Theodor Jacobsen Observatory - Seattle, WA - People-Named Places on Waymarking.com

The Place:

The Theodor Jacobsen Observatory is the second-oldest structure on the campus. Built in 1895, the Observatory with its 126-year old, 6-inch refracting telescope is still offering celestial views of the wonders of the Universe. Here you will find information on opened nights, making reservations, a history of the telescope, a history of astronomy at the UW, and even an operating manual for the telescope. Come join us in a tour; there is no charge to learn about and view the night sky!

From the creation of the Astronomy Department in 1891 until 1965, there was only one professor of astronomy at a time at the University of Washington. After 1965, the Department of Astronomy steadily grew. The next faculty members to arrive were Karl-Heinz Böhm (1967) and Erica Böhm-Vitense (1968), and now the Department has approximately 60 faculty, postdocs, staff, and graduate students.

The following verbiage is also taken from the department's website to highlight the history of its telescope:

The Telescope and Observatories
In 1891 the Regents of the University appropriated $3000 to build an astronomical observatory. These funds had been allocated by the legislature when Washington became a state in 1889, and had to be spent quickly in order that they not revert to the State. So after such splurges as a grand piano, the Regents allocated money for an observatory. Professor Joseph Taylor taught astronomy at the time, and had just returned from a year at Lick Observatory. Compared to the instruments at Lick, $3000 was a small sum, but nevertheless sufficient for a good quality, instructional telescope. Dr. Taylor enthusiastically pursued the project, consulting with Prof. Schaeberle at Lick on the instruments to be purchased.

Given the small budget, Prof. Taylor settled on a 6-inch diameter objective lens made by John Brashear of Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, with the mechanical components of the telescope provided by the Warner and Swasey Co. of Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Taylor designed an observatory building himself and employed two local carpenters to erect the frame and a mason to build the brick pier on which the telescope would be mounted. He then completed the building himself, working from sunrise to 8 am, then teaching classes all day, and resuming work on the observatory from 3 pm to sunset.

This first wooden-frame observatory lasted, however, only three years. When the University moved to its present campus in 1895, there were some building materials left over from the construction of Denny Hall (the first structure on the new campus). Taylor had these materials used to construct a new stone structure; this new observatory, which survives today, thus became the second building erected on the present campus. It is listed on the State Register of Historical Buildings. The dome and telescope were removed from the old observatory on the downtown campus, and moved by wagon to the new observatory near Denny Hall, where they remain today. A German transit telescope, bought in the early 20th century, was later added for instruction in precise measurements of star position and determination of longitude and latitude.

The observatory is named after Prof. Theodore S. Jacobson, who was the lone astronomy department's instructor for 37 years. His biography (also taken from the department's website) reads:

The Person:

As a boy, Prof. Jacobsen emigrated to America from Denmark, studied chemistry, applied mathematics, and astronomy at Stanford University, and then obtained his Ph.D. in 1926 from the University of California Berkeley. He became a staff member at Lick Observatory, but due to a muscular strain incurred while moving the big telescope, he was unable to continue as an observer and thus sought a less physically strenuous position. In 1928 he was hired by the UW to replace the departing Prof. Zanstra and teach astronomy as well as courses in mathematics, such as trigonometry and theory of investments, and to open the observatory to the public one evening a week. Besides courses such as these, Jacobsen taught navigation and practical astronomy during World War II. The curriculum was slowly expanded with a number of intermediate astronomy courses (but never an astronomy major). He also hosted numerous conference at the UW during his 37 years as sole UW astronomy professor, including a small 1940 conference attended by Edwin Hubble.

Dr. Jacobsen’s research over the years focused on the spectra and motions of variable stars, especially of the Cepheid type. At the end of his career he delved into the history of early astronomy. This work finally appeared in 1999 as Planetary Systems from the Ancient Greeks to Kepler. Prof. Jacobsen passed away just after his 102nd birthday.

You may read a lengthy obituary for Theodore Jacobsen, who passed away on July 17, 2003 here.

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