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David Peck Todd

November 11, 2023

David Peck Todd (March 19, 1855 — June 1, 1939) was an American astronomer. He produced a complete set of photographs of the 1882 transit of Venus.

David Peck Todd

Biography edit

Todd was born in Lake Ridge, New York, the son of Sereno Edwards Todd and Rhoda (Peck) Todd. He prepared at John C. Overhiser's School in Brooklyn. He studied at Columbia University from 1870 to 1872, then at Amherst College from 1873 to 1875, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in the class of 1875. He earned his M.A. from Amherst in 1878. He was awarded an honorary degree from Washington and Jefferson College in 1888.[1]

Todd worked at the US Naval Observatory from 1875 to 1878, and at the US Nautical Almanac Office from 1878 to 1881. From 1881 to 1917 he was a professor of astronomy and director of the observatory at Amherst College. From 1882 to 1887, he was also a professor of astronomy and higher mathematics at nearby Smith College.

He married Mabel Loomis on March 5, 1879, and together they had one daughter, Millicent Todd Bingham. His wife had had an affair with William Austin Dickinson, the (married) brother of Emily Dickinson. The affair was an open secret in Amherst, and David Todd seems to have accepted it willingly. A collection of the two lovers' letters were published in Austin and Mabel: The Amherst Affair & Love Letters of Austin Dickinson and Mabel Loomis Todd (ISBN 0-374-10716-5). More information about the complex relationship among David Todd, Mabel Loomis Todd and Austin Dickinson can be found in After Emily: Two Remarkable Women and the Legacy of America’s Greatest Poet[2]

By 1917, David's deteriorating health and erratic mental behavior caused Amherst president Alexander Meiklejohn to force his early retirement from the College, and the couple moved to Coconut Grove, Florida.[3] In 1922 Mabel and Millicent made the difficult decision to have David institutionalized; for the remainder of his life he was in and out of various mental and care facilities.

Astronomical and other accomplishments edit

Todd designed and erected several observatories, including those at Smith College from 1886 to 1888 and at Amherst College from 1903 to 1906. He established Standard Time in Peru in 1907. He was chief astronomer at the Lick Observatory during the transit of Venus in 1882, and created the first known photographs of the transit. At the time of the 2004 Transit of Venus, astronomers at the Lick Observatory found and animated Todd’s still photos.

He was a member of the American Astronomical Society, the Philosophical Society of Washington, and the Japan Society. He was fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Society of Natural and Physical Sciences, Cherbourg, France; the Sociedad Geografica de Lima, Peru. In 1896 he was presented, by the Emperor of Japan, with the Imperial Saké Cup for services in the cause of education in Japan.

In addition, Todd was the organizer and leader of a number of important astronomical expeditions:

Todd crater on Phobos (a moon or satellite of Mars) is named after him. In addition, asteroids 511 Davida and 510 Mabella are named after him and his wife.

Letter from James Clerk Maxwell to Todd edit

On the 19th of March 1879, Maxwell wrote a letter to Todd. After Maxwell's death in November 1879, Todd sent the letter to G. G. Stokes, who read the letter in January 1880 at a meeting of the Royal Society.[4][5][6]

In 1879, the last year of his life, Maxwell wrote to the astronomer David Todd (1855–1939), at the Nautical Almanac Office in Washington, D.C., asking whether the data on the eclipses of Jupiter's moons were accurate enough to detect the Earth's motion through the ether. In that letter he comments on the "impossibility" of earthbound optical experiments for this purpose. The letter came to the attention of a colleague of Todd, Albert Michelson (1852–1932), who had already carried out the best measurement, as of that time, of the speed of light in air.[7]

Writings edit

  • Astronomy: The Science of the Heavenly Bodies. New York: Harper, 1922 [1]

Todd was also the author of New Astronomy; Stars and Telescopes, and many shorter articles. He also edited the Columbian Knowledge Series.

References edit

  1. ^ Eaton, Samuel John Mills; Woods, Henry (1902). Biographical and Historical Catalogue of Washington and Jefferson College. Philadelphia: G.H. Buchanan and Company. p. 571. OCLC 2379959. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
  2. ^ Dobrow, Julie (2018). After Emily : two remarkable women and the legacy of America's greatest poet (First ed.). New York. ISBN 978-0-393-24926-2. OCLC 1021807624.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Bingham, Millicent (1944). Ancestors' Brocades: The Literary Debut of Emily Dickinson. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers. p. 398. OCLC 221563777.
  4. ^ Maxwell, James Clerk (1990). "Letter to David Peck Todd". The Scientific Letters and Papers of James Clerk Maxwell: 1874-1879. Cambridge University Press. pp. 767–769. ISBN 9780521256278.
  5. ^ "Maxwell's letter to Todd". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. 30: 108–110. 22 January 1880.
  6. ^ "Maxwell's letter to Todd". Nature. 21: 314–315. 29 January 1880.
  7. ^ Schwinger, J. (1986). Einstein's Legacy. Scientific American Library. 2012 e-book

External links edit

  • Works by David Peck Todd at Project Gutenberg
  • Works by or about David Peck Todd at Internet Archive
  • Works by David Peck Todd at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)  
  • David P. Todd at Library of Congress, with 23 library catalog records
  • David Peck Todd papers (MS 496b). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library.

