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Photo Credit: David A. Harvey

100th Anniversary of Steward Observatory

On Oct 17, 2016,  we began celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the gift that created Steward Observatory. You can see three relevant links at the bottom of this article.

"On October 18, 1916, Pres. Rufus von KleinSmid of the University of Arizona called a press conference to announce to the world that an anonymous donor had given $60,000 (approx. $1.3 million in today’s currency) to the University “...to buy [a] telescope of huge size.”   He then canceled classes for the rest of the day and held a pep rally with a bonfire.  This anonymous donor was later revealed to be Mrs. Lavinia Steward of Oracle, Arizona.

And so the story of the Steward Observatory began.  On Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, at 7:30 p.m. [in Steward N210 on campus], we will hold a very special Steward Observatory Public Evening to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Mrs. Steward’s gift.  Our colleagues in the UA School of Theater, Film & Television, Prof. Peter Beudert and Prof. Michael Mulcahy, have made a 25-minute documentary film about the history of Steward Observatory entitled “Focusing the Universe”.

On Monday evening we will screen the film in Room N210 and then hold a panel discussion.  The panel will include our Director, Prof. Buell Jannuzi, the directors of the film, and Catherine Ellis from the Oracle Historical Society, an expert on the life of Lavinia Steward.  At the conclusion, both the Raymond E. White, Jr. and the Clark Telescopes will be opened for public viewing and cake will be served in the Steward Main Lobby.

You are all invited to attend.  You can view a trailer of the film here. Links two two news articles can be found here and here.

                                                                                           Tom Fleming"

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