BEGINNINGS OF AMERICAN ASTRONOMY 57 



1636), Yale college (1701), the university of Virginia (founded 

 by Jefferson in 1825), and the United States military academy 

 at West Point (1801), were the chief foci from which the light 

 of learning spread. Other colleges were formed or forming 

 all over the eastern and middle states during the early years 

 of the century. 



The leading school of pure science was the military 

 academy at West Point, and it continued to hold this place 

 until the civil war of 1861. From its corps of professors and 

 students it gave two chiefs to the United States coast survey ; 

 and the army, particularly the corps of engineers, provided 

 many observers to that scientific establishment, besides fur- 

 nishing a large number of professors and teachers of science 

 to the colleges of the country. The observatory of the 

 academy was founded by Bartlett in 1841, and much work 

 was done there, only a small part of which is published. The 

 coast survey was a school of practice for army officers, and their 

 experience was utilized in numerous boundary surveys during 

 the period 1830-1850. Col. J. D. Graham, for example, was 

 astronomer of the survey of the boundary between Texas and 

 the United States in 1839-40; commissioner of the northeast 

 boundary survey, 1840-1843; astronomer of the northwest 

 boundary survey, 1843-1847; of the boundary between the 

 United States and Canada, 1848-1850; of the survey of the 

 boundary between Pennsylvania and Virginia, 1849-50; of 

 the boundary survey between Mexico and the United States, 

 1850-51. The names of Bonneville, Talcott, Cram, Emory, 

 and other army officers are familiar in this connection, and 

 their work was generally of a high order. It was in such 

 service that Talcott invented or reinvented the zenith tele- 

 scope, now universally employed for all delicate determina- 

 tions of latitude. The mechanical tact of Americans has 

 served astronomy well. The sextant was invented by Thomas 

 Godfray, of Philadelphia, in 1730, a year before Hadley 

 brought forward his proposal for such an instrument. The 

 chronograph of the Bonds, the zenith telescope of Talcott, 

 and the break circuit chronometer of Winlock are universally 

 used to-day. The diffraction gratings of Rutherfurd were 

 the best to be had in the world till they were replaced by those 



