Notable people · Military · Science
Ormsby M. Mitchel
Kentucky-born astronomer and educator who founded the Cincinnati Observatory (cornerstone 1843) and later served as a Union major general. He died of yellow fever at Beaufort, South Carolina.
At a glance
- Born
- 1810-08-28
- Died
- 1862-10-31
- Education
- US Military Academy, West Point, NY, 1825-1829, graduate, 15th of 46
- Known as
- Military, Science
- Organizations
- Cincinnati Observatory, Cincinnati Astronomical Society
Life story
Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel was born in 1810 in Union County, Kentucky, and grew up in Lebanon, Ohio. He went to West Point in 1825 and graduated 15th of 46 in 1829, in a class with Robert E. Lee.
He taught math at West Point, then astronomy at Cincinnati College from 1836. He raised money to build the Cincinnati Observatory and bought a refracting telescope that was the second largest in the world when installed in 1845.
In 1846 he began the Sidereal Messenger, the first astronomy magazine in the US. He directed the Dudley Observatory in Albany from 1859.
In the Civil War he commanded in Kentucky, captured Huntsville, Alabama in April 1862, and became a major general. He died of yellow fever at Beaufort, South Carolina, on October 31, 1862.
Timeline
- 1810-08-28: Born (Union County, KY) source
- 1829: Graduates from West Point (West Point, NY) source
- 1836: Professor of astronomy at Cincinnati College (Cincinnati, OH) source
- 1843-11-09: Cornerstone of the Cincinnati Observatory laid (Cincinnati, OH) source
- 1845: Telescope installed (Cincinnati, OH) source
- 1846: Starts the Sidereal Messenger (Cincinnati, OH) source
- 1859: Becomes astronomer at Dudley Observatory (Albany, NY) source
- 1862-04: Captures Huntsville (Alabama) source
- 1862-10-31: Dies of yellow fever (Beaufort, SC) source
What Ormsby is known for
- Established the Cincinnati Observatory, cornerstone laid Nov. 9, 1843
- Union major general
- Cincinnati Observatory
- Sidereal Messenger (1846)
Honors and things named for them
- Mitchelville, SC and Mitchell, IN named for him
- A crater on Mars carries his name
- Cincinnati Observatory is a National Historic Landmark (1997)
Places in Ohio to see
- Cincinnati Observatory (museum)
3489 Observatory Pl, Cincinnati, Hamilton County ZIP 45208 · Cincinnati · Hamilton County
Ohio places
Where Ormsby M. Mitchel was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Worked: Cincinnati, Hamilton County (Cincinnati Observatory, 3489 Observatory Pl) ZIP 45208 · Cincinnati · Hamilton County
Myths and corrections
- Disputed: Sources give his birth year as 1809 or 1810.
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
- Wikipedia: Ormsby M. Mitchel birth 1810 (some say 1809), death Oct 31 1862, Union general, observatory
- Wikipedia: Cincinnati Observatory 1843 cornerstone, Mount Adams then Mount Lookout 1873, NHL 1997