Guide to the Lewis M. Rutherfurd Collection

Scope and Contents

The collection includes two papers by Rutherfurd published in the American Journal of Science, lecture notes apparently used by Rutherfurd in teaching, and two letters from Benjamin A. Gould, an astronomer and close friend of Rutherfurd's, as well as a draft letter of Rutherfurd to the editors of the American Journal of Science and Art. Most of the collection is comprised of notebooks and loose notes in which Rutherfurd recorded his observations, calculations and designs relating to his professional activities. Two bound notebooks record observations of stars, planets and comets by telescope in 1846-1849 and 1859-1861. Other papers loose and less formally recorded on astronomical observations and the design and calibration of cameras and spectroscopes used by Rutherfurd, cover the period 1858-1874. A number of photographs of the moon and other subjects related to his work are also included.

Biographical / Historical

Lewis Morris Rutherfurd (1816-1892), a native of New York, was a member of a prominent family and financially independent enough to permit his pursuit of scientific interests. After graduation from Williams College he practiced law for 10 years before devoting himself to amateur astronomy. Rutherfurd designed and made his own instruments for photography and spectroscopy in astronomical observations, often only demonstrating their capabilities before making them available to other scientists. A member of the National Academy of Sciences and numerous professional societies, Rutherfurd was awarded the Rumford Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1874 for his "improvements in the processes and methods of Astronomical Photography."