Ohio History Journal

Science and Democracy:

A History of the Cincinnati

Observatory, 1842-1872

by Stephen Goldfarb

The Spy Glass out on the hill

Is  now  entirely finished.

The distance twixt us and the moon

Is  sensibly  diminished.

When Mitchel looks, it comes near

He sees the hills and trees

Which most conclusively doth prove

That 'tis not made of cheese.

--Cincinnati Enquirer, 18451

The Cincinnati Observatory, housing an eleven-and-one-half-inch refractor

telescope, was opened for viewing in the spring of 1845. The circumstances

by which the observatory came to be built constitute an exemplary story

of science and democracy in the middle decades of the nineteenth century,

as are also the efforts, and ultimate failure, to make it become an important

research institution. Justification for the observatory from its inception in

1842 was found in a curious blend of localism, nationalism, and a belief

in democracy and the progress of man. The monies for the telescope and

construction of the observatory were raised by public subscription, making

this the first astronomical institution of its size to be built without either

royal or governmental patronage. As a symbol of civic pride, the observatory

was viewed as an outstanding achievement by a city freshly cut from the

wilderness. John P. Foote, who served both as secretary and president of

the Cincinnati Astronomical Society, expressed this sentiment later in 1855

when he wrote: "We [the citizens of Cincinnati] gave an example to the

old and wealthy which they ought to have given to us, who were young

and poor. . . . Cambridge and Washington have now larger telescopes than

that of Cincinnati, which at the time it was mounted, was the largest in

America. . . ."2

The observatory also was built as a symbol of the intellectual ambition

of the young country. In 1842 when the project was conceived, this nation-

NOTES ON PAGE 222

THE CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY                                        173

alistic spirit was well expressed by its foremost proponent, Ormsby Mac-

Knight Mitchel, when he told an audience that he was "determined to

show the autocrat of all the Russias that an obscure individual in this

wilderness city in a republican country can raise here more money by volun-

tary gift in behalf of science than his majesty can raise in the same way

throughout his whole dominions."³ Along with this nationalistic feeling

came a very self-conscious belief in the newly won democracy. Mitchel often

boasted that he was "the first democratically elected astronomer" in that the

constitution of the society required the post of director of the observatory,

like all the offices in the society, to be elective. One of the major purposes of

establishing the observatory was the increase of general knowledge and the

resultant uplifting of the educational level. For Mitchel, from the knowledge

of astronomy came proof of the existence of God. Throughout all his

lectures and popular writings there was constant reference to the beauties

of the heavens reflecting the glory of God.⁴ As astronomical discoveries

were made, man was freed from older superstitions, thus advancing the

progress of mankind.

The main force behind the establishment of the Cincinnati Observatory

was its first director, O. M. Mitchel. Though born in Kentucky, Mitchel

was reared in the Ohio towns of Lebanon and Xenia and received a college

education at West Point. After graduating in 1829, he became an assistant

professor of mathematics there but resigned his commission in 1831 after

a brief tour of duty in Florida and moved to the then largest city in the

West, Cincinnati. Mitchel practiced law for a few years before teaching

in Cincinnati College, an institution which had been founded in 1819 and

reestablished in 1835. He was made Professor of Mathematics, Natural

Philosophy and Astronomy and was able to supplement his income during

the summer months as chief engineer of the Little Miami Railroad.5

Because his teaching aroused some interest in Cincinnati, Mitchel was

invited to give a lecture in the winter of 1841-42 to the Society for the

Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. The subject he selected was "The Stability

of the Solar System," and his lecture was well received by both the audience

and the press. As a result of his success, Mitchel consented to give a series

of lectures for the society.6

The reception of these lectures must have been very gratifying to Mitchel

for, "On the first evening," he later wrote, "my audience was respectable,

on the second evening my house was filled, and on the third it was over-

flowing."⁷ Mitchel gave his last lecture of the series near the end of April

1842, at which time he suggested that the citizens of Cincinnati purchase

a telescope. "I have resolved to raise seven thousand five hundred dollars,"

he explained, "and my plan is . . . . [to] Divide the entire sum into three

hundred shares of stock, each share being valued at twenty-five dollars."

