THE BEGINNINGS OF AMERICAN ASTRONOMY. 107 



first-class ability — Walker, Hubbard, Coffiu. Gilliss's work as astron- 

 omer to Wilkes Exploring Expedition (1838-1842) at bis little observa- 

 tory on Capitol Hill bad sbown liiui to be one of tbe best of observers, 

 as well as one of the most assiduous. His study and experience in 

 planuiug and building the Naval Observatory had broadened his miud. 

 To the men just named, with Peirce, Gould, and Chauvenet, and to 

 their coadjutors and pupils, we owe the introduction of the methods of 

 Gauss, Bessel, and Struve into the United States, and it is for this 

 reason that American astronomy is the child of German and not of 

 English science. 



The most natural evolution might seem to have been for Americans 

 to follow the English practice of Maskelyne and Pond. But the break 

 caused by the War of Indepeudeuce, by the War of 1812, aud by the 

 years necessary for our youthful governments to consolidate (1776-1836) 

 allowed our young men of science to make a perfectly unbiased choice 

 of masters. The elder Bond ( William Cranch. Bond*, born 1789, director 

 of Harvard College Observatory, 1840-1859) was one of the older school 

 and received his iuipetus from British sources during a visit to England 

 in 1815. 



In estimating the place of the elder Bond among scientific men it is 

 necessary to take into account the circumstances which surrounded 

 him. He was born in the first year of the French Eevolution (1789); 

 he was absolutely self-taught; practically no astronomical work was 

 done in America before 1838. When Admiral Wilkes was seeking for 

 coadjutors to prosecute observations in the United States during the 

 absence of his exploring expedition he was indeed fortunate in finding 

 two such men as Bond and Gilliss. Their assiduity was beyond praise 

 and it led each of them to important duties. Bond became the founder 

 and director of the Observatory of Harvard College, while Gilliss is 

 the father of the United States Naval Observatory at Washington, as 

 well as that of Santiago de Chile, the oldest observatory in South 

 America. Cambridge, though the seat of the most ancient university 

 in America, was but a village in 1839. The college could afford no 

 salary to Bond, but only the distinction of a title, "Astronomical 

 Observer to the University," and the occupancy of the Dana house, in 

 which his first observatory was established. His work there, as else- 

 where, was well and faithfully done, and it led the college authorities 

 to employ him as the astronomer of the splendid observatory which 

 was opened for work in 1847. At that time the two largest telescopes 

 in the world were those of the Imperial Observatory of Russia (Poul- 

 kova) and its companion at Cambridge. Each of these instruments 

 has a long and honorable history. Their work has been very different. 

 Who shall say that one has surpassed the other? We owe to Bond 

 and his son the discovery of an eighth satellite to Saturn, of the dusky 

 ring to that jjlanet, the introduction of stellar photography, the inven- 

 tion of the chronograph by which the electric current is employed in 



