Faculty Star

Born in Hanover in 1834 and enrolled at the College at the age of 15, Charles Augustus Young, class of 1853, followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather by becoming a professor of natural philosophy at Dartmouth. After the Civil War Young became one of the nations lead- ing solar astronomers. In 1869 he traveled to this makeshift observatory in Burlington, lowa, to view a solar eclipse. (Young is seated at far right, in the hut with his spectroscope.) A star in his own right, Young later was lured to Princeton with the promise of more cash, a bigger telescope arid no teaching requirement. There his engaging personality earned him the perfect moniker for an astronomer: "Twinkle. Courtesy of Dartmouth College library