He further explained that the ownership of a share made one a member

of the Cincinnati Astronomical Society, which entitled him to "the privilege

of examining these beautiful and magnificent objects through one of the

finest glasses in the world."8 During the next few weeks, Mitchel, when

THE CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY                                      175

eleven-and-one-half-inch retractor much like, but slightly smaller than, the

one in use at the Imperial Russian Observatory at Pulkowa, the largest

refractor then extant.¹¹

While in Europe, Mitchel met some important scientists of the day in-

cluding Francois Arago in Paris, Richard Sheepshankes, Sir James South,

and the Astronomer Royal G. B. Airy in England. Mitchel worked as an as-

sistant to Airy at Greenwich for two weeks to learn the techniques of

observational astronomy--until then he had had no experience with the

practical side of the use of a large telescope. Mitchel's mathematical ability

must have served him well, but it seems extraordinary that he felt confident

enough to contract for a telescope which he did not know how to operate

properly.12

Mitchel returned to Cincinnati in the early part of October, and on

the 14th "an unusually large audience" heard him report on his European

journey. After another brief flurry of solicitation, money from new

memberships and some large donations increased the funds available to

the society to $14,000.  With this sum available, the society decided to

finalize the purchase of the telescope from  Merz and Mahler at a

cost in excess of $9000.13 The instrument took over a year to be constructed

and shipped to Cincinnati, during which time an observatory had to be

built and furnished. The problem of a site was quickly solved by Nicholas

Longworth's generous donation of four acres of land on a hill in eastern

Cincinnati.¹⁴

In 1844 prestige of the society rose still higher when John Quincy Adams

was persuaded to speak at the observatory's cornerstone-laying ceremony

on November 9. In honor of the speaker, who gave a two-hour oration,

the name of the hill on which the observatory would stand was changed

to Mount Adams.¹⁵

The construction of the observatory, delayed by cold weather, was a

very trying experience for Mitchel. Constant lack of money dogged the

project from the beginning; when not actually lecturing, Mitchel was

either supervising the work or raising funds for the workmen's pay. Many

of the materials and much of the work done on the building were donated

in exchange for shares in the society, and this accounted for much of the

increase in membership from the original three hundred to the eight

hundred about which Mitchel often boasted. In spite of the large amount

of free labor and materials, Mitchel incurred considerable personal debt

in order to complete the observatory.¹⁶

The telescope arrived in Cincinnati in January 1845, and by the time

of the society's annual meeting in April it was mounted and in good work-

ing order. The annual address to the society was given by Mitchel's former

law partner, E. D. Mansfield, who praised the study of astronomy for its

practical uses as well as its value in the education of the general public.

The report of the board of control overflowed with the satisfaction of

having finished an important undertaking, while Mitchel's report as director

was filled with a detailed explanation of the problems of mounting the

176                                                 OHIO HISTORY

telescope and a brief description of the first observations made with the

large refractor.17

During most of its life the society had financial problems which, more

than any other single matter, were the continual concern of the board

of control. The society was plagued with periodic crises during which the

officers and members in a burst of activity would attempt to raise needed

funds. The first of the financial crises occurred in 1845 when Mitchel

informed the society that he had assumed over $3000 of the cost of erecting

the observatory building; in addition, the society itself was in debt about

four hundred dollars. The need to liquidate this debt was the major con-

cern during the winter of 1845-46. It was decided to ask each member

for an additional five dollars, and notices to this effect were sent out.

By April 28, 1846, the committee on subscriptions was able to report "that

more than $4000 has been subscribed" which was sufficient to pay all the

debts.18

The next financial crisis occurred in the following year when Mitchel

announced to the board of control that "the additional instruments required

for the observatory were still wanting and that the building was still

unfurnished." A committee which reported on the needs estimated that an

additional $3200 was necessary. The figure was broken down in this

way: transit circle, $2000; clock, $300; room for transit circle, $400; and

$500 to finish the observatory building.19 The fund-raising efforts of the

society on this occasion were not so successful as before, though the situa-

tion was much improved by the loan to the society of a transit circle by

Alexander Bache of the Coast Survey.20 The observatory building was

finally finished, and the addition for the transit circle was built, but

Mitchel had to wait until the summer of 1849 before the financial resources

for a proper chronometer could be found.

