William Harkness (December 17, 1837 – February 28, 1903) was 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 ...

. He was born at Ecclefechan,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, a son of James (1803–78) and Jane (née Wield) Harkness. His father was a pastor and moved the family to the United States. Harkness served in the military, traveled extensively, and headed research missions developing techniques and equipment for astronomical study. Harkness died at his home in

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

on February 28, 1903, at the age of 65.

Biography

Raised in Fishkill Landing, New York, Harkness was educated at

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 18 ...

(September 1854 – January 1856), graduated from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

(1858) where he was a brother of

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest Fraternities and sororities, fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active Colony (fraternity or sorority), colonies across No ...

, and then studied

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

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. In 1862, Harkness graduated from the New York Homeopathic Medical College. In August 1862, he served as volunteer

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

for the Union Army at the

Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

. From 1862 to 1865, Harkness was an "aid in astronomy" at the

United States Naval Observatory The United States Naval Observatory (USNO) is a scientific and military facility that produces geopositioning, navigation and timekeeping data for the United States Navy and the United States Department of Defense. Established in 1830 as the ...

. In August 1863, Harkness was commissioned as a professor of mathematics in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

with the relative rank of lieutenant commander. In July 1864, he served as a military surgeon during the Battle of Fort Stevens. In 1865, Harkness was conferred an A.M. degree '' ad eundem'' by Lafayette College. After service on the

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from 1865 to 1866, he was employed in the

United States Hydrographic Office The United States Hydrographic Office (USHO) prepared and published maps, charts, and nautical books required in navigation. The office was established by an act of 21 June 1866 as part of the Bureau of Navigation, Department of the Navy. It wa ...

During the

eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...

of August 1869, Harkness discovered the coronal line ''K 1474''. Three years later he was made a member of the

Transit of Venus A transit of Venus takes place when Venus passes directly between the Sun and the Earth (or any other superior planet), becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. During a transit, Venus is visible as ...

Commission, and had charge of the party at

Hobart, Tasmania Hobart ( ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent (Tasmania), River Derwent, it is the southernmo ...

in 1879 and at Washington in 1882, when he became the executive officer. In 1874, Harkness was conferred an honorary LL.D. degree by the University of Rochester. He 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 1898. His most memorable accomplishments are related to the construction of

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...

s, his theory of the focal curve of achromatic telescopes, and his invention of the spherometer caliper and other astronomical instruments. He was astronomical director of the Naval Observatory (1894–99) and director of the '' Nautical Almanac'' (1897–99). Harkness retired from the navy two days after attaining the relative rank of

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

(December 1899), having reached the mandatory retirement age of sixty-two. He was a member of the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing edu ...

(1891) and

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

(1893). Of his works, ''The Solar Parallax and its Related Constants'' (1891) is the most important.

Legacy

Two U.S. Navy vessels have been named in his honor. Harkness Hall at the University of Rochester is named in his honor.

References

External links

*
Chasing Venus, Observing the Transits of Venus
' Smithsonian Institution Libraries {{DEFAULTSORT:Harkness, William 1837 births 1903 deaths People from Dumfries and Galloway Scottish emigrants to the United States People from Beacon, New York Lafayette College alumni University of Rochester alumni New York Medical College alumni People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Union army surgeons 19th-century American astronomers Union Navy surgeons 19th-century American inventors 19th-century American non-fiction writers Presidents of the American Association for the Advancement of Science United States Navy rear admirals People from Jersey City, New Jersey Members of the American Philosophical Society

Biography

Legacy

References

Further reading

External links