George Phillips Bond Explained

George Phillips Bond
Birth Date:20 May 1825
Birth Place:Dorchester, Boston, MA, U.S.
Death Place:Cambridge, MA, U.S.
Nationality:American
Field:astronomy
Work Institutions:Harvard College Observatory
Alma Mater:Harvard University [1]
Signature:George Phillips Bond's signature.svg

George Phillips Bond (May 20, 1825February 17, 1865) was an American astronomer. He was the son of William Cranch Bond. Some sources give his year of birth as 1826.

His early interest was in nature and birds, but after his elder brother William Cranch Bond Jr. died, he felt obliged to follow his father into the field of astronomy. He succeeded his father as director of Harvard College Observatory from 1859 until his death. His cousin was Edward Singleton Holden, first director of Lick Observatory.

Bond took the first photograph of a star in 1850 (Vega) and of a double star in 1857 (Mizar); suggested photography could be used to measure a star's magnitude; and discovered numerous comets and calculated their orbits. Bond also studied Saturn and the Orion Nebula. He and his father jointly discovered Saturn's moon, Hyperion (which was also independently discovered by William Lassell). In addition to his astronomical contributions, Bond also surveyed the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

He died of tuberculosis.

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: George Phillips Bond. NNDB. Soylent Communications. 1 July 2017.
  2. Book: Schmadel . Dictionary of Minor Planet Names . Springer Science & Business Media . 2012 . 978-3642297182 . 115 .