The society's financial problems, however, were never really solved. By

spring 1850, some further debts had accumulated, and the need for a

regular salary for Mitchel's assistant was also reported. After rejecting a

motion to disband the society, members again were able to raise additional

funds by selling stock and soliciting large grants from wealthy individuals.²¹

By June 20, $2000 had been raised for the liquidation of debts, and $1000

a year for the next three years had been subscribed to pay for operating

expenses; the largest single item was $600 for the assistant's salary.22

As originally conceived, the purpose of the observatory was two-fold:

first, the amusement and education of the citizens of Cincinnati, and second,

scientific research.23 When the telescope was first erected, the equatorial

room was open to members of the society from 3 P. M. to 10 P. M. every

day of the week except Sundays and Mondays.²⁴ No doubt because he

was unable to carry out his own scientific observations, Mitchel was able

to prevail upon the society to change the original visiting days. Beginning

on November 1, 1846, the telescope was available for viewing by the mem-

bers on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays only.25

In March 1852, Mitchel asked that the observatory be closed to the

178                                                 OHIO HISTORY

Alabama, he died of yellow fever in the fall of 1862 at Beaufort, South

Carolina.²⁹

After Mitchel's death, the observatory entered a period of even greater

inactivity. Twitchell, a former sailor, soon resigned, transferring responsi-

bility to a Mr. Davis who was permitted to use the telescope and to live

in the observatory on the condition that he maintain the building.³⁰

In 1867 a revival of interest in the observatory took place. Alphonso Taft,

later to become Secretary of War in the Grant administration, was then the

prominent new president of the Cincinnati Astronomical Society. Money

was raised, and a plan was worked out whereby an operating budget was

provided for three years. After support was assured, Cleveland Abbe, who

had just spent two years with Otto Wilhelm von Struve in Russia, was

elected to the directorship. Abbe assumed his post in June 1868, but instead

of pursuing astronomical interests, he began to work on weather predic-

tions with the aid of meteorological data collected by telegraphed reports.³¹

The problem of the site was still not solved. It was evident that the

telescope was useless on Mount Adams, for the early smoke problem had

become even worse. In 1872 the observatory became part of the University

of Cincinnati, and through a generous gift of financier John Kilgour the

observatory was moved to its present location on Mount Lookout. The

society as a private body then ceased to exist.32

In the story of the Cincinnati Observatory some of the problems of

American science in the middle decades of the nineteenth century appear in

microcosm. The rhetoric of democratic enthusiasm  which assumed that

correct motivations could be substituted for special training justified the

large expense of the telescope and observatory for the essentially esoteric

activity of astronomical research. In the long run, though, the rationaliza-

tions of popular amusement, social usefulness, and Christain edification

were not enough to sustain the observatory.

There is indeed something touching and absurd about the whole observa-

tory scheme. On one hand, there is the magnificence of the telescope, and,

on the other, the failure of Mitchel to use this superb instrument for any

important scientific work. Over four years passed between the time the

society received the telescope and that when the observatory was equipped

with supporting instruments. One wonders whether the membership of the

society or even Mitchel envisioned the full ramifications of their decision

to build the observatory. Mitchel's own development from the enthusiastic

amateur of 1842, affirming the importance of the study of astronomy for

the benefit of mankind, to the professional of 1852, who wanted exclusive

use of the telescope for scientific purposes, parallels the currents of emergent

professionalization then prevalent in America. The history of the Cincinnati

Astronomical Society clearly exhibits the problem of reconciling the aims

of science with the popular goals of democracy.

THE AUTHOR: Stephen Goldfarb is a

doctoral candidate in the history of science

and technology program, Case Western

Reserve University.