Charles Lane Poor (January 18, 1866 – September 27, 1951) was an American astronomy professor, noted for his opposition to

Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

theory of relativity The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical ph ...

Biography

He was born on January 18, 1866, in

Hackensack, New Jersey Hackensack is the most populous municipality in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

, to Edward Erie Poor. He graduated from the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

and received a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1892 from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

. Poor became an

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 professor of

celestial mechanics Celestial mechanics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the motions of objects in outer space. Historically, celestial mechanics applies principles of physics (classical mechanics) to astronomical objects, such as stars and planets, to ...

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 ...

from 1903 to 1944, when he was named Professor Emeritus. He published several works disputing the evidence for

during the 1920s, and reflecting objections to the theory. For 25 years, Poor was chairman of the admissions committee of the

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

. In addition, he was a fellow of the

Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charitable organisation, charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, planetary science, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its ...

and an associate fellow of 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 ...

. He served several terms as mayor of Dering Harbor on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Poor also invented a circular slide rule used with a sextant for yachting navigation. At

, Poor was a teacher of the astronomer Samuel A. Mitchell, who went on to become director of the

Leander McCormick Observatory The Leander McCormick Observatory is one of the astronomical observatories operated by the Department of Astronomy of the University of Virginia, and is situated just outside Charlottesville, Virginia (US) in Albemarle County on the summit of ...

at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. He died on September 27, 1951.Obituary,
Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
', V64, p. 48 (1952).

Legacy

One of Poor's sons,

Edmund Ward Poor Edmund Ward Poor (1904–1966) was a co-founder of the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, serving as its treasurer and director. He was a wealthy accountant working as treasurer for the aviation pioneers Grover and Albert Loening who had ...

, was one of ten co-founders of

Grumman Aircraft The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 1 ...

. Another son was

Alfred Easton Poor Alfred Easton Poor (May 24, 1899 – January 13, 1988) was an American architect noted particularly for buildings and projects in New York City and in Washington, D.C., for the U.S. government. A son of Charles Lane Poor, Alfred Poor served in t ...

, an architect.

Selected publications

''The Solar System: A Study of Recent Observations''
(1908)
''Nautical Science''
(1910)
''Gravitation versus Relativity''
(with a preliminary essay by

Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin (; September 25, 1843 – November 15, 1928) was an American geologist and educator. In 1893 he founded the ''Journal of Geology'', of which he was editor for many years. Biography Chamberlin was born September 25, 184 ...

, 1922) *''Is Einstein Wrong? A Debate'' (Jun. 1924) *''Rebuttal to Prof. Henderson's Article'' (Aug. 1924) *''The Relativity Deflection of Light'' (Jul. 1927) *''Relativity and the Law of Gravitation'' (Jan. 1930) *''The Deflection of Light as Observed at Total Solar Eclipses'' (Apr. 1930) *''What Einstein Really Did'' (Nov. 1930)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poor, Charles Lane American astronomers Johns Hopkins University alumni City College of New York alumni Columbia University faculty People from Hackensack, New Jersey 1866 births 1951 deaths Members of the New York Yacht Club Relativity critics

Biography

Legacy

Selected publications

See also

References