Raymond Smith Dugan (May 30, 1878 – August 31, 1940) 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 discoverer of minor planets. His parents were Jeremiah Welby and Mary Evelyn Smith and he was born in Montague in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. His undergraduate and Masters was from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

in 1899 and 1902. Dugan then received his Ph.D. dissertation in 1905 at the '' Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl'' (Königstuhl Observatory, near Heidelberg) at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

. At the time, the observatory at Heidelberg was a center of

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 ...

discovery under

Max Wolf Maximilian Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf (21 June 1863 – 3 October 1932) was a German astronomer and a pioneer in the field of astrophotography. He was the chairman of astronomy at the University of Heidelberg and director of the Heidelberg-K� ...

. During Dugan's stay there, he discovered 16

s between 1902 and 1904, notably including 511 Davida. He was employed by

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

as an instructor (1905–1908), assistant professor (1908–1920), and professor (1920—). He married Annette Rumford in 1909. Dugan co-wrote an influential two-volume textbook in 1927 with

Henry Norris Russell Henry Norris Russell ForMemRS HFRSE FRAS (October 25, 1877 – February 18, 1957) was an American astronomer who, along with Ejnar Hertzsprung, developed the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram (1910). In 1923, working with Frederick Saunders, he ...

and

John Quincy Stewart John Quincy Stewart (September 10, 1894 – March 19, 1972) was an American astrophysicist. He obtained his Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University in 1919. He taught astrophysics at Princeton from 1921 until he retired in 1963. Stewart ...

called ''Astronomy: A Revision of Young’s Manual of Astronomy'' (Ginn & Co., Boston, 1926–27, 1938, 1945). This became the standard astronomy textbook for about two decades. There are two volumes: the first is ''The Solar System'' and the second is ''Astrophysics and Stellar Astronomy''. Dugan was elected to 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 ...

in 1931. The lunar crater '' Dugan'' and the main-belt asteroid 2772 Dugan are named in his honour.

References

External links

Amherst College Class of 1899

List of Dissertations at the Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dugan, Raymond Smith 1878 births 1940 deaths 20th-century American astronomers Amherst College alumni Discoverers of asteroids * People from Montague, Massachusetts Members of the American Philosophical Society

See also

References

External links