Westerville, Ohio:A 19th Century center of Astronomy in Ohio.

Who am I to make this judgment?

I was, for 36 years, a teacher of Astronomy ( among other things) at Otterbein College.

I have a BA, (Math/Physics), an MS (in Astronomy) and a PhD (in Astronomy)

I lean toward History because of bad counseling in undergraduate school.

Why do we name things? To distinguish special features:

Westerville – “The Dry Capitol of the Universe”

“The Home of Otterbein College”

Why do we rename things? Agelaius phoeniceus

Red-winged Blackbird

How do we name them?

Black-wing Redbird

. . . And

Black-winged Blackbird

. . . And

Red-winged redbird

John Haywood: Mr. Westerville Came to teach Math and Natural Science at Otterbein University

As a surveyor he laid out the streets of the town

In 1858 he was elected mayor of newly chartered Village

Early Westerville map

A reasonable layout?

Note ID: Handley House

Oberlin College, Founded 1835

Mid-19th Century: Astronomy was taught by Charles Churchill Hot topics in Astronomy: 1846 – 1850 1. Planets, comets, asteroids 2. Newtonian Gravitational Theory: = mathematics strongly applied to observations

REMEMBER 1846 –1850!

John Haywood enters Oberlin to study Mathematics – 1846

Astronomy was a large part of applied mathematics

Haywood became good at surveying and all forms of applied mathematics

Graduated in 1850. Came to Otterbein in 1851

John Haywood: Astronomer A passion for the great problems of astronomy Otterbein College (University?) was strapped for money

Historical digression May 13, 1781 – Herschel discovers Uranus Very shortly found off course 1845 – John Couch Adams predicted a reason; ignored 1846 – Antoine LeVerrier did same contacted willing observer Sept. 23, 1846 – Johann Galle discovered Neptune!!! (It was within ½ degree of positions predicted by Adams and LeVerrier)

One of the BIG issues in astronomy in mid 19th Century

Kepler provided relative size of Planetary orbits (1619)

Actual size of orbits known only to about 5% in 1850

Needed: Actual distance to one or more objects in Solar System

How can it be done? Triangulate on nearby planet from two or more places on earth

Good prospect for greatest accuracy is Venus during transit of sun!

This is a fairly rare event

It happens that two such transits occurred in the 19th Century

“Modern” Transits of Venus 1631 Dec. 6 1639 Dec. 4

1761 June 5 1769 June 3

1874 Dec. 8 1874 Dec. 6

2004 June 7 2012 June 5

What would one need? 1. A fair sized telescope (Approx. f. l. = 180”) 2. A transit instrument to fix Westerville location to within 0.5 mile, and determine local solar time and sidereal time to 1 sec. 3. A means of direct communication to another observatory. 4. An accurate clock to display time. 5. A chronograph to record precisely the critical aspects of the event.

Haywood/McFadden: close friends Telegraphic intercom

Faculty colleagues

Civil War trauma

1875 -- McFadden got $3000, Haywood $0

Haywood Appealed to College without success Urgent appeal to Board of Trustees in 1877

Board approved wholeheartedly

Did not provide funds

Appeal was taken to the 253 alumni in 1878

Haywood want list

Bartlett, Willard; Education for Humanity, Otterbein College, 1934. P 204

Religious Telescope - - - 1878

Major questions remain Did John Haywood observe either

transit of Venus?

Did he ever get his “observatory?

Did he feel his life in the United Brethren Church wasted?

T. J. Sanders graduated OC 1878 President, Otterbein College: 1891 – 1901

Graduated, Otterbein College: 1878

Faculty, Otterbein College:1902 – 1931

Observed 1874 Transit of Venus With Haywood!!!

Issue of December 1882

Important 6 line notice!

Weird Professor on new deck

Observatory on McFadden Hall 1982

14-inch housing 1982

Telescope Housing 1982

Observatory Deck 1982

Haywood’s plea