Excerpt from Memoir of Henry Draper: 1837 1882 Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Academy: Of all the marvelous results which have been obtained by what has been felicitously styled the New Astronomy, perhaps none exceed in importance or in value those which have been obtained by the aid of photography. While the older or mathematical astronomy, so called, has had to do with positions and magnitudes and motions essentially, all expressible by the aid of suitable symbols in the form of more or less complex functions, the newer or physical astronomy has concerned itself largely with physical phenomena and appearances, the completest attainable record of which is essential to their successful interpretation. True, the contacts of an eclipse and the path of a transit, when registered by photography, have greatly aided the comparison of theory with observation in mathematical astronomy. But the value of photography here is inconsiderable when compared with that of the record which it can furnish of the lunar and solar surfaces, of the distribution of stars in a group, of the configuration of a nebula, or of the arrangement of lines in a solar or stellar spectrum. Indeed, the facility of reproduction by photographic means so far surpasses that by drawing or sketching, and is, moreover, so much more accurate a method of delineation, that the evidence given by an untouched photograph is everywhere accepted prima facie proof. Among those who have assiduously devoted themselves to the evolution of astronomical photography in its many-sided relations, none, it will be conceded, has accomplished more and none, therefore, more richly deserves the reward of full recognition from his fellow-workers, than our late member, Henry Draper, the accomplished investigator, scientist, and teacher, who is the subject of the present sketch. Henry Draper was born in Prince Edward county, Virginia, on the 7th of March, 1837. His distinguished father, John William Draper, who had come from England to the United States in 1832, had settled first in Christiansville, Mecklenburg county, and had at once begun there an active career of scientific research. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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