Robert Grant Aitken | |
|---|---|
 Robert Grant Aitken (1864-1951) | |
| Born | (1864-12-31)December 31, 1864 |
| Died | October 29, 1951(1951-10-29) (aged 86) |
| Other names | R.G. Aitken |
| Known for | Double stars |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
| Institutions | University of California,Lick Observatory |
Robert Grant Aitken (December 31, 1864 – October 29, 1951) was an Americanastronomer.[1]
Robert Grant Aitken was born inJackson, California, to Scottish immigrant Robert Aitken and Wilhelmina Depinau, the daughter of German immigrants.[2][3] Aitken attendedWilliams College inMassachusetts and graduated with an undergraduate degree in 1887.
From 1887–1891, he worked as a mathematics instructor atLivermore, California, then received his M.A. from Williams College in 1892. He became a professor of mathematics at theCollege of the Pacific, another liberal arts school.[4] He was offered an assistant astronomer position atLick Observatory inCalifornia in 1895.[1]
He began a systematically study ofdouble stars, measuring their positions and calculating their orbits around one another. From 1899, in collaboration withW. J. Hussey, he methodically created a very large catalog of such stars. This ongoing work was published in Lick Observatory bulletins.[4] In 1905, Hussey left and Aitken pressed on with the survey alone, and by 1915, he had discovered roughly 3,100 new binary stars, in addition to the 1,300 discovered by Hussey. The results were published in 1932 and entitledNew General Catalogue of Double Stars Within 120° of the North Pole,[1] with the orbit information enabling astronomers to calculate stellar mass statistics for a large number of stars. For his work in cataloguing binary stars,[5] he was awarded the prestigiousBruce Medal in 1926.[4]
During his career, Aitken measured positions and computed orbits forcomets andnatural satellites ofplanets. In 1908 he joined an eclipse expedition toFlint Island in the centralPacific Ocean. His bookBinary Stars was published in 1918, with a second edition published in 1935.[4]
After joining theAstronomical Society of the Pacific in 1894, Aitken was elected to serve as president in 1899 and 1915 of theAstronomical Society of the Pacific. From 1898 to 1942, Aitken was an editor of thePublications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. In 1932, he delivered the Darwin Lecture before theRoyal Astronomical Society, where he was an associate member. From 1918 to 1928, he was chair of the double star committee for theInternational Astronomical Union.[4]
Aitken was partlydeaf and used ahearing aid. He married Jessie Thomas around 1888; they had three sons and one daughter. Jessie died in 1943.[4] Their sonRobert Thomas Aitken was an anthropologist who studied Pacific island cultures. Their grandson,Robert Baker Aitken, was a widely knownZenBuddhist teacher and author. Their granddaughterMarjorie J. Vold was a noted chemist specializing incolloids.
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