Ezra Otis Kendall (1818–1899) was an American professor, astronomer and mathematician. He was known for his work in uranography.[1]

Ezra Otis Kendall
Born(1818-05-17)May 17, 1818
DiedJanuary 5, 1899(1899-01-05) (aged 80)

Kendall was born on May 17, 1818, in Wilmington, Massachusetts to parents Ezra Kendall and Susanna Cook Walker.[2][3] His mother was a descendant of Mayflower passengers Francis Cooke and Stephen Hopkins.[4] In 1835, he moved to Philadelphia to study mathematics with Sears Cook Walker, his half-brother. In 1838, he became professor of mathematics and astronomy at Philadelphia's Central High School and director of the observatory.[1][5] In 1842, he was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society and later served as a vice-president.[1] In 1855, he became professor of mathematics and astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania, and in 1883 became vice-provost and dean of the college faculty.[5] He received a Doctor of Laws, LL.D., honorary degree from the university in 1888 for his scientific work.[1] He died on January 5, 1899, in Philadelphia and is buried in the Saint Luke's Episcopal Churchyard.[1]

Works

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  • Kendall, E. Otis; Walker, Sears C. (May 20, 1842). "Observations of Encke's Comet, at the High School Observatory, Philadelphia, March and April 1842, with the Fraunhofer Equatorial". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society.
  • Kendall, E. Otis (1845). Uranography; or, A Description of the Heavens; Designed for Academics and Schools; Accompanied by An Atlas of the Heavens, Showing the Places of the Principal Stars, Clusters, and Nebulæ. Philadelphia: E. H. Butler & Co. hdl:2027/hvd.hn2b59.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e   Johnson, Rossiter, ed. (1906). "Kendall, Ezra Otis". The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 6. Boston: American Biographical Society. p. 229.
  2. ^ Kelley, James E. (1898). "Births". Wilmington Records of Births, Marriages and Deaths, from 1730 to 1898. p. 53.
  3. ^ Cutter, William Richard (1914). New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial. p. 1106.
  4. ^ Jones, Emma C. Brewster, ed. (1908). The Brewster Genealogy, 1566–1907. The Grafton Press. pp. 167–8.
  5. ^ a b "Obituary – Ezra Otis Kendall". University Bulletin. University of Pennsylvania. March 1899. pp. 200–202.