Created By Brant Sponberg, edited and expanded by Paul Routly and by Joseph S. Tenn.
Dates: August 30, 1916 - September 2, 1916
Place: Sproul Observatory, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Number of Members in Attendance: 60 Total; 10 Female; 50 Male
Number of New Members Admitted: 27 Total; 5 Female; 22 Male
Total Membership: ??
Number of Papers Presented: 52
Officers:
Members/representatives/delegates: None
New Committees: A Committee on the June 8, 1918 Solar Eclipse Consisting of W.W. Campbell (Chair), E.E. Barnard, F.B. Littell, Frank Loud, S.A. Mitchell and Edison Petit; a Committee on Associate Membership Consisting of Frank Schlesinger (Chair), C.A. Chant, G.C. Comstock, Philip Fox, W.T. Olcott and E.D. Rue.
Old Committees: Committee on Meteors; Asteroid Committee; Committee on Standard Equinoxes; Stellar Parallax Committee; Committee on Co-operation in the Observation of Stellar Radial Velocities; Comet Committee; the Committee on Photographic Astrometry; and the Committee on Variable Star Nomenclature.
Held in Conjunction With: None
Honorary Member: None
Notes of Interest: The Nineteenth Meeting of the AAS was held from Wednesday to Saturday, August 30, 1916 -September 2, 1916, at the Sproul Observatory, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. The plan of housing the members and their guests in college dormitories, used in evanston, was adopted for this meeting, with similar comfort and pleasantness. All of the scientific sessions took place at the Observatory. In addition to a full social calendar, visits were made to Valley Forge, to Bryn Mawr College, to Haverford College, and to the Flower Observatory at the University of Pennsylvania. The Society passed a resolution mourning the death of Karl Schwarzschild. Concern was also expressed about the large number of papers being presented at meetings. The Committee on Meteors was enlarged by the addition of C.P. Olivier (as Secretary), E.E. Barnard, W.J. Humphreys, F.R. Moulton and W.H. Pickering. The Chair of the Committee on Asteroids also changed hands from E.W. Brown to A.O. Leuschner. The Committee on Standard Equinoxes for Use in the Publication of Star Positions (Longer Title?) forwarded a Resolution passed by the Society stating "That in any publication involving star positions no equinoxes should be used intermediate between the years 1900 and 1925," - this in an effort to standardize on widely spaced equinoxes and to reduce calculation and labor. The Committee of Variable Star Nomenclature was discharged as Chairman Townley explained that the Committee "Had not been able to find any common ground on which to
stand." Cannon favored the Harvard System, Russell the Argelander System, and Townley the Number System. Likewise, the Committee on Cooperation in the Observation of Radial Velocities of Stars was also discharged as cooperation between observatories in this field was found to be impractical (not the unanimous opinion). The Committee on Comets, having successfully completed its work, was also discharged. The Parallax Committee Reported that 2177 stars are being observed for parallax at one or more of the co-operating observatories. The Photographic Astrometry Committee reported that the calculations for the Zone Catalogue of about 7200 equatorial stars, compiled by means of the three-inch wide-angle doublet at the Allegheny Observatory, are now practically complete.
Published descriptions of meeting:
Group photo of attendees. (Courtesy AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives #AAS E18) | |
Group photo of attendees. (Courtesy Hopkins Observatory of Williams College) |
Dates: December 26-29, 1916
Place: Columbia University, New York, New York
Number of Members in Attendance: 49 Total; 4 Female; 45 Male
Number of New Members Admitted: 15 Total; 1 Female; 14 Male
Total Membership: ??
Number of Papers Presented: 35
Officers:
Members/representatives/delegates: None
New Committees: Variable Star Committee, Consisting of William Tyler Olcott, Chair, W.W. Campbell, D.B. Pickering, and H.N. Russell (To secure observations of variable stars and to cooperate and to extend the work of amateurs); Committee on Daylight Saving Time Consisting of John H. Poor, Chair, Harold Jacoby, H.N. Russell, F. Schlesinger, and E.C. Pickering.
Old Committees: Committee on Asteroids
Held in Conjunction With: AAAS
Honorary Member(s): None
Notes of Interest: The Twentieth Meeting of the AAS took place on Wednesday to Friday, December 27-29, 1916, at Columbia University, New York, New York in affiliation with the AAAS. William Wallace Campbell began the Meeting on Tuesday evening, December 26, by giving his retirement address, as President of the AAAS, in the Museum of Natural History; his Topic Was "The Nebulae." On Thursday afternoon, the AAS met in Joint Session with the American Mathematical Society (AMS), the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), and Section A of the AAAS. Two addresses of note were given on this occasion: by Professor E.W. Brown, Retiring President of the AMS, on "The Relation of Mathematics to the Natural Sciences," and by Professor A.O. Leuschner, retiring Vice-President of Section A of the AAAS, on "Derivation of Orbits, Theory and Practice." During the Meeting, a letter from A.E. Douglass was read to the members thanking the Society for its support in the founding of an Observatory at the University of Arizona (helped to secure an anonymous $60,000 gift). The Daylight Savings Time Committee endorsed the Daylight Savings Plan with some reservations (Schlesinger and Jacoby for, Poor endorsed only as an experiment, Pickering and Russell against). Supposedly no other scientific societies have supported the plan. The Committee on Asteroids Reported; its work is being held up by the unavailability of German data.
Published descriptions of meeting:
Dates: August 29-31, 1917
Place: Dudley Observatory, Albany, New York
Number of Members in Attendance: 60 Total; 10 Female; 50 Male
Number of New Members Admitted: 12 Total; 3 Female; 9 Male
Total Membership: ??
Number of Papers Presented: 48
Officers:
Members/representatives/delegates: None
New Committees: Committee on the Start of Astronomical Day, made up of Messrs. W.S. Eichelberger, Chair, W.W. Campbell, and E.B. Frost; Committee on Place and Time of Next Meeting, comprised of Messrs. F. Schlesinger, H.N. Russell, and Joel Stebbins (Decided on Harvard).
Old Committees: Committee on Daylight Savings Time; Parallax Committee; Committee on Photographic Astrometry; Meteor Committee; and Variable Star Committee.
Held in Conjunction With: None
Honorary Member(s): None
Notes of Interest: The Twenty-first Meeting of the AAS took place on Wednesday to Friday, August 29-31, 1917, at the Dudley Observatory in Albany, New York. The scientific Sessions were held at the Observatory, but most of the participants stayed at the Ten Eyck Hotel. This was the first Meeting since the U.S. entered the Great War. Philip Fox offered to resign as Society Secretary because military duties in the Reserve Officers Corps were taking so much of his time, but the Society voted not to accept his resignation. After a failed vote favoring a change in the beginning of the astronomical day from noon to midnight, a committee, as mentioned above, was appointed to discuss the matter and report back to the Society. A general membership vote on the Daylight Savings Plan (Daylight Savings Plan Committee) as resulted in 18 favoring the plan, 22 opposed and six neutral. The Committee on Stellar Parallaxes and the Committee on Photographic Astrometry both reported. The Committees on Meteors also reported and urged that a systematic effort be made to place all branches of meteoric astronomy upon a satisfactory basis, and that immediate steps be taken to secure simultaneous observations of meteors by photography. The Committee on Variable Stars reported that in two months the formal creation of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) will take place and mentioned that 72,000 observations had already been logged by the nascent organization.
Published descriptions of meeting:
Group photo of attendees. [Identifications] |
Dates: August 20-22, 1918
Place: Harvard College Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Number of Members in Attendance: 50 Total; 11 Female; 39 Male
Number of New Members Admitted: 30 Total; 10 Female; 20 Male
Total Membership: ?? (314 According to J. Hussey)
Number of Papers Presented: 73 (78 According to AIP Archives)
Officers:
Members/representatives/delegates: None
New Committees: None
Old Committees: Committee on Variable Stars; Committee on Start of Day; and Parallax Committee.
