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Meetings of the AAS: 1948-1951

Created by Brant Sponberb, edited and expanded by Paul Routly and by Joesph S. Tenn.

79th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS)

Dates: June 28, 1948 – July 1, 1948

Place: Pasadena, California

Number of Members in Attendance: More than 150; ??Female; ?? Male

Number of New Members Admitted: 34 Total; 2 Female; 32 Male

Total Membership: ??

Number of Papers Presented: More than 70

Officers:

  • President, Otto Struve 1946-1949
  • Vice-President, Paul W. Merrill 1947-1949
  • Vice-President, Fred Whipple 1948-1950
  • Secretary, C.M. Huffer 1948-1949
  • Treasurer, J.J. Nassau 1948-1949
  • Councilors, H.L. Alden 1946-1949, Ida Barney 1946-1949, O.C. Wilson 1946-1949, C.D. Shane 1947-1950, J.L. Greenstein 1947-1950, P.M. Millman 1947-1950, Lyman Spitzer Jr. 1948-1951, Leo Golberg 1948-1951, and G.E. Kron.
  • Ex-President(s),

Members/representatives/delegates: None
New Committees: None
Old Committees: None

Held in Conjunction With: Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP)

Honorary Member(s): None

Notes of Interest: The Seventy-ninth Meeting of the AAS was held Monday to Thursday, June 28–July 1, 1948 in Pasadena, California, in association with the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP). On Monday evening, at the invitation of the Director, Dinsmore Alter, several hundred people received a breath-taking exhibition at the Griffith Planetarium. Tuesday afternoon was devoted to an excursion to Mount Wilson. The Society Dinner was held at the Athenaeum Club on the campus of the California Institute of Technology. At the conclusion of this meal, the President of the AAS, Dr. Otto Struve, spoke of the serious deficiency in funds for publication, and was able to announce two substantial gifts to the Society, One from Mr. L.E. Peterson of Milwaukee, and the other from a Mr. Sullivan of Indianapolis. The climax of the meeting was the visit to Palomar Observatory on Thursday. All were struck by the enormous size of the dome, the telescope, and by the instrumental accessories. A short program was conducted on the floor of the dome, presided over by the Director of the Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories, Dr. Ira Bowen, at which Dr. John A. Anderson described the making of the mirror and other optical parts, and Dr. Bruce H. Rule told about the mechanical problems encountered and how they were solved. The meeting ended on likely programs to be undertaken by the 200-inch telescope.

Published descriptions of meeting:

80th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS)

Dates: December 28-31, 1948

Place: Yale University Observatory, New Haven, Connecticut

Number of Members in Attendance: 180 Total; ?? Female; ?? Male

Number of New Members Admitted: 15 Total; 1 Female; 14 Male

Total Membership: ??

Number of Papers Presented: ??

Officers:

  • President, Otto Struve 1946-1949
  • Vice-President, Paul W. Merrill 1947-1949
  • Vice-President, Fred Whipple 1948-1950
  • Secretary, C.M. Huffer 1948-1949
  • Treasurer, J.J. Nassau 1948-1949
  • Councilors, H.L. Alden 1946-1949, Ida Barney 1946-1949, O.C. Wilson 1946-1949, C.D. Shane 1947-1950, J.L. Greenstein 1947-1950, P.M. Millman 1947-1950, Lyman Spitzer Jr. 1948-1951, Leo Goldberg 1948-1951, and G.E. Kron 1948-1951.
  • Ex-President(s),

Members/representatives/delegates: None
New Committees: None
Old Committees: Teachers' Committee additional members: Freeman Miller, Chair, Thornton
Page, Victor Goedicke, John Streeter, and Fred Whipple.

Held in Conjunction With: None

Honorary Member(s): Bengt Stromgren (resigned as Honorary Member to stand for 1952 Elections)

Notes of Interest: At the invitation of Professor Dirk Brouwer, the Eightieth Meeting of the AAS was held on December 28-31, 1948, Tuesday to Friday, at the Yale University Observatory in New Haven, Connecticut. Members and their guests Stayed in Timothy Dwight College, a dormitory unit of Yale University; scientific papers were presented in W.L. Harkness Hall. This was the first meeting at which parallel sessions were held. On Thursday morning, one session was devoted to spectroscopy, while another dealt with general subjects. That afternoon, there were three invited papers on micro-wave astronomy and, at the same time, a teachers' conference on the astronomy curriculum in american colleges and universities. As Mentioned above, the following members have been added to the Teachers' Committee: Freeman Miller, Chair, Thornton Page, Victor Goedicke, John Streeter, and Fred Whipple. In a closing speech after the Society Dinner, Dr. Otto Struve announced that the next Russell Lecturer was to be Professor S. Chandrasekhar.

Published descriptions of meeting:

81st Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS)

Dates: June 19-23, 1949

Place: Dominion Observatory, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Number of Members in Attendance: 147 Total; ?? Female; ?? Male

Number of New Members Admitted: 9 Total; 1 Female; 8 Male

Total Membership: 675

Number of Papers Presented: 60

Officers:

  • President, Alfred H. Joy 1949-1952
  • Vice-President, Fred Whipple 1948-1950
  • Vice-President, Dirk Brouwer 1949-1951
  • Secretary, C.M. Huffer 1949-1950
  • Treasurer, J.J. Nassau 1949-1950
  • Councilors, C.D. Shane 1947-1950, J.L. Greenstein 1947-1950, P.M. Millman1947-1950, Lyman Spitzer Jr. 1948-1951, Leo Goldberg 1948-1951, G.E. Kron 1948-1951, G.M. Clemence 1949-1952, G.P. Kuiper 1949-1952, and Andrew Mckellar 1949-1952.
  • Ex-President(s),

Members/representatives/delegates: None
New Committees: Constitution Committee (To revive an amendment to the Constitution), consisting of Messrs. Harlow Shapley, Alfred H. Joy, and C.M. Huffer.
Old Committees: Teachers' Committee - Addition of Dr. Fletcher Watson.

Held in Conjunction With: None

Honorary Member(s): A. Kopff, Heidelberg, Germany

Notes of Interest: At the invitation of Professor C.S. Beals, the Eighty-first Meeting of the AAS was held at the Dominion Observatory, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, from June 19–23, 1949, Sunday to Thursday. Members and their guests were housed in the Lord Elgin Hotel, and scientific sessions were held in the auditorium of the National Research Council. On Tuesday afternoon, there was a symposium on meteoric astronomy featuring invited papers by Messrs. Charles P. Olivier, Peter M. Millman, L.A. Manning and Oswald G. Villard, D.W.R. Mckinley, and Fred L. Whipple. The main event of the meeting was the third Russell Lecture given in the auditorium of Victoria Memorial Museum by Dr. S. Chandrasekhar on "Turbulence - a Physical Theory of Astrophysical Interest." A special committee to revive a proposed amendment to the Constitution, which had failed earlier in the day, was formed consisting of Messrs. Harlow Shapley, Alfred H. Joy, and C.M. Huffer. An amendment to the By-laws to increase the annual membership fee from three dollars to five dollars passed without opposition. As mentioned above, Dr. Fletcher Watson was added to the Teachers' Committee. At the last session, an ovation was given to Dr. Otto Struve for his monumental efforts as President of the AAS. The meeting concluded Thursday evening with the Society Dinner at the Chateau Laurier Hotel. Three tours were arranged the following morning for those who had the time and wished to take advantage: one, to the Bureau of Mines, two, to the Radio Field Station of the National Research Council, and, three, to the Mechanical Engineering Laboratories of the National Research Council.

Published descriptions of meeting:

Group photo of attendees (left half) [Identifications].
Group photo of attendees (right half) [Identifications].

82nd Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS)

Dates: December 28–31, 1949

Place: Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

Number of Members in Attendance: ?? Total; ?? Female; ?? Male

Number of New Members Admitted: 27 Total; 3 Female; 24 Male

Total Membership: ??

Number of Papers Presented: ??

Officers:

  • President, Alfred H. Joy 1949-1952
  • Vice-President, Fred Whipple 1948-1950
  • Vice-President, Dirk Brouwer 1949-1951
  • Secretary, C.M. Huffer 1949-1950
  • Treasurer, J.J. Nassau 1949-1950
  • Councilors, C.D. Shane 1947-1950, J.L. Greenstein 1947-1950, P.M. Millman 1947-1950, Lyman Spitzer Jr. 1948-1951, Leo Goldberg 1948-1951, G.E. Kron 1948-1951, G.M. Clemence 1949-1952, G.P. Kuiper 1949-1952, and Andrew Mckellar 1949-1952.
  • Ex-President(s),

Members/representatives/delegates: None
New Committees: None

Old Committees: Executive Committee of the USA Section of the International Astronomical Union, now consisting of J.J. Nassau, Chair, O. Struve ex-officio as the American Vice-President of the Union, A.H. Joy ex-officio as President of the AAS, C.M. Huffer ex-officio as Secretary of the AAS, Ira S. Bowen, and Harlow Shapley.

Held in Conjunction With: None

Honorary Member(s): None

Notes of Interest: The Eighty-second Meeting of the AAS was held on December 28–31, 1949, Wednesday to Saturday, at the Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona in Tuscon, Arizona. Members and their guests were housed in Yuma Hall, and the sessions were held in the Chemistry-Physics Building. On the afternoon of the first day, a symposium on current problems of Schmidt telescopes was organized. The concluding paper of Friday morning was the address of the retiring President of the AAS, Dr. Otto Struve, on "Spectroscopic Binaries." In his absence, the paper was read in part by C.M. Huffer and in part by Thornton Page. Again, Dr. Alfred H. Joy, the current President of the Society, called attention to the stupendous amount of work done by Dr. Struve on behalf of the society. In the afternoon, a symposium on some problems with "Dwarf Stars" was held. That evening, an elegant Society Dinner took place at the Hotel El Conquistador. On this occasion, it was announced that the next International Astronomical Union Meeting would be held in Leningrad, Russia, probably in August, 1951. It was also announced that the Executive Committee of the USA Section of the International Astronomical Union consists, at present, of J.J. Nassau, Chair, Otto Struve ex-officio as the American Vice-President of the Union, A.H. Joy ex-officio as President of the AAS, C.M. Huffer ex-officio as Secretary of the AAS, Ira S. Bowen, and Harlow Shapley. After the meeting, many people set out for Nogales, Mission San Xavier, or the Sahauro National Monument.

Published descriptions of meeting:

Group photo of attendees [Identifications].

83rd Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS)

Dates: June 18-21, 1950

Place: Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

Number of Members in Attendance: ?? Total; ?? Female; ?? Male

Number of New Members Admitted: 17 Total; 0 Female; 17 Male

Total Membership: ??

Number of Papers Presented: 57

Officers:

  • President, Alfred H. Joy 1949-1952
  • Vice-President, Dirk Brouwer 1949-1951
  • Vice-President, C.S. Beals 1950-1952
  • Secretary, C.M. Huffer 1950-1951
  • Treasurer, J.J. Nassau 1950-1951
  • Councilors, Lyman Spitzer Jr. 1948-1951, Leo Goldberg 1948-1951, G.E. Kron 1948-1951, G.M. Clemence 1949-1952, G.P. Kuiper 1949-1952, Andrew Mckellar 1949-1952, A.E. Whitford 1950-1953, R.J. Trumpler 1950-1953, and P.C. Keenan 1950-1953.
  • Ex-President(s),

 

Members/representatives/delegates: Mr. J.J. Nassau was elected a representative of the AAS on the National Research Council.
New Committees: None
Old Committees: None

Held in Conjunction With: None

Honorary Member(s): None

Notes of Interest: The Eighty-third Meeting of the AAS was held from Sunday to Wednesday, 8–21 June 1950, at the University of Indiana, Bloomington, Indiana. Members and their guests were put up at the men's quadrangle; sessions for papers were held in the lecture room of the Business and Economics Building. Tuesday morning started out with a series of three papers which had been arranged in partial celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Kirkwood Observatory. The three speakers were Messrs. Dirk Brouwer, Gerard P. Kuiper, and Paul Herget. A fourth member, Professor L.E. Cunningham, was unable to be present and his paper was read by title only. The topics dealt with the minor planets in memory of Professor Kirkwood, the discoverer of the Kirkwood Gaps in the system of minor planets, and in the ring system of Saturn. Next came a quick inspection of the Link Observatory, some 35 miles north of Bloomington (transportation by private car), the telescopes of which were donated to Indiana University by Dr. Goethe Link. The meeting concluded with a special dinner in Alumni Hall of Indiana Union, and the presentation of the Annie J. Cannon Prize to Helen Sawyer Hogg.

Published descriptions of meeting:

 

Group photo of attendees (Courtesy AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives #AAS E4). [Identifications].

