Theodore Dunham Jr. (December 17, 1897 – April 3, 1984) was an American astronomer and physicist. He was born 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 ...

, the first-born son of Theodore Dunham, a surgeon, and Josephine Balestier. He was educated at the private schools St. Bernard's School and

Browning School The Browning School is an independent school for boys in New York City. It was founded in 1888 by John A. Browning. It offers instruction in grades kindergarten through 12th grade. The school is a member of the New York Interschool consortium. ...

, both in New York. At

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 higher le ...

he studied chemistry and graduated ''

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'' in 1921 with an

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

His graduate work was at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

, where he was awarded his M.D. in 1925. He then studied physics at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, earning an A.M. in 1926 and a

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in 1927. He was married to Miriam Phillips Thompson in 1926, and the couple had two children. In 1928 he joined the staff of

Mount Wilson Observatory The Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO) is an astronomical observatory in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The MWO is located on Mount Wilson, a peak in the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena, northeast of Los Angeles. The observat ...

, where he remained until 1947. In 1932, together with Walter S. Adams, they discovered that the atmosphere of Venus contained

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under high pressure. Two years later in 1934, the two found that the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere of Mars was less than one percent of the amount over a comparable area on Earth. In 1936 he became the Scientific Director of the Fund for Astrophysical Research, and he held that position for the remainder of his life. During

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he served in the

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, where he was Chief of the Optical Instrument Section. Beginning in 1946, he performed medical research into the application of physical methods. He was at the Harvard Medical School until 1948 as a Warren Fellow in Surgery, before moving to University of Rochester. Between 1948 and 1957 he developed tools that could be used for spectrophotometric analysis of locations within a biological cell. He joined the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

faculty in 1957. He became a senior research fellow at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

in 1965, before returning to the United States in 1970. There he rejoined the

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 ...

. He died at his home in

Chocorua, New Hampshire Chocorua is an unincorporated community within the town of Tamworth in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. It is located in the general area where Routes 16 and 113 meet, south of Mount Chocorua and Chocorua Lake. Mount Chocorua is c ...

. In his honor, the Fund for Astrophysical Research makes annual Theodore Dunham, Jr. Grants for Research in Astronomy.

References

External links

Oral history interview transcript with Theodore Dunham on 30 April 1977, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
- Session I
Oral history interview transcript with Theodore Dunham on 14 April 1978, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
- Session II {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunham Jr., Theodore American astronomers 1897 births 1984 deaths Weill Cornell Medical College alumni Harvard College alumni 20th-century American physicists St. Bernard's School alumni Scientists from New York (state) Browning School alumni Fellows of the American Physical Society