Edward Singleton Holden (November 5, 1846 – March 16, 1914) was an American

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

and the fifth president of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

Early years

He was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, in 1846 to Edward and Sarah Frances (Singleton) Holden. From 1862 to 1866, he attended

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

, where he obtained a B.S. degree. He later trained at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

in the class of 1870.

Career

In 1873 he became professor of

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

at the US Naval Observatory, where he made a favorable impression on

Simon Newcomb Simon Newcomb (March 12, 1835 – July 11, 1909) was a Canadians, Canadian–Americans, American astronomer, applied mathematician, and autodidactic polymath. He served as Professor of Mathematics in the United States Navy and at Johns Hopkins ...

. On August 28, 1877, a few days after

Asaph Hall Asaph Hall III (October 15, 1829 – November 22, 1907) was an American astronomer who is best known for having discovered the two moons of Mars, Deimos and Phobos, in 1877. He determined the orbits of satellites of other planets and of doubl ...

discovered the moons of Mars Deimos and Phobos, he claimed to have found a third satellite of Mars. Further analysis showed large mistakes in his observations. He was director of Washburn Observatory at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

from 1881 to 1885. He was elected a member of both the American

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) 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, and other ...

in 1885. He discovered a total of 22 NGC objects during his work at Washburn Observatory. Holden was president of the

from 1885 until 1888, and the first director of 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 (California), Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California, United States. The ...

from 1888 until the end of 1897. He resigned as a result of internal dissent over his management among his subordinates. While at the Lick Observatory, he was the founder of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and its first president (1889–1891). He also became a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

. Holden was awarded five honorary degrees: an M.A. degree from Washington University in 1879, an LL.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1886, an LL.D. from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1887, a Sc.D. from the University of the Pacific in 1896 and a Litt.D. from Fordham College in 1910. In 1901, Holden became the

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

of the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

at West Point, where he remained until his death. He was buried at the

West Point Cemetery West Point Cemetery is a historic cemetery on the grounds of the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, West Point, New York (state), New York. It overlooks the Hudson River, and served as a burial ground for Continental Army s ...

on March 18, 1914.

Works

He wrote many books on popular science (and on other subjects, such as flags and heraldry), including science books intended for children, for example: * * On the

Mughal Emperors The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty ( House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire i ...

. * ''Real Things In Nature. A Reading Book of Science for American Boys and Girls'', 1916.

Legacy

Holden was a founding member of the

Cosmos Club The Cosmos Club is a 501(c)(7) private social club in Washington, D.C., that was founded by John Wesley Powell in 1878 as a gentlemen's club for those interested in science. Among its stated goals is, "The advancement of its members in science, ...

.Oehser, Paul H. �
The Cosmos Club of Washington: A Brief History
” ''Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C.'' 60/62 (1960): 250–65. . The

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

872 Holda, the crater

Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. Founded in Adelaide, it was an automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter that sold cars under its own marque in Australia. It was ...

on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

and the crater

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

are all named in his honor.

Family

His cousin George Phillips Bond was 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 ...

. His grandson, also named Edward Singleton Holden, was a well known inventor with numerous patents to his name. He is credited with designing the rolled stainless steel gauge present in most modern

fire extinguisher A fire extinguisher is a handheld active fire protection device usually filled with a dry or wet chemical used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergencies. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which ha ...

References

External links

* * * *
University of California Presidents' biographies

at www.astrosociety.org Bracher, Katherine: The Centennial History of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (Mercury Magazine, Sept/Oct 1989)
Osterbrock, Donald E., The Rise and Fall of Edward S. Holden – Part One, JOURN. HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY V.15:2, NO.43, P. 81, 1984
*
Part Two – V.15, NO. 3/OCT, P.151, 1984National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir

Portraits of Edward S. Holden from the Lick Observatory Records Digital Archive, UC Santa Cruz Library's Digital Collections
;Obituaries

(one paragraph)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holden, Edward Singleton 1846 births 1914 deaths Scientists from St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis alumni United States Military Academy alumni United States Army officers American astronomers Washington University in St. Louis physicists University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty University of California regents Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Leaders of the University of California, Berkeley Lick Observatory American librarians People from West Point, New York Burials at West Point Cemetery Members of the American Philosophical Society 19th-century United States Army personnel Military personnel from St. Louis