James Keeler Biography
James Edward Keeler was born September 10th, 1857 in La Salle, Illinois. He was born to the parents William Keeler, assistant paymaster on an ironclad steamship, and Anne Dutton. Throughout his career he made many significant contributions to astronomy that have helped its advancement over the ages.
Growing up, James studied at public schools in his hometown of La Salle, Illinois. He later moved to Mayport, Florida in 1869 where he was home schooled for a short time. He eventually transferred to Johns Hopkins University with financial assistance from philanthropist Charles H. Rockwell and graduated in 1881 with degrees in Physics, German, Math, Chemistry, and Astronomy. He then began working at the Lick Observatory where director Edward Holden lobbied to have Johns Hopkins grant him a Ph.D for his work with the observatory but the University would not break their rule of only giving degrees for work done on campus. Despite irritating and disappointing Keeler, it did not prevent him from his future success.
As an astronomer, Keeler was one of the first to utilize Spectroscopy to study and analyze the composition of light from stars and other celestial objects and thus was regarded as one of the leading Astronomical Spectroscopists of the era. He was also one of the pioneers of Astrophysics, or applying physics to gain a better understanding of celestial phenomenon. Through this work he realized that Saturn’s rings were actually made up of numerous particles, each individual particle orbiting the planet, and in this process he made note of what was later named Keeler’s Gap. He furthered his research on Saturn by using his skill in Spectroscopy to verify James Maxwell’s hypothesis that the particles orbiting Saturn moved at different speeds, and after he proved the hypothosis correct he gained my fame and renown in the world of astronomy.
Additionally, Keeler did much to improve the current understanding of Spiral Nebulae and Spiral Galaxies through his research at the Lick Observatory using the Crossley Reflector Telescope. Most of his observations were in and around the constellation Andromeda, or the Queen, and more notably M31 inside the constellation.
One of his most important contributions however was his promoting of the use of his newly developed method of Astrophysics. In 1895, along with George Hale, he founded the Astrophysical Journal for communication among the adherents of the “New Astronomy.” He also produced the first regular graduate program at the University of California that helped produce much research in both Astronomy and Astrophysics. Through his observations here, he demonstrated the prowess of the reflecting telescope over the refracting for certain cases in which the reflecting could be larger and cheaper. Finally, Keeler also did some fundraising to advance his research efforts in both Astronomy and Astrophysics to help further his cause.
It is clear that James Keeler did much to enhance our understanding of our skies and the celestial objects they contain. Since he took interest in Astronomy as a child, he has worked effortlessly to spread his theories and ideas and reveal to the world the true mysteries that astronomy beholds.
