Harlan James Smith, Date of Birth, Date of Death
TweetHarlan James Smith
American astronomer
Date of Birth: 25-Aug-1924
Date of Death: 17-Oct-1991
Profession: astronomer
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Virgo 
About Harlan James Smith
- Harlan James Smith (August 25, 1924 – October 17, 1991) was an American astronomer.He was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, the son of Paul and Anna McGregor Smith.
- While attending Wheeling High School he was named first runner up in the "Westinghouse National Science Talent Search".
- From 1943 until the end of World War II he served in the U.S.
- Army Air Corps, performing weather observation. Following the war he attended Harvard University, earning a B.A.
- in 1949.
- In 1950 he married Joan Greene, and by 1951 had earned his M.S.
- degree from Harvard.
- He began teaching at the astronomy department at Yale University in 1953, but still completed his Ph.D.
- from Harvard by 1955. In 1963 he was named chair of the University of Texas astronomy department where he also became the director of the McDonald Observatory.
- At the observatory he oversaw the construction of the 2.7m telescope he had persuaded NASA to build in support of planetary missions.
- From 1966 until 1970 he was a member of the Committee on the Large Space Telescope, an ad hoc group formed by the National Academy of Sciences, the work of which resulted in the Hubble Space Telescope.
- He also was the chairperson of the NASA Space Science Board from 1977 until 1980, and there helped propose NASA's Great Observatories program.
- He retired in 1989.During his career he studied variable stars, the radio emission from planets, as well as photometry and astronomical instruments.
- With Dorrit Hoffleit, he was the first to observe the optical variability of quasars, and discovered a class of variable stars known as Delta Scuti variables. He was an enthusiastic proponent of educating the public on astronomy, and developed the radio program StarDate.
- He also developed "The Story of the Universe", a series of educational films.
- He was also a proponent of international cooperation, particularly with China which he visited several times.
- He served as co-editor of the Astronomical Journal as well as acting secretary for the American Astronomical Society. Smith died due to complications related to cancer.
- He was survived by his wife and four children, along with their grandchildren.
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