Alvan Clark | |
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| Born | (1804-03-08)March 8, 1804 |
| Died | August 19, 1887(1887-08-19) (aged 83) |
| Awards | Lalande Prize(1862) Rumford Prize(1866) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
Alvan Clark (March 8, 1804 – August 19, 1887) was an Americanastronomer andtelescope maker.
Born inAshfield, Massachusetts, Clark started as a portrait painter and engraver (c.1830s–1850s), and at the age of 40 became involved in telescope making. Using glass blanks made byChance Brothers of Birmingham, England, andFeil-Mantois of Paris, France, his firmAlvan Clark & Sons ground lenses forrefracting telescopes. Their lenses included the largest in the world at the time: the 18.5-inch (47 cm) atDearborn Observatory at theOld University of Chicago (the lens originally intended forOle Miss); also the two 26-inch (66 cm) telescopes at theUnited States Naval Observatory andMcCormick Observatory, the 30-inch (76 cm) atPulkovo Observatory, which was destroyed in theSiege of Leningrad (only the lens survives), the 36-inch (91 cm) telescope atLick Observatory (still the third-largest), and later the 40-inch (100 cm) atYerkes Observatory, which remains the largest successful refracting telescope in the world.
Although not specifically searching fordouble stars, he did make a number of discoveries while testing his completed telescope objectives,[1] includingMu Herculis,8 Sextantis, and 95 Ceti.[2] One of Clark's sons,Alvan Graham Clark, discovered the dim companion ofSirius. Twocraters bear Clark Sr.'s name. The craterClark on theMoon is jointly named for him and his son, Alvan Graham Clark, and one onMars is named in his honour.[3] His other son wasGeorge Bassett Clark; both sons were partners in the firm.
Clark was also competitive in target shooting and received a patent for his device to allow bullets to be seated into a muzzle-loading rifle without damage to either the bullet or the rifle's muzzle. Exclusive license to this patent (1,565 of April 24, 1840) was made to Edwin Wesson, brother ofDaniel B. Wesson.[4]
In 1880, Clark was elected as a member to theAmerican Philosophical Society.[5]
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