ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
Dr. John A. Brashear served as Director of
Pittsburgh's Allegheny Observatory and Chancellor of
the Western University of Pennsylvania [forerunner of
the University of Pittsburgh] around the turn of the
19th to 20th century. He was personally chosen by
steel barron Henry Clay Frick to head Frick's
Educational Commission, which provided philanthropic
funding to advance public school teaching.
However, he is best known as maker of fine optics and
telescopes and precision scientific equipment. Some of
his equipment was so advanced, he had to teach the
people how to use it! Many of his telescopes, both
large and small, continue in productive use today.
The Bart Fried FREE public lecture on John A. Brashear
will be at 7:30 PM, 2004 August 12 at The Hildene
Estate in Manchester, Vermont.
If you would like to learn more about this millwright
with little formal education, who was affectionately
known to Pittsburgh area residents as "Uncle John,"
you can check-out the following web site:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
This web site includes a 14-page biography of John
Brashear, published by the Brashear Association:
<
http://johnbrashear.tripod.com/Brashearphotobio.htm#BIO
>
gaw
>>>Original Message:
To: Recipient@,
From: "Claudio Veliz (CV A)" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Dome-L: Bart Fried Lecture: John Brashear
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 15:49:06 -0400
Uncle John: An American Icon
- John Brashear,
the Mind Behind =
the=20
Hildene Telescope.
7:30 PM, 12 August, 2004. At The Hildene Estate in
Manchester, Vermont.
FREE.
The dictionary defines Icon as =93... a person
regarded with
particular=20
admiration or as a representative symbol." During the
late 19th and =
early=20
20th century, America had heroes of many types -
military, political
and =
mercantile. But in the land of opportunity, the
self-made man that =
achieved=20
greatness was highly regarded; not just as someone to
admire, but as=20
someone to emulate. The story of one such man, John
Alfred Brashear,
has =
been largely forgotten.
A poor, small town boy, he parlayed his determination,
hard work and =
love=20
for astronomy into a career that brought him
international fame. He is
=
the=20
man responsible for the lens in the 6" Warner & Swasey
telescope at=20
Hildene, just one small part of his great legacy. This
is his story.
Bart Fried is the founder and past President of the
Antique
Telescope=20
Society. He has authored articles about the history of
telescope making
=
for=20
Sky & Telescope; the Journal of the Antique Telescope
Society; =
Rittenhouse=20
and other magazines. His special areas of interest
are the life and =
work=20
of Dr. John Alfred Brashear, and the history of
American telescope =
making.=20
Bart consulted to Claudio V=E9liz Architect on the
functional =
restoration of=20
the 6" Warner & Swasey telescope at the Hildene
Observatory.
Professionally, Bart is a partner in Carlton-Cooke
Metal Finishing, a =
metal=20
plating company in Newark, NJ. He is a 1980 graduate
of Penn State=20
University, with a BS in Landscape Architecture.
Married, with two=20
children, he enjoys spending his spare time observing,
scuba diving, =
skiing=20
and traveling.
For those of you attending the Stellafane Conference
in Springfield,=20
Vermont, and therefore you happen to be in the area in
advance of
that=20
event, this will get your blood swirling in the realm
of =
telescope-making=20
excitement. This event occurs the day before
Stellafane opens, and =
you=92re=20
just a couple of mountains away. Important: be sure to
arrive at the=20
Stellafane doors only after they actually open on the
following day;=20
Friday. For more information about Stellafane, enjoy
their web site,
at: =
<http://www.stellafane.com/>http://www.stellafane.com/
For more info on the Hildene Astronomy Club and
directions, go to:=20
<http://www.hildene.org/hac>http://www.hildene.org/hac
CV A
Claudio Veliz Architect
http://www.cvarchitect.com
=====
gaw
Glenn A. Walsh
Electronic Mail - < [log in to unmask] >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer & Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.incline.cc >
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers!
http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail
***********************************************************************
More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at http://www.astc.org.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]
|