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COLLECTIONS: 1 - 2 of 2

Records of Harvard College Observatory Director William Cranch Bond

Collection Identifier: UAV 630.2
Overview: The Records of Harvard College Observatory Director William Cranch Bond document the founding, growth, and scientific research of the Harvard College Observatory primarily from 1840 to 1859. Also chronicled is the Observatory’s participation in advances made in astronomy, stellar photography, meteorology, continental exploration, and technological improvements in astronomical instruments in the early nineteenth century. William Cranch Bond (1789-1859), American astronomer and instrument...

Records of the Harvard College Observatory Time Service

Sub-Fonds Identifier: UAV 630.377
Overview: In 1872, under Director Joseph Winlock, the Harvard College Observatory established the world’s first public time service, which it provided as a commercial service until 1892. The Observatory sold its time service to railroads and businesses by sending hourly signals over Boston’s fire alarm system and distributing time across the region via Western Union telegraph lines; this work eventually resulted in the establishment of the country's first time zone. The Records of the Harvard College...