Category: Biographies

Holcomb, Fitz, and Peate: Three 19th Century American Telescope Makers

Multhauf, Robert P., 1919-2004 [Author of introduction, etc.]; Holcomb, Amasa, 1787-1875 [Contributor]; Howell, Julia Fitz [Contributor]; McGrath, William J., Jr. [Contributor]; Preston, Frank W., 1896-1989 [Contributor]· 5 chapters· 15,404 words

_Practically all the telescopes used by amateur scientists in 18th-century America were of European origin. Our dependence upon foreign sources for these instruments continued well into the 19th century, and the beginning of telescope making in this country has conventionally...

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3. Part 3

As soon as possible the widow, Julia Ann Wells Fitz, sold the city house and bought a farm in Peconic, Long Island, near her birthplace, where she managed to raise her family. A...

4. Part 4

The figuring, which consists of removing high spots to achieve a truly parabolic contour, probably took the longest time to complete. A mirror must be continually tested as this...

2. Part 2

The subject of this notice was born June 18, 1787. The place was Simsbury Connecticut previous to 1768. That year Simsbury was divided and his birth place fell in Granby Con. th...

1. Part 1

_Practically all the telescopes used by amateur scientists in 18th-century America were of European origin. Our dependence upon foreign sources for these instruments continued w...

5. Part 5

On the evening of the 4th of May, the committee met, by appointment, in an open lot south of the Pennsylvania Hospital, for the purpose of testing the performance of the telesco...