BEGINNINGS OF AMERICAN ASTRONOMY 63 



it. There never was a wiser choice. His term of service 

 (1846-1878) was so long that his ideals became firmly fixed 

 within the establishment and were impressed upon his con- 

 temporaries and upon a host of younger men. The interests 

 of astronomy were served by the encouragement of original 

 research through subsidies and otherwise, by the purchase 

 of instruments for scientific expeditions, by the free ex- 

 change of scientific books between America and Europe, 

 and by the publication of the results of recondite investiga- 

 tions. It is by these and like services that the institution 

 is kno^\Ti and valued among the wide community of scientific 

 men throughout the world. 



But this enumeration of specific benefits does not con- 

 vey an adequate idea of the immense influence exercised by 

 the institution upon the scientific ideals of the country. 

 It was of the first importance that the beginnings of inde- 

 pendent investigation among Americans should be directed 

 toward right ends and by high and unselfish aims. In the 

 formation of a scientific and, as it were, a moral standard a 

 few names T\dll be remembered among us, and no one will 

 stand higher than that of Henry. His wise, broad, and gen- 

 erous policy and his high personal ideals were of immense 

 service to his colleagues and to the country. 



The establishment of a national observatory in Wash- 

 ington was proposed by John Quincy Adams in 1825, but it 

 was not until 1844 that the United States naval observatory 

 was built by Lieutenant Gilliss, of the navy, from plans which 

 he had prepared. By what seems to have been an injustice 

 Gilliss was not appointed to be its first director. This place 

 fell to Lieut. M. F. Maury. Gilliss had been on detached 

 service for some years, and a rigid construction of rules 

 required that he should be sent to sea, and not remain to 

 launch the institution which he had built and equipped. 



The first corps of observers at Washington (1845) con- 

 tained men of first class ability — Walker, Hubbard, Coffin. 

 Gilliss' work as astronomer to Wilkes' exploring expedition 

 (1838-1842) at his httle obser\^atory on Capitol Hill had 

 shown him to be one of the best of observers, as well as one 

 of the most assiduous. His study and experience in planning 



