Loomis Observatory (also known as the Elias Loomis Observatory) is the second oldest

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, located in

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. Construction was completed in 1838. It is on the campus of

Western Reserve Academy Western Reserve Academy (WRA), or simply Reserve, is a private, midsized, coeducational boarding and day college preparatory school located in Hudson, Ohio, United States. A boarding school, Western Reserve Academy is largely a residential ...

, a college preparatory school. When the observatory was constructed the school was Western Reserve College, which later relocated to Cleveland and is now known as

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

. The Loomis Observatory is the oldest observatory in the United States still sitting in its original location. The oldest American observatory, the Hopkins Observatory at

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

, also completed in 1838, has been relocated twice in its history. Under the influence and design of Professor

Elias Loomis Elias Loomis (August 7, 1811 – August 15, 1889) was an American mathematician. He served as a professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Case Western Reserve University, Western Reserve College (now Case Western Reserve University), the ...

, who purchased the necessary instruments in England after studying in Europe, the observatory was built by architect Simeon Porter. The original Troughton & Simms equatorial telescope and Robert Molyneux-built

astronomical clock An astronomical clock, horologium, or orloj is a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets. Definition ...

remain in the observatory dating to 1837. An inscription on the historic marker reads: "

and

Charles Augustus Young Charles Augustus Young (December 15, 1834 – January 4, 1908) one of the foremost solar spectroscopist astronomers in the United States. He observed solar eclipses and worked on spectroscopy of the Sun. He observed a solar flare with a spe ...

worked in this Observatory, built in 1838, the third to be erected in the United States, the second oldest standing (1926)." James Ellsworth restored the observatory in 1908, and it was again restored in 1963.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1838 establishments in Ohio Case Western Reserve University National Register of Historic Places in Summit County, Ohio School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio