Shortly after Dodd's failure to secure a user for 

 the mirror the Perkins Observatory at Ohio Wesleyan 

 University, which planned to add a large reflecting 

 telescope, became interested in it. Dr. Clifford C. 

 Crump, director of the Perkins Observatory, J. W. 

 Fecker, then president of the J. W. Pecker Company, 

 and A. N. Finn and A. Q. Tool, of the National 

 Bureau of Standards, inspected the glass at American 

 University. They found it remarkably free of 

 bubbles and similar defects. Due to a lack of facilities 

 they were unable to test the mirror optically, so 

 that no comment was made on either the polishing 

 or the correctness of the figure. It was, however, 

 found badly strained due to poor annealing, and 

 Fecker advised against using it, as it would have to 

 be re-annealed. If this were done, some refiguring 

 would also be necessary. After this rather e.x- 

 pensive renovation it would remain a rather thin, 

 flexible glass and not equal to modern standards. 

 The Perkins Observatory consequently decided 

 rather to use a mirror cast and finished under the 

 supervision of the Bureau of Standards.-' 



This was the last attempt to use the mirror. It 

 remained at American University until the mid 30's, 

 when it was placed in the Smithsonian Institution. 

 It was still, in February 1935, the largest mirror 

 ever cast and polished in the United States. 



Let us return now to Dr. Peate. After seeing the 

 mirror safely stored at American University he 

 returned to Greenville, Pennsylvania. Then 78 

 years old, still in good health and very active, he was 

 to live for 5 more years. 



To the end of his life he maintained his interest in 

 astronomy, and was optimistic about the possibility 

 of his great mirror eventually being mounted and 

 used. In 1900 at the age of 80 he decided to see 

 Europe once again. His prime objective on this 

 trip was undoubtedly the Paris Exposition of 1900, 

 where one of the main attractions was a huge tele- 

 scope made by Gautier. It had a refracting objective 



M Preston, 



146. 



of 49.2 inches, mounted horizontally, the largest 

 refractor yet made. Strangly enough this much 

 publicized telescope was never used either. After 

 the exposition was over the backers became bankrupt 

 and the instrument was dismantled and sold for 

 scrap. 



Dr. Peate with his wide range of knowledge and 

 his conversational ability delighted and puzzled his 

 fellow passengers on the boat to and from Europe. 

 They guessed that he was an educator, a scientist, 

 or statesman but he denied all this saying, "no, I'm 

 only a bricklayer." 



Dr. Peate lived three years after this trip, dying 

 on March 24, 1903. His good health and physical 

 vigor never left him till almost the moment of his 

 death; as shortly as a week before, he had conducted 

 a funeral service. 



It would be rather easy to dismiss him as a harmless 

 fanatic except that everything known of him indicates 

 that he was not. It is reasonable to believe that 

 his mirrors were made more in the hope than in the 

 certain expectation that they would stimulate the 

 study of astronomy in the institutions receiving them. 

 He was probably well aware of the difficulities of 

 establishing so large a telescope at a newly founded 

 institution such as American University, and, con- 

 tent in the knowledge that he had done his part, 

 could only hope that others might be inspired to 

 do likewise. 



Dr. Peate's great mirror will shortly be put to 

 use in a manner that could hardly have been pre- 

 dicted by its maker. It has been in the Smithsonian 

 Institution for over 20 years. The huge glass will 

 form a part of the exhibition of optics and astronomy 

 in the new Museum of History and Technology 

 that the Smithsonian Institution will open to the 

 public about 1962. There it will be seen by some 

 millions of persons each year. Because of its spectac- 

 ular size it should catch the attention of most mu- 

 seum visitors. Surely it will awaken in more than 

 one potentially able worker an interest in astronomy. 

 If so, it will have accomplished Dr. Peate's purpose. 



180 



BULLETIN 228: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



