Francis Charles McMath (1867 – February 13, 1938) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

and amateur

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 ...

. He became successful in the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

-building industry, and was president of the Canadian Bridge and Iron Company in Detroit. (Detroit Bridge & Iron Works.) His sons were named

Robert Raynolds McMath Robert Raynolds McMath (May 11, 1891 – January 2, 1962) was an American solar astronomer. McMath was a bridge engineer, businessman, and astronomer. His father, Francis C. McMath, had made a fortune as a bridge builder. They both had a ke ...

and Neil Cook.

Astronomy

He had a strong interest in amateur astronomy, and, along with his son Robert, began an ambitious program of observatory development. They collaborated with Judge Henry S. Hulbert from Wayne County,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

to construct The McMath-Hulbert Observatory by

Lake Angelus Lake Angelus is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An affluent northern suburb of Detroit, Lake Angelus is located about north of downtown Detroit. With a population of 287 as of the 2020 census, Lake Angelus is the second ...

near

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, Pontiac is part of the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area, and is vari ...

. They began collaborating with the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, and in 1931 the director suggested naming the site the McMath-Hulbert Observatory in honor of the founders. Robert would become a

solar Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

. In 1932 the McMath's and Judge Hulbert devised an innovative technique of taking multiple still images of the

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

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 ...

planet A planet is a large, Hydrostatic equilibrium, rounded Astronomical object, astronomical body that is generally required to be in orbit around a star, stellar remnant, or brown dwarf, and is not one itself. The Solar System has eight planets b ...

s and

star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

s, then combining them into a movie.Sun, Moon and Stars in the Movies
, ''

Science News ''Science News'' (''SN'') is an American monthly magazine devoted to articles about new scientific and technical developments, typically gleaned from recent scientific and technical journals. The periodical has been described as having a scop ...

'', 23 October 1932.

Personal life and awards

In May, 1933, McMath's 10-year-old granddaughter

Peggy McMath Peggy may refer to: People * Peggy (given name), people with the given name or nickname Arts and entertainment * ''Peggy'' (musical), a 1911 musical comedy by Stuart and Bovill * ''Peggy'' (album), a 1977 Peggy Lee album * ''Peggy'' (1916 ...

was kidnapped from her Massachusetts schoolhouse by brothers Kenneth and Cyril Buck, but successfully returned for a ransom of $60,000. Also in 1933, he and his son were awarded the

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and a center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and wikt:statesman, statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin ...

John Price Wetherill Medal The John Price Wetherill Medal was an award of the Franklin Institute. It was established with a bequest given by the family of John Price Wetherill (1844–1906) on April 3, 1917. On June 10, 1925, the Board of Managers voted to create a silv ...

Legacy

Following his death a 24"

Cassegrain reflector The Cassegrain reflector is a combination of a primary concave mirror and a secondary convex mirror, often used in optical telescopes and Antenna (radio), radio antennas, the main characteristic being that the optical path folds back onto itself, ...

telescope added to the McMath-Hulbert Observatory was named the F. C. McMath Memorial Telescope. The crater McMath on the

is co-named for Francis and his son Robert. A gift to the

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

, located in

Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

, endowed a summer research fellowship in 1946 in

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

in his name. The

McMath–Pierce solar telescope McMath–Pierce solar telescope is a 1.6 m F-number, f/54 reflecting telescope, reflecting solar telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, United States. Built in 1962, the building was designed by American architect Myron Goldsmith ...

(the McMath Solar Telescope from 1962 to 1992) at

Kitt Peak National Observatory The Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) is a United States astronomy, astronomical observatory located on Kitt Peak of the Quinlan Mountains in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert on the Tohono Oʼodham Nation, west-southwest of Tucson, Arizona. With ...

in Arizona is named after McMath's son

References

1867 births 1938 deaths American engineers Amateur astronomers American astronomers {{US-engineer-stub