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William Harkness (December 17, 1837 – February 28, 1903) was an astronomer. He was born at Ecclefechan, Scotland, a son of James (1803–78) and Jane (née Wield) Harkness. His father was a pastor and moved the family to the United States. Harkness served in the military, traveled extensively, and headed research missions developing techniques and equipment for astronomical study.
Harkness died at his home in Jersey City on February 28, 1903, at the age of 65.
During the eclipse of August 1869, Harkness discovered the Celestial sphere K 1474. Three years later he was made a member of the Transit of Venus Commission, and had charge of the party at Hobart in 1879 and at Washington in 1882, when he became the executive officer. In 1874, Harkness was conferred an honorary LL.D. degree by the University of Rochester. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1898. His most memorable accomplishments are related to the construction of , his theory of the focal curve of achromatic telescopes, and his invention of the spherometer caliper and other Astronomy. He was astronomical Supervisor of the Naval Observatory (1894–99) and director of the Nautical Almanac (1897–99). Harkness retired from the navy two days after attaining the relative rank of rear admiral (December 1899), having reached the mandatory retirement age of sixty-two. He was a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (1891) and president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1893). Of his works, The Solar Parallax and its Related Constants (1891) is the most important.
Harkness Hall at the University of Rochester is named in his honor.
Legacy
Two U.S. Navy vessels have been named in his honor.
Further reading
External links
Categories: 1837 Births, 1903 Deaths, People From Dumfries And Galloway, Scottish Emigrants To The United States, People From Beacon, New York, Lafayette College Alumni, University Of Rochester Alumni, New York Medical College Alumni, People Of New York In The American Civil War, Union Army Surgeons, 19th-century American Astronomers, Union Navy Surgeons, 19th-century American Inventors, 19th-century American Non-fiction Writers, United States Navy Rear Admirals, People From Jersey City, New Jersey, Members Of The American Philosophical Society
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