THE INCORPORATORS 153 
JOSEPH STILLMAN HUBBARD 
Born, September 7, 1823; died, August 16, 1863 
As Hubbard died within a few months after the Academy was 
formed, his influence upon that organization was, of course, but 
slight. It is of interest, however, to summarize his scientific 
labors if for no other reason than to show why he was chosen a 
member of the Academy. 
Hubbard’s family settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1635, 
but afterwards moved to Meridian and New Haven, Con- 
necticut. His ancestors were for the most part clergymen and 
physicians, and several of them held important public offices. 
As a boy, Hubbard showed a decided taste for mechanics and 
astronomy. He was graduated from Yale College in 1843 and 
the following year went to Philadelphia as assistant to the astron- 
omer Walker in the High School Observatory, working with 
such zeal as to seriously impair his health. After some months 
he went to Washington and computed the observations made by 
Frémont on his expedition to the Rocky Mountains and the 
Pacific Coast. The next year (1845), he was appointed a pro- 
fessor of mathematics in the Navy and assigned to duty at the 
Naval Observatory. 
Here he made observations for several years with the transit 
instrument and meridian circle, working particularly on a 
system of zone observations devised by Professor Coffin and him- 
self. These observations were interrupted soon after 1850, but 
taken up again in 1862 and continued by Hubbard until his 
death. 
His first extended computation consisted in the determination 
of the zodiacs of all the known asteroids. This was followed 
by a study of the orbit of the great comet of 1843. In 1846 
Hubbard began an extended investigation of the peculiar 
phenomena presented by Biela’s comet, and later published three 
memoirs relating to them. He also undertook an investigation 
of the Fourth Comet of 1825. 
Hubbard was deeply interested in the establishment of the 
Astronomical Journal, and his contributions to 1t occupy more 
