304 Memorial of George Brown Goode. 



port of an astronomer, to be in constant attendance of observation upon the phe- 

 nomena of the heavens, and for the periodical publications of his observations. It 

 is with no feeling of pride as an American that the remark may be made that on 

 the comparatively small territorial surface of Europe there are existing upward of 

 130 of these light-houses of the skies, while throughout the whole American hemi- 

 sphere there is not one. If we reflect a moment upon the discoveries which in the 

 last iovcc centuries have been made in the physical constitution of the universe by 

 the means of these buildings and of observers stationed in them, shall we doubt of 

 their usefulness to every nation ? And while scarcely a year passes over our heads 

 without bringing some new astronomical discovery to light, which we must fain 

 receive at second hand from Europe, are we not cutting ourselves off from the means 

 of returning light for light while we have neither observatory nor observer upon 

 our half of the globe and the earth revolves in perpetual darkness to our unsearch- 

 ing eyes? 



This appeal was received with shotits of ridicule; and the proposal 

 "to establish a light-liou,se in the skies" became a common byword 

 which has scarcely yet ceased to be familiar. So strong was public feel- 

 ing that, in the year 1832, in reviving an act for the continuance of the 

 survey of the coast, Congress made a proviso, that "nothing in the act 

 should be construed to authorize the construction or maintenance of a 

 permanent astronomical observatory.' 



Nothing daunted, Mr. Adams continued the struggle, and while a 

 member of the House of Representatives, after his presidential term had 

 expired, he battled for the observatory continually and furiously. An 

 oration delivered by him in Cincinnati in 1843, closed with these words: 



Is there one tower erected to enable the keen-eyed observer of the heavenl}- vavilt 

 to watch from night to night through the circling year the movement t)f the 

 starry heavens and their unnumbered worlds? Look arovmd you; look from the St. 

 John to the Sabine; look from the mouth of the Neversink to the mouth of the 

 Columbia, and you will find not one! or if one, not of our creation. 



A correspondent of the L,ondon Athenaeum, writing from Boston in 

 May, 1840, spoke at length of the dearth of observatories in the United 

 States, and of the efforts of John Quinc}- Adams to form a national 

 astronomical establishment in connection with the Smithson l^equest. 

 The letter is of great interest as showing the state of opinion on scientific 

 matters in America just half a century ago. 



Boston, I\Ta\\ iS.fo . 



One of the prominent subjects of discussion among our saz'ans ... is the 



establishment of Observatories of a character suitable to our standing as a civilized 



nati(jn, and still more to our exigencies as a practical, and especially as a conmiercial 



community. I verily believe that the yearly damage and destruction along our coast, 



' It is interesting to know that in 1827, Mr. James Courtenay, of Charleston, pub- 

 lished a pamphlet, an urgent plea for the establishment of a naval observatory. I 

 am indebted to Mr. William A. Courtenay for the opportunity to examine this rare 

 tract, which has the following title : 



1827. Courtenay, James. An | Inquiry | into | the Propriety j of | esta1)lishing | 

 a I National Observatory. | =: | By James Courtenay, | of Charleston, South Caro- 

 lina I = I — i Charleston, Printed by W. Kiley, J25 Church street | — | 1S27. 8° 

 pp. 1-24. 