Held in Conjunction With: None
Honorary Member(s): None
Notes of Interest: The Twenty-second Meeting of the AAS was held on Tuesday to Thursday, August 20-22, 1918, at Harvard College Observatory. Members and their guests were housed in Standish Hall, a College Dormitory. In his opening remarks, Professor E.C. Pickering expressed the hope that more foreign astronomers might attend like at the last Harvard AAS Meeting. During the course of the meeting, visits were made to Wellesley (Whitin Observatory), to the Students' Astronomical Laboratory, to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and to the yacht "Adventuress," Owned by Mr. W.V. Moot. Several Committees submitted reports. The Committee on Start of Day endorsed the proposal that the day should start at midnight, like the Civil Day, and that after January 1, 1925, all astronomical dates should be reckoned this way. This was made into a resolution, which was passed by the Society ("Will Cause Much Trouble and Work for Astronomers but Passed for Convenience of Mariners"). The Variable Star Committee Reported that observations are going apace, and that they are becoming more cooperative and international in character - observations have been received from South Africa, from South America, and from New Zealand, to say nothing of those received from the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), and from the British Astronomical Association (BAA). Similarly, the Parallax Committee Reported that observations were going apace, and involved the following observatories: Allegheny, Dearborn, Greenwich, Mccormick, and Mt. Wilson.
Published descriptions of meeting:
Group photo of most attendees: Archival Photographic Files [apf6-04477], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library |
Dates: September 2-5, 1919
Place: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Number of Members in Attendance: 60 Total; 9 Female; 51 Male
Number of New Members Admitted: 13 Total; 2 Female; 11 Male
Total Membership: ??
Number of Papers Presented: 53
Officers:
Members/representatives/delegates: None
New Committees: None
Old Committees: Committee on Stellar Parallaxes; Meteor Committee; and the Committee on Variable Star Observations.
Held in Conjunction With: the American Mathematical Society (AMS), and the Mathematical Association of America (MAA)
Honorary Member(s): None
Notes of Interest: The Twenty-third Meeting of the AAS was held on Tuesday to Friday, September 2-5, 1919, at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. The scientific Sessions took place in the auditoriums of Natural Science Hall, and the Physics Laboratory. Members and guests of the AAS, the AMS, and the MAA were housed in the Newberry Residence, and the Michigan Union. The arrangements, where members live close together for several days, demonstrated once again the ideal conditions for a scientific meeting. Ample opportunity existed to visit the Detroit Observatory. On Thursday afternoon, there was a Joint Meeting of the three Societies with the following program: Retiring address of the President of the MAA, Professor E.V. Hutton of Harvard University, on "Mathematics and Statistics"; "The Work of the National Research Council with Reference to Mathematics and Astronomy," by Professor Ernest W. Brown of Yale University; and "Reports on the International Conference of Scientists at Brussels," by Dr. Frank Schlesinger of Allegheny Observatory, and by Dr. L.A. Bauer of the Carnegie Institution. The most important item of business was an amendment to the Constitution regarding the election and terms of Officers which, among other things, limited the President to a single term of three years, and did away with the designation of first and second Vice-President. A Resolution was passed mourning the death of E.C. Pickering, who had served as President for the past 13 Years. Charles L. Doolittle, who had acted as Treasurer from 1899 to 1912, also passed away. A rule was announced that only one contributor could present a paper until all those wishing to present had done so. The Society also voted to return dues to those who had served during the war. The Parallax Committee Reported that observations were going forward, although the war has interfered with international cooperation. The Meteor and Variable Star Committees likewise report progress, although the former emphasizes the need for instrumentation to supercede the human eye.
Published descriptions of meeting:
Group photo #1 of some attendees: Archival Photographic Files [apf6-04480], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library | |
Group photo #2 of some attendees: Archival Photographic Files [apf6-04484], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library | |
Group photo of most attendees: Archival Photographic Files [apf6-04494], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library Identifications (pdf) | |
Group photo of attendees connected with Yerkes Observatory: Archival Photographic Files [apf6-04473], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library. |
Dates: September 1-4, 1920
Place: Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, and Mt. Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts
Number of Members in Attendance: 72 Total (70 According to AIP Archives); 17 Female (?? Female According to AIP Archives); 55 Male (?? According to AIP Archives)
Number of New Members Admitted: 15 Total; 4 Female; 11 Male
Total Membership: ??
