Harry Hemley PlaskettFRS[1] (July 5, 1893 – January 26, 1980) was a Canadian astronomer who made significant contributions to the fields ofsolar physics,astronomical spectroscopy andspectrophotometry. From 1932 to 1960, he served as theSavilian Professor of Astronomy at theUniversity of Oxford, and in 1963 was awarded theGold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society.[2]
Harry Hemley Plaskett was born inToronto,Ontario on July 5, 1893. His parents were Rebecca Hemley andJohn Stanley Plaskett, who at the time was working as a machinist in the Department of Physics at theUniversity of Toronto, but who would later go on to become the first director of theDominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria, and aGold Medal winner in his own right.[3]
After receiving his B.A. fromToronto in 1916, he joined theCanadian Corps, serving in the field artillery in France from 1917-1918.[2] Following this, and a year spent working with ProfessorAlfred Fowler atImperial College, he returned to Canada, and was appointed to the staff of theDominion Astrophysical Observatory inVictoria, B.C. In 1928, he was appointed Professor of Astrophysics atHarvard University, and in 1932 succeededH. H. Turner asSavilian Professor of Astronomy at the University of Oxford.[2] In May, 1936 he was elected aFellow of the Royal Society.[4] He was president of theRoyal Astronomical Society just after World War II.
His time at Oxford was interrupted by war service: from 1939 to 1940, he was an anti-aircraft officer, and from 1940 to 1944 he worked on experimental navigation for theMinistry of Aircraft Production.[2] From 1951 to 1955 he worked alongsideWalter Stibbs.[5]
He retired from Oxford in 1960, becoming a Professor Emeritus of the university, but remained active in astronomical research almost until the end of his life.
He had married in 1921 Edith Alice Smith, with whom he had two children, Barbara and John Stanley. They were to remain married until his death in 1980.[6]
The asteroid2905 Plaskett, discovered byEdward Bowell in 1982, was named in his and his father's memory.[7][8]
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