Henri Chrétien

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Henri Chrétien (February 1, 1879 – February 6, 1956) was a French astronomer and an inventor.

Born in Paris, France, his most famous invention is the anamorphic widescreen process, that resulted in CinemaScope, and the co-invention (with George Willis Ritchey) of the Ritchey-Chrétien type of astronomical telescope.

He spent part of his early astronomical career at the Nice Observatory.

He was one of the founders of the Institut d'optique théorique et appliquée and professor at the French "grande école" SupOptique (École supérieure d'optique).

[edit] Awards and honors

The astronomical Chrétien International Research Grants awards are in honor of him. The Chrétien crater on the Moon is named in his honor. In 1954, he received an Academy Award for his work on the CinemaScope process.