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==History==
==History==
In 1864, Rutgers College was named New Jersey's sole [[Land-grant university|land grant college]] which provided federal funding under the [[Morrill Land-Grant Acts|Morrill Act of 1862]] for the development of engineering, scientific, agricultural, and military education.<ref name="McCormickBicenHistory">McCormick, Richard P. ''Rutgers: A Bicentennial History''. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1966).</ref>{{rp|pp.87–88}}<ref>The Morrill Act of 1862 (P.L. 1862 ch. 130; 12 Stat. 504), codified as [http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/7/304 United States Code, Title 7, Chapter 13, Subchapter I, §304 — "Investment of proceeds of sale of land or scrip"]. Retrieved 25 September 2013.</ref> [[David Murray (educator)|David Murray]] (1830–1905), professor of mathematics, natural philosophy and astronomy, proposed building the an [[astronomical observatory]] to the college's president, [[William H. Campbell]] (1808–1890), and its [[Board of directors|board of trustees]].<ref name="McCormickBicenHistory" />{{rp|p.91}}<ref name="RobbinsRutgersAstronomyHist">Robbins, Allen B. ''[http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/dept/history/robbins/chapt04.pdf History of Physics and Astronomy at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1771-2000]''. (Baltimore: Gateway Press, 2001).</ref>{{rp|pp.42–43}}
In 1864, Rutgers College was named New Jersey's sole [[Land-grant university|land grant college]] which provided federal funding under the [[Morrill Land-Grant Acts|Morrill Act of 1862]] for the development of engineering, scientific, agricultural, and military education.<ref name="McCormickBicenHistory">McCormick, Richard P. ''Rutgers: A Bicentennial History''. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1966).</ref>{{rp|pp.87–88}}<ref>The Morrill Act of 1862 (P.L. 1862 ch. 130; 12 Stat. 504), codified as [http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/7/304 United States Code, Title 7, Chapter 13, Subchapter I, §304 — "Investment of proceeds of sale of land or scrip"]. Retrieved 25 September 2013.</ref> [[David Murray (educator)|David Murray]] (1830–1905), professor of mathematics, natural philosophy and astronomy, proposed building the school's first [[astronomical observatory]] to the college's president, [[William H. Campbell]] (1808–1890), and its [[Board of directors|board of trustees]].<ref name="McCormickBicenHistory" />{{rp|p.91}}<ref name="RobbinsRutgersAstronomyHist">Robbins, Allen B. ''[http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/dept/history/robbins/chapt04.pdf History of Physics and Astronomy at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1771-2000]''. (Baltimore: Gateway Press, 2001).</ref>{{rp|pp.42–43,passim.}} It would be the college's fourth building.{{efn|According to Robbins, and McCormick, ''supra'', Rutgers built (1) [[Old Queens]] for classrooms, faculty housing, and a small chapel; (2) a house for the school's president; (3) [[Van Nest Hall]] to house the school's two literary societies, and (4) the Schanck Observatory, an astronomical observatory.<ref name="McCormickBicenHistory" /><ref name="RobbinsRutgersAstronomyHist" />}}


