Clyde Tombaugh

Clyde William Tombaugh (February 4, 1906  January 17, 1997) was an American astronomer known for discovering Pluto in 1930.

Clyde William Tombaugh
Tombaugh at his family's farm with his homemade telescope
Born(1906-02-04)February 4, 1906
in a ranch near Streator, Illinois, U.S.
DiedJanuary 17, 1997(1997-01-17) (aged 90)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationAstronomer
Known forDiscovery of Pluto

Biography

Tombaugh was born in Streator, Illinois.[1] After his family moved to Burdett, Kansas, Tombaugh planned to attend college. After a hailstorm ruined his family's farm crops, he no longer had money for the expense of college.[2]

After he discovered Pluto, he went to college at the University of Kansas and graduated with two degrees in astronomy.[2]

References

  1. Tombaugh, Clyde; Patrick Moore (1980). Out of the Darkness: The Planet Pluto. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books. pp. 17. ISBN 978-0-8117-1163-0. "I was born on a farm near Streator, Illinois, on 4 February 1906."
  2. "Clyde Tombaugh: A Man of Universal Wonder". American Academy of Achievement. September 9, 2006. Retrieved April 25, 2010.

Sources

  • Falk, Dan, "More than a one-hit wonder", Astronomy, February 2006, 4045.
  • David H. Levy Clyde Tombaugh: Discoverer of the Planet Pluto (Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press, 1991). ISBN 0-8165-1148-9; also Sky Publishing Corporation, March 2006

Other websites


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