Prof. E. S. Holden

Abstract

PROF HOLDEN, whose death was announced with regret in our last issue, was better known to the astronomers of the last generation than the present. He will be remembered as one who, by his energy and position, encouraged the enterprise and activity that have characterised the development of astronomical research in the United States. It was his fortune, thirty years ago, to be placed at the head of the Lick Observatory, the optical equipment of which was then superior to any that existed. Also the position of the observatory had:been selected with care and at considerable expense. He had to construct a programme and to pursue it with such ardour and success that the results should justify the costly erection of the gigantic refractor in a spot remote and difficult of access. In his work as a pioneer he had little to guide him, for though telescopes had gradually increased in power, they had been employed mainly in doing more perfectly what small telescopes had attempted. We may claim that the Lick telescope in his hands was a success. It is, of course, difficult to separate the work of a director from that of the subordinates selected to carry it into effect. The one provides a programme, but the performance must be largely in the hands of the lieutenants.