Newcomb monument in Nova Scotia

I enjoyed the article “Simon Newcomb, America’s First Great Astronomer” by Bill Carter and Merri Sue Carter (Physics Today, February 2009, page 46 ). The authors mentioned that Newcomb was Canadian born; more specifically, he was born in Wallace Bridge, Nova Scotia, only a few kilometers from Pugwash, the initial site of the well-known Pugwash Conferences. An official national monument to Newcomb (see photo of plaque) stands at the side of the road near his birthplace. ¹ The last time I checked, the nearby community museum in Wallace had a corner devoted to Newcomb.

Unfortunately, Newcomb did not have fond memories of his early life in Nova Scotia; nonetheless, Canadians have honored him: With the annual Simon Newcomb Award, the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada recognizes members who excel in astronomy writing for the public. ² When I received the award in 1986 for an article I wrote on inferior conjunctions of Venus, ³ I was not then aware that Newcomb had been intimately involved with observing transits of Venus.

In 2008 Newcomb was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Discovery Centre, Nova Scotia’s hands-on science center. So, employing the broader sense of the word “American,” Canadians join with their US colleagues in honoring Simon Newcomb, America’s first great astronomer.