Sky & Telescope - April 2021 - 26

Pennsylvania. The Warner & Swasey Company of Cleveland,
Ohio, built the mount and a small dome to house the instrument at 4th Avenue and University Street in what is today the
bustling downtown core of Seattle.
Three years later, the university laid the cornerstone for
Denny Hall, the ﬁrst building of its new campus on the
shores of Lake Washington. Sandstone left over from Denny
Hall was used to construct the new home for Taylor's telescope. The observatory included several small ofﬁces and a
narrow, winding staircase leading to the dome. (A lecture hall
would be added later.) By 1895 the observatory was ready to
house its prized possession.
The telescope quickly became well known to residents
of the area. As reported in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on
October 27, 1907: " On every clear night, the big telescope at
the observatory is in use, and excellent work has been done
at the state university. " University of Washington Professor
James E. Gould acquiesced to the demands of the public, who
had protested that they were only allowed to visit the observatory on Wednesdays. " This year, Prof. Gould will admit the
public on any clear night to conduct observations with his
regular students, " the article conﬁrmed.
In the autumn of 1928, Theodor Siegumfeldt Jacobsen
arrived on campus. A native of Nyborg, Denmark, Jacobsen
had immigrated to the United States in 1917 and earned
a PhD in astronomy at the University of California before
beginning work at Lick Observatory. " On account of a muscular strain, " he wrote to the University of Washington, he had
decided to retire from the heavy labor of a large observatory

X A TINY DOME The observatory building as it appears today on the
University of Washington campus. This photo was captured from the
roof deck of the observatory's lecture hall, which was added several
years after the dome was completed in 1895.
T FIRST LIGHT The buildings of what would eventually become the
Theodor Jacobsen Observatory shortly after completion. It is believed to be the smallest observatory dome ever constructed by the
Warner & Swasey Company.

APRIL 2 021 * SK Y & TELESCOPE

S IN ACTION The campus newspaper described Theodor Jacobsen as
a " kindly Scandinavian " welcoming all visitors who wished to experience
observational astronomy as it was performed in the late 19th century.
Jacobsen himself was fortunate enough to see Halley's Comet twice. He
distinctly recalled viewing the famed comet from a hillside in Denmark as
a child in 1910. He saw the comet on its 1986 return as well.

and dedicate himself to teaching and research.
It was a fortuitous hire. For decades, the soft-spoken Dane
was the university's lone astronomy professor. He personally
staffed the tiny observatory, guiding untold numbers of students and visitors, " with the exception of possibly 20 times
when my advanced students have volunteered this service for
the sake of experience. "

Times of Change
The launch of Sputnik in 1957 catalyzed a massive explosion
of interest in astronomy. By 1965, the University expanded

JACOBSEN AT E Y EPIECE A ND B&W SHOT OF DO ME E X TERIOR:
COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSIT Y OF WASHINGTON; PRESEN T-DAY
E X TERIOR SHOT: BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER

Telescope History

Sky & Telescope - April 2021

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