George Willis Ritchey | |
|---|---|
 Ritchey at the Fourth Conference International Union for Cooperation in Solar Research atMount Wilson Observatory, 1910 | |
| Born | (1864-12-31)31 December 1864 |
| Died | 4 November 1945(1945-11-04) (aged 80) |
| Awards | Prix Jules Janssen |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Optician astronomy |
George Willis Ritchey (December 31, 1864 – November 4, 1945) was an Americanoptician and telescope maker andastronomer born atTuppers Plains, Ohio.[1][2]
Ritchey was educated as a furniture maker. He coinvented theRitchey–Chrétien (R–C)reflecting telescope along withHenri Chrétien. The R-C prescription remains the predominant optical design for telescopes and has since been used for the majority of major ground-based and space-based telescopes.
He worked closely withGeorge Ellery Hale, first atYerkes Observatory and later atMt. Wilson Observatory. He played a major role in designing the mountings and making the mirrors of the Mt. Wilson 60-inch (1.5 m) and 100-inch (2.5 m) telescopes. Hale and Ritchey had a falling-out in 1919, and Ritchey eventually went to Paris where he promoted the construction of very large telescopes. He returned to America in 1930 and obtained a contract to build a Ritchey-Chrétien telescope for the U.S. Naval Observatory. This last telescope produced by Ritchey remains in operation at theU.S. Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station in Flagstaff, Arizona.
In 1924, he received thePrix Jules Janssen, the highest award of theSociété astronomique de France, the French astronomical society.Craters onMars and theMoon were named in his honor.[1]
A very readable biography of Ritchey and Hale is in Don Osterbrock's book "Pauper and Prince - Ritchey, Hale and the Big American Telescopes" (The university of Arizona Press, 1993) where the idiosyncratic personalities of both Ritchey and Hale are exposed.
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