Number of Papers Presented: 58 (54 According to AIP Archives)
Officers:
Members/representatives/delegates: When the Research Council was reorganized in 1919, the Council nominated Messrs. H.N. Russell, W.W. Campbell, and Joel Stebbins to serve for one, two, and three years respectively as representatives on the Division of Physical Sciences. Since then, Messrs. Russell and Campbell have been re-nominated to succeed themselves for full three year terms. Henceforth, there will be one new member each year who, by action of the Council, will be elected in the same manner as the regular Officers of the Society; the Membership of the Executive Committee of the American Section of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Is Presently: W.W. Campbell, Chair, W.S. Eichelberger, H.N. Russell, Frank Schlesinger, and Joel Stebbins, Secretary.
New Committees: None
Old Committees: Eclipse Committee; Meteor Committee; and the Committee on Variable Stars.
Held in Conjunction With: None
Honorary Member(s): Sir Frank Watson Dyson, Astronomer Royal, Greenwich Observatory.
Notes of Interest: The Twenty-fourth Meeting of the AAS was held on Wednesday to Saturday, September 1-4, 1920, at Smith and Mount Holyoke Colleges upon the joint invitation of the Directors of the Observatories, Misses Harriet W. Bigelow and Anne S. Young. This is the first meeting to be held at womens' colleges. The Members and their guests were headquartered at Gillett House, a Dormitory of Smith College. Besides Exploring the Smith and Mount Holyoke College campuses, visits were also made to Old Deerfield and Mount Tom. The Eclipse Committee Reported that the Mexican Government is going to cooperate in the September 10, 1923 Solar Eclipse by providing meteorological data along the eclipse path for the first fifteen days in September until 1923.
The Committee on Meteors Reports the formation of a major committee, "Committee on Meteors," by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) under the Chairmanship of W.F. Denning. It also requests that more observations be carried out by experienced observers. Similarly, the Committee on Variable Stars requests the aid of the society in carrying out future observations, particularly by observers with telescopes with apertures greater than four inches.
Published descriptions of meeting:
Photo of attendees: Archival Photographic Files [apf6-04495], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library. [Identifications (pdf)] |
Dates: December 28-30, 1920
Place: University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Number of Members in Attendance: 60 Total; 5 Female; 55 Male
Number of New Members Admitted: 11 Total (12 Total According to AIP Archives); 2 Female (?? Female According to AIP Archives); 9 Male (?? Male According to AIP Archives)
Total Membership: Greater than 350
Number of Papers Presented: 47 (48 According to AIP Archives)
Officers:
Members/representatives/delegates: None
New Committees: None
Old Committees: None
Held in Conjunction With: AAAS
Honorary Member(s): None
Notes of Interest: The Twenty-fifth Meeting of the AAS took place on Tuesday to Thursday, December 28-30, 1920 at the University of Chicago in affiliation with the AAAS. The Society Sessions were held in the Ryerson Physical Laboratory, and most of the Members stayed at the Great Northern Hotel, the Headquarters of the Mathematicians. On Wednesday morning, the Society met in Joint Session with the American Physical Society and with the Optical Society of America; it was at this Joint Session that the most important astronomical paper was read, namely, the announcement by A.A. Michelson that he had measured the diameter of Alpha Orionis, using his new interferometer at Mt. Wilson.
Published descriptions of meeting:
Group photo of attendees. [Identifications] |
Dates: August 30 - September 1, 1921
Place: Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut
Number of Members in Attendance: 77 Total (100 According to AIP Archives); 20 Female (?? Female According to AIP Archives); 57 Male (100 According to AIP Archives)
Number of New Members Admitted: 19 Total (20 Total according to AIP Archives); 7 Female (0 Female According to AIP Archives); 12 Male (20 Male according to AIP Archives)
Total Membership: ?? (356 According to J. Hussey)
Number of Papers Presented: 49
Officers:
Members/representatives/delegates: Professor E.B. Frost was elected a Representative of the Society on the Division of Physical Sciences of the National Research Council for the Term 1922-1925.
New Committees: None
Old Committees: Eclipse Committee; Committee on Variable Stars; and the Meteor Committee.
Held in Conjunction With: None
Honorary Member(s): None
Notes of Interest: the Twenty-sixth Meeting of the AAS was held on Tuesday to Thursday, August 30, 1921 - September 1, 1921 at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, on the invitation of Professor Frederick Slocum, Director of the Van Vleck Observatory. The attendees were housed together in college dormitories, and were fed in the spacious PSI Upsilon fraternity house. Scientific Sessions took place in the John Bell Scott Laboratory nearby. On recommendation of a special sub-committee, made up of Messrs. Otto Klotz and S.I. Bailey, the Council took the following general actions with regard to committees to take effect at the Annual Meeting of 1922: (1) the abolition of such committees whose functions are carried out by other organizations, for example, the Variable Star Committee, the Committee on Photographic Astrometry, and the Committee on the Teaching of Astronomy; (2) the functions of committees now in existence will be considered terminated; (3) each committee appointed hereafter shall report to the Society on or before the next following Annual Meeting, when the functions of the committee shall cease, unless renewed by request of its Chairman for completing its work in the succeeding year; and (4) at the Annual Meeting of the Society, the Council shall appoint such committees as may be necessary to further the work of the Society. The Council also decided to hold two meetings next year due to increasing interest in society. The Eclipse Committee reported on the best places to observe the September 21, 1922 and September 10, 1923 Solar Eclipses. The Variable Star Committee distributed a questionnaire which showed that considerable activity vis-a-vis variable stars was going on, but in an uncoordinated way. The need for greater communication among observers was stressed. The Meteor Committee reported on some early attempts at instrumentation, and mentioned the continuing work of the American Meteor Society.
Published descriptions of meeting:
Group photo of attendees (left half) [Identifications]. | |
Group photo of attendees (right half) [Identifications]. |
Dates: December 29-31, 1921
Place: Sproul Observatory, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Number of Members in Attendance: 53 Total (60 Total According to AIP Archives); 8 Female (0 Female according to AIP Archives); 45 Male (60 Male according to AIP Archives)
Number of New Members Admitted: 10 Total; 2 Female; 8 Male
Total Membership: 370 (356 According to J. Hussey)
Number of Papers Presented: 35
Officers:
Members/representatives/delegates: None
New Committees: None
Old Committees: None
Held in Conjunction With: None
Honorary Member(s): Carl Vilhem Ludvik Charlier of the Linds Observatorium, University of Lund, Sweden
Notes of Interest: the Twenty-seventh Meeting of the AAS took place on Thursday to Saturday, December 29-31, 1921 at the Sproul Observatory of Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, upon the invitation of the Director, Professor John A. Miller. Attendees were housed in Parrish Hall, the Main Building and Dormitory of the College. Because of the winter season, there were no outside excursions. On Friday evening, Dr. William Romaine Newbold, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania, gave an interesting talk, entitled "Evidence Contained in the Voynich Manuscript That Roger Bacon Possessed a Telescope."
Published descriptions of meeting:
Group photo of attendees. [Identifications] |
Dates: September 5-8, 1922
Place: Yerkes Observatory, Williams Bay, Wisconsin
Number of Members in Attendance: 68 Total (100 Total according to AIP Archives); 12 Female (0 Female according to AIP Archives); 56 Male (100 Male according to AIP Archives)
Number of New Members Admitted: 19 Total; 4 Female; 15 Male
Total Membership: 390
Number of Papers Presented: 64
Officers:
Members/representatives/delegates: Mr. Ernest W. Brown was appointed a Member of the National Research Council for the Term 1923-1926. Other Members of this group who are continuing to serve (with their terms of office) are: W.W. Campbell 1920-1923, Henry Norris Russell 1921-1924, and Edwin B. Frost 1922-1925.
New Committees: None
Old Committees: None
Held in Conjunction With: None
Honorary Member(s): None
Notes of Interest: the Twenty-eighth Meeting of the AAS was held on Tuesday to Friday, September 5-8, 1922 at the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin - the Twenty-fifth anniversary of the opening of the Observatory, and also the founding of the Society. On Wednesday evening, Professor E.E. Barnard gave an illustrated lecture on "Some Peculiarities of the Comets", and on Friday, Dr. Frank Schlesinger gave his mandatory address as retiring President of the Society on "The Positions of the Stars."
Published descriptions of meeting:
Photo of attendees: Archival Photographic Files [apf6-00417], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library Identifications (pdf) | |
Photo of former and current Yerkes staff at meeting: Archival Photographic Files [apf6-00433], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library |