November 11, 2023
david, peck, todd, march, 1855, june, 1939, american, astronomer, produced, complete, photographs, 1882, transit, venus, contents, biography, astronomical, other, accomplishments, letter, from, james, clerk, maxwell, todd, writings, references, external, links. David Peck Todd March 19 1855 June 1 1939 was an American astronomer He produced a complete set of photographs of the 1882 transit of Venus David Peck Todd Contents 1 Biography 2 Astronomical and other accomplishments 3 Letter from James Clerk Maxwell to Todd 4 Writings 5 References 6 External linksBiography editTodd was born in Lake Ridge New York the son of Sereno Edwards Todd and Rhoda Peck Todd He prepared at John C Overhiser s School in Brooklyn He studied at Columbia University from 1870 to 1872 then at Amherst College from 1873 to 1875 where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in the class of 1875 He earned his M A from Amherst in 1878 He was awarded an honorary degree from Washington and Jefferson College in 1888 1 Todd worked at the US Naval Observatory from 1875 to 1878 and at the US Nautical Almanac Office from 1878 to 1881 From 1881 to 1917 he was a professor of astronomy and director of the observatory at Amherst College From 1882 to 1887 he was also a professor of astronomy and higher mathematics at nearby Smith College He married Mabel Loomis on March 5 1879 and together they had one daughter Millicent Todd Bingham His wife had had an affair with William Austin Dickinson the married brother of Emily Dickinson The affair was an open secret in Amherst and David Todd seems to have accepted it willingly A collection of the two lovers letters were published in Austin and Mabel The Amherst Affair amp Love Letters of Austin Dickinson and Mabel Loomis Todd ISBN 0 374 10716 5 More information about the complex relationship among David Todd Mabel Loomis Todd and Austin Dickinson can be found in After Emily Two Remarkable Women and the Legacy of America s Greatest Poet 2 By 1917 David s deteriorating health and erratic mental behavior caused Amherst president Alexander Meiklejohn to force his early retirement from the College and the couple moved to Coconut Grove Florida 3 In 1922 Mabel and Millicent made the difficult decision to have David institutionalized for the remainder of his life he was in and out of various mental and care facilities Astronomical and other accomplishments editTodd designed and erected several observatories including those at Smith College from 1886 to 1888 and at Amherst College from 1903 to 1906 He established Standard Time in Peru in 1907 He was chief astronomer at the Lick Observatory during the transit of Venus in 1882 and created the first known photographs of the transit At the time of the 2004 Transit of Venus astronomers at the Lick Observatory found and animated Todd s still photos He was a member of the American Astronomical Society the Philosophical Society of Washington and the Japan Society He was fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science the Society of Natural and Physical Sciences Cherbourg France the Sociedad Geografica de Lima Peru In 1896 he was presented by the Emperor of Japan with the Imperial Sake Cup for services in the cause of education in Japan In addition Todd was the organizer and leader of a number of important astronomical expeditions The New England expedition to Texas for solar eclipse of July 29 1878 The American expedition to Japan for solar eclipse of August 19 1887 A U S scientific expedition to West Africa in 1889 and 1890 The Amherst expedition to Japan for the solar eclipse of August 9 1896 The Lowell expedition to Tripoli for solar eclipse of May 28 1900 The Amherst eclipse expedition to the Dutch East Indies in 1901 The Lowell Mars expedition to the Andes 1907 Expedition to Tripoli for the solar eclipse of August 30 1905 Expedition to Russia for solar eclipse of August 21 1914 Expedition to Florida for solar eclipse of June 8 1918 Expedition to Brazil and Argentina for solar eclipse of May 29 1919Todd crater on Phobos a moon or satellite of Mars is named after him In addition asteroids 511 Davida and 510 Mabella are named after him and his wife Letter from James Clerk Maxwell to Todd editOn the 19th of March 1879 Maxwell wrote a letter to Todd After Maxwell s death in November 1879 Todd sent the letter to G G Stokes who read the letter in January 1880 at a meeting of the Royal Society 4 5 6 In 1879 the last year of his life Maxwell wrote to the astronomer David Todd 1855 1939 at the Nautical Almanac Office in Washington D C asking whether the data on the eclipses of Jupiter s moons were accurate enough to detect the Earth s motion through the ether In that letter he comments on the impossibility of earthbound optical experiments for this purpose The letter came to the attention of a colleague of Todd Albert Michelson 1852 1932 who had already carried out the best measurement as of that time of the speed of light in air 7 Writings editAstronomy The Science of the Heavenly Bodies New York Harper 1922 1 Todd was also the author of New Astronomy Stars and Telescopes and many shorter articles He also edited the Columbian Knowledge Series References edit Eaton Samuel John Mills Woods Henry 1902 Biographical and Historical Catalogue of Washington and Jefferson College Philadelphia G H Buchanan and Company p 571 OCLC 2379959 Retrieved 2010 04 04 Dobrow Julie 2018 After Emily two remarkable women and the legacy of America s greatest poet First ed New York ISBN 978 0 393 24926 2 OCLC 1021807624 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Bingham Millicent 1944 Ancestors Brocades The Literary Debut of Emily Dickinson New York Harper amp Brothers Publishers p 398 OCLC 221563777 Maxwell James Clerk 1990 Letter to David Peck Todd The Scientific Letters and Papers of James Clerk Maxwell 1874 1879 Cambridge University Press pp 767 769 ISBN 9780521256278 Maxwell s letter to Todd Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 30 108 110 22 January 1880 Maxwell s letter to Todd Nature 21 314 315 29 January 1880 Schwinger J 1986 Einstein s Legacy Scientific American Library 2012 e bookExternal links edit nbsp Astronomy portalWorks by David Peck Todd at Project Gutenberg Works by or about David Peck Todd at Internet Archive Works by David Peck Todd at LibriVox public domain audiobooks nbsp David P Todd at Library of Congress with 23 library catalog records David Peck Todd papers MS 496b Manuscripts and Archives Yale University Library Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title David Peck Todd amp oldid 1176649768, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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