In 1865, the trustees hired architect Willard Smith who provided a plan for a small two-story octagonal [[Greek Revival architecture|Greek Revival]] building designed after was the [[Tower of the Winds]], a first-century BC structure located in the [[agora]] of [[Athens]], [[Greece]] that housed an ancient [[water clock]] and [[sundial]].<ref name="RobbinsRutgersAstronomyHist" />{{rp|pp.42–43,passim.}}<ref name="WPANewJersey1939">Works Progress Administration, Federal Writer's Project. ''New Jersey, a Guide to Its Present and Past'' (Trenton, New Jersey: Stratford Press, 1939), 306.</ref><ref name="LukacsAloudAlmaMater">Widrig, Walter M. "Schanck Observatory" in Lukac, George J. (editor) ''Aloud to Alma Mater''. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1966), 62–64.</ref> The observatory was constructed from "painted brick, with wood [[cornice]]s and entrance porch, [[brownstone]] floor and steps" and featured a "small gable roofed Corinthian entrance porch with columns at the front corners, flat [[pilaster]]s against the wall, [[entablature]], and [[pediment]]."<ref name="HABS1960">McCormick, Richard P., and Howell, George Brokaw. [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/nj/nj0100/nj0117/data/nj0117data.pdf "Daniel S. Schanck Observatory, HABS No. NJ-723"] prepared for the Library of Congress's Historic American Building Survey. (1960). Retrieved 4 October 2013.</ref> Rutgers equipped the observatory with "a 6.5-inch [[Equatorial mount|equatorial]] [[refracting telescope]], a [[meridian circle]] with four-inch object glass for [[Transit (astronomy)|transit observations]], a [[sidereal clock]], a [[Mean solar time|mean solar clock]]...[[chronograph]], [[repeating circle]], and other instruments."<ref name="RobbinsRutgersAstronomyHist" />{{rp|pp.42–43}}<ref name="MurrayGroundsBldgs">Murray, David. ''Hand-Book of the Grounds and Buildings and the Memorials, Portraits and Busts of Rutgers College''. Rutgers College Publication No. 11. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers College, 1904), 9–10.</ref> Some of the equipment was donated by private individuals and by the college's two literary societies, the [[Peithessophian Society|Peithessophian]] and [[Philoclean Society|Philoclean Societies]].<ref name="MurrayGroundsBldgs" /><ref name="CampbellMemorial1894">David Murray (compiler). ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=yaMaAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false A Memorial of Rev. William Henry Campbell, D.D., LL.D. Late President of Rutgers College]''. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Trustees of Rutgers College, 1894), 45–47.</ref>
In 1865, the trustees hired architect Willard Smith who provided a plan for a small two-story octagonal [[Greek Revival architecture|Greek Revival]] building designed after was the [[Tower of the Winds]], a first-century BC structure located in the [[agora]] of [[Athens]], [[Greece]] that housed an ancient [[water clock]] and [[sundial]].<ref name="RobbinsRutgersAstronomyHist" />{{rp|pp.42–43.}}<ref name="WPANewJersey1939">Works Progress Administration, Federal Writer's Project. ''New Jersey, a Guide to Its Present and Past'' (Trenton, New Jersey: Stratford Press, 1939), 306.</ref><ref name="LukacsAloudAlmaMater">Widrig, Walter M. "Schanck Observatory" in Lukac, George J. (editor) ''Aloud to Alma Mater''. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1966), 62–64.</ref> The observatory was constructed from "painted brick, with wood [[cornice]]s and entrance porch, [[brownstone]] floor and steps" and featured a "small gable roofed Corinthian entrance porch with columns at the front corners, flat [[pilaster]]s against the wall, [[entablature]], and [[pediment]]."<ref name="HABS1960">McCormick, Richard P., and Howell, George Brokaw. [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/nj/nj0100/nj0117/data/nj0117data.pdf "Daniel S. Schanck Observatory, HABS No. NJ-723"] prepared for the Library of Congress's Historic American Building Survey. (1960). Retrieved 4 October 2013.</ref> Rutgers equipped the observatory with "a 6.5-inch [[Equatorial mount|equatorial]] [[refracting telescope]], a [[meridian circle]] with four-inch object glass for [[Transit (astronomy)|transit observations]], a [[sidereal clock]], a [[Mean solar time|mean solar clock]]...[[chronograph]], [[repeating circle]], and other instruments."<ref name="RobbinsRutgersAstronomyHist" />{{rp|pp.42–43}}<ref name="MurrayGroundsBldgs">Murray, David. ''Hand-Book of the Grounds and Buildings and the Memorials, Portraits and Busts of Rutgers College''. Rutgers College Publication No. 11. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers College, 1904), 9–10.</ref> Some of the equipment was donated by private individuals and by the college's two literary societies, the [[Peithessophian Society|Peithessophian]] and [[Philoclean Society|Philoclean Societies]].<ref name="MurrayGroundsBldgs" /><ref name="CampbellMemorial1894">David Murray (compiler). ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=yaMaAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false A Memorial of Rev. William Henry Campbell, D.D., LL.D. Late President of Rutgers College]''. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Trustees of Rutgers College, 1894), 45–47.</ref> It was


The cost of construction and equipment amounted to US$6,166 (2013: US$86,845.07),{{efn|name=SahrOSU1871InflationCalculation|This inflation adjustment calculation projects that $1 in 1865 would have $14.08 in purchasing power in 2013 (conversion factor: 0.071), using data compiled by [[Oregon State University]] Political Science professor Robert Sahr in [http://oregonstate.edu/cla/polisci/sahr/sahr "Inflation Conversion Factors for years 1774 to estimated 2023, in dollars of recent years"] which he asserts reflects reflecting final 2012 [[Consumer Price Index|CPI]] (2.29594 in dollars of 1982–84). Last update 15 May 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.}} of which US$2,400 (2013: US$33,802.82){{efn|name=SahrOSU1871InflationCalculation}} was donated by Daniel S. Schanck (1812–1872).<ref name="MurrayGroundsBldgs" /><ref name="CampbellMemorial1894" /> Schanck, a New York City businessman with roots in [[Monmouth County, New Jersey]], was not an alumnus of the college, but was convinced to donate after being approached by friends of the college.<ref name="RobbinsRutgersAstronomyHist" />{{rp|pp.42–43}} Several years later, his son, Daniel S. Schanck (1853–1901), would enroll in the college's scientific course, and earn his bachelors degree in 1875.<ref>Rutgers College and Raven, John Howard (Rev.) (compiler). [http://books.google.com/books?id=LnU7AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false Catalogue of the Officers and Alumni of Rutgers College (originally Queen's College) in New Brunswick, N.J., 1766–1916]. (Trenton, New Jersey: State Gazette Publishing Company, 1916.</ref>
The cost of construction and equipment amounted to US$6,166 (2013: US$86,845.07),{{efn|name=SahrOSU1871InflationCalculation|This inflation adjustment calculation projects that $1 in 1865 would have $14.08 in purchasing power in 2013 (conversion factor: 0.071), using data compiled by [[Oregon State University]] Political Science professor Robert Sahr in [http://oregonstate.edu/cla/polisci/sahr/sahr "Inflation Conversion Factors for years 1774 to estimated 2023, in dollars of recent years"] which he asserts reflects reflecting final 2012 [[Consumer Price Index|CPI]] (2.29594 in dollars of 1982–84). Last update 15 May 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.}} of which US$2,400 (2013: US$33,802.82){{efn|name=SahrOSU1871InflationCalculation}} was donated by Daniel S. Schanck (1812–1872).<ref name="MurrayGroundsBldgs" /><ref name="CampbellMemorial1894" /> Schanck, a New York City businessman with roots in [[Monmouth County, New Jersey]], was not an alumnus of the college, but was convinced to donate after being approached by friends of the college.<ref name="RobbinsRutgersAstronomyHist" />{{rp|pp.42–43}} Several years later, his son, Daniel S. Schanck (1853–1901), would enroll in the college's scientific course, and earn his bachelors degree in 1875.<ref>Rutgers College and Raven, John Howard (Rev.) (compiler). [http://books.google.com/books?id=LnU7AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false Catalogue of the Officers and Alumni of Rutgers College (originally Queen's College) in New Brunswick, N.J., 1766–1916]. (Trenton, New Jersey: State Gazette Publishing Company, 1916.</ref>

Revision as of 01:30, 18 October 2013

Rutgers College's Daniel S. Schanck Observatory as seen from George Street, circa 1901. The President's House (built 1841, demolished 1948) is in the background.

The Daniel S. Schanck Observatory is a two-story Greek Revival brick building located on the Queen's Campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in New Brunswick, New Jersey in the United States.

Designed by architect Willard Smith as a copy of the Tower of the Winds in Athens, the observatory was built in 1865 soon after Rutgers College was selected as New Jersey's sole land grant college. It was named after New York City businessman, Daniel S. Schanck, who donated a large portion of the funds to construct and equip the observatory. Outfitted with telescopes, clocks, and other scientific equipment donated to Rutgers, the Schanck Observatory served as the university's first astronomical observatory and was used to provide instruction to its students through the nineteenth and early twentieth century. It is no longer in use. As part of the Queen's Campus, the Schanck Observatory was included on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

History

In 1864, Rutgers College was named New Jersey's sole land grant college which provided federal funding under the Morrill Act of 1862 for the development of engineering, scientific, agricultural, and military education.[1]: pp.87–88 [2] David Murray (1830–1905), professor of mathematics, natural philosophy and astronomy, proposed building the school's first astronomical observatory to the college's president, William H. Campbell (1808–1890), and its board of trustees.[1]: p.91 [3]: pp.42–43, passim.  It would be the college's fourth building.[a]

In 1865, the trustees hired architect Willard Smith who provided a plan for a small two-story octagonal Greek Revival building designed after was the Tower of the Winds, a first-century BC structure located in the agora of Athens, Greece that housed an ancient water clock and sundial.[3]: pp.42–43. [4][5] The observatory was constructed from "painted brick, with wood cornices and entrance porch, brownstone floor and steps" and featured a "small gable roofed Corinthian entrance porch with columns at the front corners, flat pilasters against the wall, entablature, and pediment."[6] Rutgers equipped the observatory with "a 6.5-inch equatorial refracting telescope, a meridian circle with four-inch object glass for transit observations, a sidereal clock, a mean solar clock...chronograph, repeating circle, and other instruments."[3]: pp.42–43 [7] Some of the equipment was donated by private individuals and by the college's two literary societies, the Peithessophian and Philoclean Societies.[7][8] It was

