Gerald M. Clemence

Biography

Abstract

Gerald Clemence spent much of his career as an Astronomer and Director at the United States Naval Observatory (1930-1963). He was also president of the American Astronomical Society and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Important Dates

August 16, 1908Birth, Smithfield (R.I. : Town).

1929Obtained PhB in Mathematics, Brown University, Providence (R.I.).

1930 – 1945Junior Astronomer (1930-1937); Assistant Astronomer (1937-1940); and Senior Astronomer (1942-1945), United States Naval Observatory, Washington (D.C.).

1945 – 1958Director, United States Nautical Almanac Office, Washington (D.C.).

1952Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1953 – 1969Chair, Board of Directors, B. A. Gould Fund, National Academy of Sciences.

1955Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

1958 – 1960President, American Astronomical Society.

1958 – 1963Scientific Director, United States Naval Observatory, Washington (D.C.).

1962 – 1965Chair, Division of Physical Sciences, National Research Council.

1963 – 1974Senior Research Associate and Lecturer (1963-1966) and Professor of Astronomy (1966-1974), Yale University, New Haven (Conn.).

1969 – 1974Editor, Astronomical Journal, American Astronomical Society.

November 22, 1974Death, Providence (R.I.).

Occupation

Astronomer.

Places

Birth

Smithfield (R.I. : Town)

Graduate Education

Providence (R.I.)

Employment

Washington (D.C.)

New Haven (Conn.)

Death

Providence (R.I.)

Subjects

Astronomy.

Celestial mechanics.

Relationships

People

Family

Clemence, Edith Vail

Wife.

Clemence, Gerald Vail

Son.

Clemence, Theodore Grinell

Son.

Colleagues

Bardeen, James Maxwell, 1939-

Both employed at Yale University.

Kulsrud, R. M.

Both employed at Yale University.

Additional

Brouwer, Dirk, 1902-

Duncombe, Raynor L.

Schwarzschild, Martin

Van de Kamp, Peter, 1901-1995

Institutions

Major Positions

United States Naval Observatory

Junior Astronomer; Assistant Astronomer; Senior Astronomer; and Scientific Director.

United States Naval Observatory. Nautical Almanac Office

Director.

Yale University. Department of Astronomy

Senior Research Associate and Lecturer and Professor of Astronomy.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Fellow.

American Astronomical Society

President and Editor, Astronomical Journal.

Brown University. Department of Applied Mathematics

Obtained PhB (Mathematics) in 1929.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member and Chair, Board of Directors, B. A. Gould Fund.

National Research Council (U.S.)

Chair, Division of Physical Sciences.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Address at the dedication of the 61-inch astrometric reflector at the U. S. Naval Observatory's Flagstaff Station [sound recording] / 1964.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Gerald M. Clemence papers.

Library

United States Naval Observatory

3450 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20392-5420, USA

Subject

Gravity Research Foundation essays and abstracts, 1949-2014.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Three conferences on astronomy and cosmology [motion picture] / photographed by Peter Van de Kamp.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Author

Methods of celestial mechanics / Dirk Brouwer, Gerald M. Clemence.

Subject

Gerald M. Clemence Physics Today obituary.

Gerald Maurice Clemence: 1908-1974, Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences.