SCIENCE: 
A Weekly Journal of Scientific Progress. 
NEW YORK, JULY 3, 1880. 
THE UNITED STATES NAVAL OBSERVATORY, 
WASHINGTON. 
BY PROFESSOR EDWARD S. HOLDEN. 
This institution has been long and favorably known 
to the scientific public, not only of the United States, 
but of the whole world. It was founded in 1844, 
and commenced its operations in 1845, and as it is 
now about to enter a new epoch of its existence 
by a removal to a new and better site in the District 
of Columbia, a brief account of its progress will not 
be without interest. 
Astronomy did not flourish in America during the 
eighteenth century. A few observations were made 
by Professors at Harvard and Yale Colleges, and in 
Pennsylvania by Rittenhouse and others (in 1769). 
A telescope was mounted in 1830 at Yale College for 
regular astronomical observations, and the first ob- 
servatory was built at Williams College in 1836, by 
Prof. Hopkins. Mr. William C. Bond, of Dorches- 
ter, a maker of chronometers, had erected a small ob- 
servatory at his residence, and this was afterwards re- 
moved and formed the nucleus of the observatory of 
Harvard College. The observatories of Hudson, Ohio, 
(founded 1837), of the Philadelphia High School 
(1840), of West Point Military Academy (1841), of 
Cincinnatti (1843), of Georgetown, D. C., (1844), and 
the Naval Observatory (1842), were the first estab- 
lished, and these observatories all erected within the 
decade, 1835-1845, were the signs of a growing sense 
of the importance of astronomical research among the 
people. 
Probably due credit has not been generally given to 
the efforts of General O. M. Mitchel the astronome r 
of the Cincinnati Observatory, who, by lectures, treat, 
ises and personal influence, kept the subject before the 
reading public. In Congress a few intelligent men, like 
Mr. John Quincy Adams, had always advocated the 
establishment of an observatory which should be truly 
national, but great opposition to such an institution 
was constantly displayed, and so late as 1832 a bill 
appropriating money for the survey of the coast, con- 
tained the clause “provided that nothing in this act 
should be construed to authorize the construction or 
maintainance of a permanent astronomical observa- 
tory.” 
The final establishment of the Naval observatory 
came about in this wise, and it was due largely to the 
admirable abilities of Lieutenant Gilliss, of the Navy. 
The exploring expedition of Admiral Wilkes (1838- 
1842), proposed making astronomical observations in 
all parts of the world, and to utilize these, correspond- 
ing observations were required at home. These were 
made by Gilliss in a small observatory on Capitol 
Hill for the four years and they were of high excellence. 
The present observatory building was erected as a 
“ depot of charts and instruments” for the Navy from 
designs by Gilliss. The regulations of the Service 
required that Gilliss should be sent to sea, and the 
direction of the observatory was confided to Lieute- 
nant Maury, who retained it till 1861. A corps of 
astronomers was formed and a detail made of the 
officers from the line of the Navy to care for the 
chronometers, charts and instruments, and to collect 
hydrographical information, and this plan of organiza- 
tion continued till 1866, when the Hydrographic 
office was separated from the Observatory. Suitable 
instruments were provided and the observations were 
published in quarto volumes, twenty-two of which 
have appeared up to 1880. The main instruments 
were : 
1. A Transit Instrument (by Ertel, of Munich). 
2. A Mural Circle (by Simms, of England). 
3. A Meridian Circle (by Ertel). 
4. A Prime Vertical Transit (by Pistor & Mar- 
tius, of Berlin). 
5. An Equatorial (by Merz, of Munich), with an 
Object Glass of 9.62 inches. 
These instruments were kept steadily at work and 
thousands of observations were made and have been 
reduced and published. The mere index to these ob- 
