Joseph Algernon Pearce, Canadian astrophysicist and astronomer (d. 1988)
Joseph Algernon Pearce (February 7, 1893 – September 8, 1988) was a Canadian astrophysicist, who was notable for studies on the structure of Milky Way and O-type stars.
Born in Brantford, Ontario, Pearce enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1915 and served with the rank of Major in France until his was injured and returned to Canada as a training officer. He received a bachelor's and master's degree from the University of Toronto. He then studied at the Lick Observatory in California and received a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in 1930. He joined the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Saanich, British Columbia and was appointed Assistant Director in 1935. From 1940 to 1951, he was Director.A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, he served as its president from 1949 to 1950. He was president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and vice-president of the American Astronomical Society.In 1955, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of British Columbia.He is the author of Elements of the Orbit of Reid's Comet (University of Toronto, 1922), The Minimum Masses of Three Spectroscopic Binary Stars (J.O. Patenaude, 1932), and The Spectroscopic Orbits of the Four Helium Stars H.D. 29376, H.D. 39698, H.D. 44701 and H.D. 208095. The Radial Velocity of Boss 5628 (J.O. Patenaude, 1932).
1893Feb, 7
Joseph Algernon Pearce
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Events on 1893
- 17Jan
Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii
Lorrin A. Thurston, along with the Citizens' Committee of Public Safety, led the Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and the government of Queen Liliʻuokalani. - 22Jul
America the Beautiful
Katharine Lee Bates writes America the Beautiful after admiring the view from the top of Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs, Colorado. - 15Aug
Lagos Colony
Ibadan area becomes a British Protectorate after a treaty signed by Fijabi, the Baale of Ibadan with the British acting Governor of Lagos, George C. Denton. - 28Oct
Symphony No. 6 (Tchaikovsky)
Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Pathétique, receives its première performance in St. Petersburg, only nine days before the composer's death. - 28Nov
New Zealand general election, 1893
Women's suffrage in New Zealand concludes with the New Zealand general election, 1893.