The Adolfo Stahl Lectures in Astronomy

Издательство: The Astronomical Society of The Pacific
Страниц: 392
Год: 1919
Размер: 11,6 МБ

PREFACE

From the time of its organization in 1889, the chief object of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific has been to stimulate interest in astronomy among the people of the Pacific region by giving to discoveries and advances made in that science the widest publicity through the medium of its Publications and, more directly, by means of public lectures. In harmony with this policy, plans were made early in the autumn of 1916 for a course of lectures to be given in San Francisco by members of the staff of the Lick Observatory, in the season of 1916-1917.

When the question of securing financial support for this undertaking arose, a public-spirited citizen of San Francisco, Mr. Adolfo Stahl, came forward and offered the Astronomical
Society a 'sum of money amply sufficient to cover all the necessary expenses of the proposed course. Mr. Stahl imposed no conditions upon his gift except that the lectures should be given in San Francisco, that they should be adapted to the understanding of all intelligent people, and that they should later be printed in the Society's Publications or elsewhere.

Mr. Stahl's offer was gratefully accepted by the Society and it was voted that the course of lectures be known as THE ADOLFO STAHL LECTURES IN ASTRONOMY. It was further
voted that, in recognition of this gift, Mr. Stahl be elected a patron and a life member of the Society.

The lectures were given, as originally planned, by Director W. W. Campbell and_Astronomers R. G. Aitken and H. D. Curtis of the Lick Observatory, in Native Sons' Hall, San Francisco, in November and December, 1916, and January, February, March, and April, 1917.

Since it was clearly Mr. Stahl's desire that the lectures should be an educational influence in San Francisco, special efforts were made to direct the attention of the teachers and pupils in the schools of the city to the opportunity he had provided for securing information concerning the worlds of outer space. That the opportunity was appreciated was evident from
the large attendance at all six of the lectures...