84th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS)

Dates: December 27-29, 1950

Place: Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania

Number of Members in Attendance: ?? Total; ?? Female; ?? Male

Number of New Members Admitted: 26 Total; 3 Female; 23 Male

Total Membership: ??

Number of Papers Presented: ??

Officers:

  • President, Alfred H. Joy 1949-1952
  • Vice-President, Dirk Brouwer 1949-1951
  • Vice-President, C.S. Beals 1950-1952
  • Secretary, C.M. Huffer 1950-1951
  • Treasurer, J.J. Nassau 1950-1951
  • Councilors, Lyman Spitzer Jr. 1948-1951, Leo Goldberg 1948-1951, G.E. Kron 1948-1951, G.M. Clemence 1949-1952, G.P. Kuiper 1949-1952, Andrew Mckellar 1949-1952, A.E. Whitford 1950-1953, R.J. Trumpler 1950-1953, and P.C. Keenan 1950-1953.
  • Ex-President(s),

 

Members/representatives/delegates: None
New Committees: None
Old Committees: None

Held in Conjunction With: None

Honorary Member(s): None

Notes of Interest: At the invitation of Professor Louis C. Green, the Eighty-fourth Meeting of the AAS was held at Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania, on December 27-29, 1950, Wednesday to Friday. The scientific sessions were held in the large lecture room of the Haverford Union Building. On Thursday evening, Dr. Harlow Shapley delivered the annual Russell Lecture on "The Inner Metagalaxy." By almost unanimous vote sections 2 and 5 of the Constitution were amended to read as follows: Section 2. The Council shall consist of the Officers, the two available Ex-Presidents whose presidential terms have most recently expired, provided they have served their full terms, and of nine Councilors elected from the membership of the Society... Section 5. The term of Office shall be two years for the President, two years for the Vice-Presidents, three years for the Secretary, three years for the Treasurer, and three years for each of the nine Councilors. The President shall be nominated only from those members of the Society who have served at least one year on the Council. The President, Vice-President and the nine Councilors shall not be eligible for immediate re-election. It was also decided that no future life memberships be accepted. The Society Dinner was held Friday evening.

Published descriptions of meeting:

Group photo of attendees [Identifications].

85th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS)

Dates: June 20-23, 1951

Place: Washington, DC

Number of Members in Attendance: ?? Total; ?? Female; ?? Male

Number of New Members Admitted: 24 Total; 3 Female; 21 Male

Total Membership: ??

Number of Papers Presented: 58

Officers:

  • President, Alfred H. Joy 1949-1952
  • Vice-President, C.S. Beals 1950-1952
  • Vice-President, C.D. Shane 1951-1953

  • Secretary, C.M. Huffer 1951-1952

  • Treasurer, J.J. Nassau 1951-1952
  • Councilors, G.M. Clemence 1949-1952, G.P.kuiper 1949-1952, Andrew Mckellar 1949-1952, A.E. Whitford 1950-1953, R.J. Trumpler 1950-1953, P.C.keenan 1950-1953, Martin Schwarzschild 1951-1954, Milton L.humason 1951-1954, and S. Chandrasekhar 1951-1954.
  • Ex-President(s),

Members/representatives/delegates: None
New Committees: None
Old Committees: None

Held in Conjunction With: None

Honorary Member(s): None

Notes of Interest: The Eighty-fifth Meeting of the AAS took place on 20ndash;23 June 1951, Wednesday to Saturday, in Washington, DC, celebrating, in part, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Nautical Almanac Office and, in part, the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Bureau of Standards. Headquarters for the meeting were in the Wardman Park Hotel; sessions for papers were in the lecture room of the East Building of the Bureau of Standards. (There seems to be a page missing in the micro-film record of this meeting). The Society Dinner was held in the cafeteria of the Naval Observatory. It Should be mentioned that the cafeteria was built during WWII, is now no longer needed and, hence, no longer exists. Dr. Lyman Spitzer Jr. and AAS President Alfred H. Joy discussed the Astronomical Journal and the Astrophysical Journal. While the Society is near an agreement with the latter, further action is dependent on revision of the By-laws at the Xmas meeting next. The classes of membership have also been modified as follows: 1. Active Members, 2. Associate Members, and 3. Sustaining Members. As mentioned in the summary of the previous meeting, life memberships were abolished, except for those already in force.

Published descriptions of meeting:

Group photo of attendees (left half) [Identifications].
Group photo of attendees (right half) [Identifications].

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