James Ferguson (American astronomer)

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For the Scottish astronomer born in 1710, see James Ferguson (Scottish astronomer).

James Ferguson
James Ferguson
Born	(1797-08-31)August 31, 1797
Died	September 26, 1867(1867-09-26) (aged 70)
Nationality	United States
Fields	astronomy

James Ferguson (August 31, 1797 – September 26, 1867) was an American astronomer and engineer (he helped build the Erie canal) born in Scotland who made the first discovery of an asteroid from North America (31 Euphrosyne). Starting in 1847, he worked at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, DC.

The asteroid 1745 Ferguson, discovered from the same observatory, was later named in his honour.

**Asteroids discovered: 3**
31 Euphrosyne	September 1, 1854
50 Virginia	October 4, 1857
60 Echo	September 14, 1860

References

Obituary on The Observatory, Vol. 30, p. 352-353 (1907)

Authority control	WorldCat VIAF: 72173142 LCCN: nr95039574 GND: 117505579

Persondata
Name	Ferguson, James
Alternative names
Short description	American astronomer
Date of birth	August 31, 1797
Place of birth
Date of death	September 26, 1867
Place of death

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