The cost of construction and equipment amounted to US$6,166 (2013: US$86,845.07),[b] of which US$2,400 (2013: US$33,802.82)[b] was donated by Daniel S. Schanck (1812–1872).[7][8] Schanck, a New York City businessman with roots in Monmouth County, New Jersey, was not an alumnus of the college, but was convinced to donate after being approached by friends of the college.[3]: pp.42–43  Several years later, his son, Daniel S. Schanck (1853–1901), would enroll in the college's scientific course, and earn his bachelors degree in 1875.[9]

The observatory was dedicated on 18 June 1866 with an address given by Joseph Philo Bradley (1813–1892), a Rutgers alumnus (1836) and attorney who later served as Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States.[10] It would be used for the instruction of students into the early twentieth-century. However, it fell out of use before 1960.[5][6] After years of vandalism, a restoration of the observatory by Wu & Associates of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, was completed in 2012.[11][12]

As part of the Queen's Campus, the Schanck Observatory was included on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.[13][14]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ According to Robbins, and McCormick, supra, Rutgers built (1) Old Queens for classrooms, faculty housing, and a small chapel; (2) a house for the school's president; (3) Van Nest Hall to house the school's two literary societies, and (4) the Schanck Observatory, an astronomical observatory.[1][3]
  2. ^ a b This inflation adjustment calculation projects that $1 in 1865 would have $14.08 in purchasing power in 2013 (conversion factor: 0.071), using data compiled by Oregon State University Political Science professor Robert Sahr in "Inflation Conversion Factors for years 1774 to estimated 2023, in dollars of recent years" which he asserts reflects reflecting final 2012 CPI (2.29594 in dollars of 1982–84). Last update 15 May 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.

Citations

  1. ^ a b c McCormick, Richard P. Rutgers: A Bicentennial History. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1966).
  2. ^ The Morrill Act of 1862 (P.L. 1862 ch. 130; 12 Stat. 504), codified as United States Code, Title 7, Chapter 13, Subchapter I, §304 — "Investment of proceeds of sale of land or scrip". Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e Robbins, Allen B. History of Physics and Astronomy at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1771-2000. (Baltimore: Gateway Press, 2001).
  4. ^ Works Progress Administration, Federal Writer's Project. New Jersey, a Guide to Its Present and Past (Trenton, New Jersey: Stratford Press, 1939), 306.
  5. ^ a b Widrig, Walter M. "Schanck Observatory" in Lukac, George J. (editor) Aloud to Alma Mater. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1966), 62–64.
  6. ^ a b McCormick, Richard P., and Howell, George Brokaw. "Daniel S. Schanck Observatory, HABS No. NJ-723" prepared for the Library of Congress's Historic American Building Survey. (1960). Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  7. ^ a b c Murray, David. Hand-Book of the Grounds and Buildings and the Memorials, Portraits and Busts of Rutgers College. Rutgers College Publication No. 11. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers College, 1904), 9–10.
  8. ^ a b David Murray (compiler). A Memorial of Rev. William Henry Campbell, D.D., LL.D. Late President of Rutgers College. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Trustees of Rutgers College, 1894), 45–47.
  9. ^ Rutgers College and Raven, John Howard (Rev.) (compiler). Catalogue of the Officers and Alumni of Rutgers College (originally Queen's College) in New Brunswick, N.J., 1766–1916. (Trenton, New Jersey: State Gazette Publishing Company, 1916.
  10. ^ Article in the New Brunswick Fredonian (20 June 1866).
  11. ^ Wu & Associates, Inc. Projects: Schanck Observatory. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  12. ^ Johnson-Roehr, S.N. "Daniel S. Schanck Observatory, 1865" (21 January 2013) on Observatories and Instruments (blog). Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  13. ^ Barr, Michael C. and Wilkens, Edward. National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form for Queen's Campus at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (1973). Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  14. ^ The Queen's Campus (total of 6 buildings and grounds) is listed as SHPO ID# 1881, and NRHP Reference #73001113. See: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJ DEP) — Historic Preservation Office. New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places — Middlesex County (Last Updated 5 April 2013), 7. Retrieved 5 September 2013.

40°29′55″N 74°26′47″W / 40.498588°N 074.446504°W / 40.498588; -074.446504

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