Frederick C. Leonard

For the Republican politician, see Fred Churchill Leonard.

Frederick Charles Leonard (March 12, 1896 – June 23, 1960)[1] was an astrophysicist at the UCLA who organised the UCLA's Department of Astronomy. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago in 1918[2] and his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California at Berkeley in 1921. He was an astronomer from his teenage years founding the Society for Practical Astronomy in 1909.[3]In 1923 he founded The Society for Research on Meteorites, the first name of the Meteoritical Society. In 1933 he became its first president and was the Editor of the Society's journal for the next 25 years.[4]. The Society instituted its premier award, the Leonard Medal in 1962 [5]for outstanding contributions to the science of meteoritics and closely allied fields. He taught astronomy, but his favourite was Meteoritics. He offered the first class in 1937.[6]

References

  1. ^ "California Death Records". The California Department of Health Services Office of Health Information and Research vital Statistics Section. 1960. http://vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ca/death/search.cgi. Retrieved 2012-01-04. 
  2. ^ "Chicago scientist to receive Leonard Medal for study of extraterrestrial matter". University of Chicago. 2008-08-07. Archived from the original on 2012-01-04. http://www.webcitation.org/64Qg5YGF8. 
  3. ^ Sponberg, Brant L. (1999). "History of the American Astronomical Society, Amateurs in the Early AAS". American Astronomical Society. Archived from the original on 2012-01-04. http://www.webcitation.org/64QziUeYE. 
  4. ^ Norton, O. Richard (August 1996). "Personal Recollections of Frederick C. Leonard". Pallasite Press. Archived from the original on 2012-01-04. http://www.webcitation.org/64Qg0Wgzv. 
  5. ^ "Awards of the Meteoritical Society". The Meteoritical Society. 2002. Archived from the original on 2012-01-04. http://www.webcitation.org/64QvNL2oz. 
  6. ^ Norton, O. Richard (November 1996). "Personal Recollections of Frederick C. Leonard, Part II". Pallasite Press. Archived from the original on 2012-01-04. http://www.webcitation.org/64Qg2Iegn.