of the Bruce Medal Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society Foreign Members of the Royal Society Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1917–1925) Corresponding Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Lalande Prize University of Michigan College of Engineering alumni Leaders of the University of California, Berkeley University of Colorado faculty University of Michigan faculty Presidents of the International Astronomical Union