Staring at the Sun

Yet another snowy day in late March on campus has us casting our eyes in desperation to the sky in the vain hope of seeing a warm and welcoming sun. It also brings to mind another sun-worshipper who got his start gazing heavenward in Hanover. Charles Augustus Young, the best and brightest of Dartmouth's class of 1853, was a world-renowned astronomer and a native son of the Upper Valley. After initially teaching Latin and Greek at Phillips Andover Academy, he went on to be the chair of mathematics, natural philosophy, and astronomy at Western Reserve College (now Case Western Reserve University). After a lengthy tenure as a professor of astronomy at Dartmouth, he moved to Princeton for the conclusion of his long and prestigious academic career. Young's expertise was in solar physics, a field in which he discovered a layer of the sun's chromosphere and invented the automatic spectroscope.

While at Dartmouth, Young's reputation was such that in May of 1874 he received a telegram from another major luminary in the field astronomy, James C. Watson. Watson was an astronomical prodigy who was, among other accomplishments, a recipient of the prestigious Lalande Prize in 1867 and the director of the Ann Arbor Observatory. Upon his death, a bequest from his estate established the James Craig Watson Medal, an honor that is still awarded today by the United States National Academy of Sciences for contributions to the field of astronomy. In the 1860s and 1870s, Watson was involved in some of the most important astronomical observations commissioned by the U. S. Government, and his message to Young was an invitation to join him on a trip to Peking, China, to witness the rare occurrence of the transit of the planet Venus across the face of the sun. After securing his passport, Young embarked upon a long journey across the Pacific to China as a member of one of eight separate observation groups sent out by the U. S. to observe the transit.

In addition to bringing back stereoscope cards of Peking and his observations on the transit, Young also returned with numerous fascinating Chinese books and other souvenirs from his visit abroad. To explore the rest of the Charles A. Young papers, which contain photographs, scientific data, and correspondence, come to Rauner and ask to see ML-49. Young's passport is MS 874511, and his alumni file is filled with articles and photographs from different stages of his life and career.

Trampling on the Mother Country

"Before we proceed to describe what America is at present, or by what means she became independent of the Mother Country, it cannot be disagreeable to our readers, to be informed of the persons, customs, and manners, of the original inhabitants of North America."

A lovely start to a book that has "endeavoured to divest [it]self of every spark of national prejudice." It is a History of North America written for the youth of England and published by Elizabeth Newbery in 1789. The revolution was still fresh, the constitution big news on both sides of the Atlantic, and, presumably, school children were anxious to learn more. Elizabeth Newbery had taken over the publishing firm she operated with her husband John Newbery that, in essence, invented the modern children's book (the Newbery Award is named after him).

We took a look at the book. "Mother Country" in the first sentence is a hint that it is not completely devoid of national prejudice, but the statement is countered by an image of "America trampling on Oppression." The book was reprinted in the States. Several printers, including one in Bennington, Vermont, picked it up and, in an era without international copyright, happily stole it from the motherland.

Our copy was clearly owned by a kid. It has drawings of ships sketched onto the flyleaves. Come on in and take a look at a child's eye view of the revolution by asking for Rare E188.C75 1789.