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Hopkins Observatory

1838 establishments in MassachusettsAmerican astronomical observatory stubsAstronomical observatories in MassachusettsBuildings and structures in Berkshire County, MassachusettsHistory of Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Tourist attractions in Berkshire County, MassachusettsWilliams CollegeWilliamstown, Massachusetts
Williams College Hopkins Observatory
Williams College Hopkins Observatory

Hopkins Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts (USA). Constructed in 1838 by Albert Hopkins, the college claims that it is the oldest observatory in the United States. The observatory dates to 1834 when Prof. Albert Hopkins traveled to England to obtain astronomical equipment. His students constructed the observatory 1836-1838 in the center of the quad. It was moved once in 1908 and again to its present location in 1961, where it now serves as a planetarium. Today's building still contains the original transit, regulator with mercury-compensated pendulum, and rule. The museum's second director, Truman Henry Safford, was a calculating prodigy. In 1852 the firm of Alvan Clark (Cambridge, Massachusetts) built a 7" refracting telescope, which was restored for the observatory's sesquicentennial. In 1963 the planetarium projector was installed and named in memory of Willis Milham, professor of astronomy 1901-1942. The observatory's side rooms have become the Mehlin Museum of Astronomy in memory of Theodore Mehlin, professor of astronomy 1942-1971.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Hopkins Observatory (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Hopkins Observatory
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N 42.71167 ° E -73.20167 °
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Hopkins Observatory

Main Street 829
01267
Massachusetts, United States
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Williams College Hopkins Observatory
Williams College Hopkins Observatory
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Williams College

Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was killed in the French and Indian War in 1755. Williams's main campus is located in Williamstown, in the Berkshires in rural northwestern Massachusetts, and contains more than 100 academic, athletic, and residential buildings. There are 360 voting faculty members, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 6:1. As of 2022, the school has an enrollment of 2,021 undergraduate students and 50 graduate students.Following a liberal arts curriculum, Williams College provides undergraduate instruction in 25 academic departments and interdisciplinary programs including 36 majors in the humanities, arts, social sciences, and natural sciences. Williams offers an almost entirely undergraduate instruction, though there are two graduate programs in development economics and art history. The college maintains affiliations with the nearby Clark Art Institute and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), and has a close relationship with Exeter College, Oxford. The college competes in the NCAA Division III New England Small College Athletic Conference as the Ephs. Williams College has won 22 of the last 24 College Directors' Cups for NCAA Division III.Prominent alumni include 9 Pulitzer Prize winners, 2 Nobel Prize laureates, a Fields medalist, a Lasker award recipient, 16 billionaires, 71 members of the United States Congress, 22 U.S. Governors, 4 U.S. Cabinet secretaries, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, a President of the United States, 3 prime ministers, CEOs and founders of Fortune 500 companies, multiple Emmy, Oscar, Tony, and Grammy award winners, and professional athletes. Other notable alumni include 40 Rhodes Scholars and 17 Marshall Scholarship recipients.

East Lawn Cemetery and Sherman Burbank Memorial Chapel
East Lawn Cemetery and Sherman Burbank Memorial Chapel

East Lawn Cemetery and Sherman Burbank Memorial Chapel is a historic cemetery and chapel at 605 Main Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1842, it is the newest and largest cemetery in Williamstown; the two older cemeteries date to the 18th century. It was established at a time when West Lawn Cemetery (established 1766) was in need of expansion, and this site was chosen for the location of a new cemetery. The initial few acres of land were donated by Asahel Foote, who sat on the committee formed to investigate the town's cemetery needs. The cemetery grew in size over the next several decades, reaching a size of about 40 acres (16 ha) by the early 20th century. Approximately half of the cemetery (representing its developed portion) and its associated chapel were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.The Sherman Burbank Memorial Chapel was designed in 1935 by Frank Rushmore Watson in the Late Gothic Revival style, and dedicated in 1937. An associated cottage, probably intended for a caretaker, was also planned but never built. The funding for the chapel came from Sherman H. Banks of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, whose mother was from the Sherman family that was one of Williamstown's oldest. The chapel is located near the cemetery entrance, not far from Main Road. In addition to the main chapel chamber, it has a space off to one side for use as a receiving vault, and a porte cochere with a small hall and other facilities on the west side.