author
Donald H. (Donald Howard) Menzel
1901–1976
A pioneering American astronomer, he helped turn astrophysics into a more exact, theory-driven science. His work ranged from the Sun’s chromosphere and gaseous nebulae to the atmospheres of stars and planets, and he later led the Harvard College Observatory.
1 Audiobook
The World of Flying Saucers: A Scientific Examination of a Major Myth of the Space Age
by Donald H. (Donald Howard) Menzel, Lyle Gifford Boyd
About the author
Born in Florence, Colorado, in 1901, Donald H. Menzel first enrolled at the University of Colorado to study chemistry, but a solar eclipse in 1918 pushed him toward astronomy instead. He went on to study at Princeton and spent summers at Harvard as a research assistant to Harlow Shapley.
Menzel became one of the early leaders of theoretical astrophysics in the United States. Sources credit him with major work on the solar chromosphere, the chemistry of stars, the atmosphere of Mars, and the physics of gaseous nebulae. He also served at Lick Observatory, joined the Harvard faculty in 1932, and later became director of the Harvard College Observatory.
Beyond his own research, he helped shape modern American astronomy as a teacher, organizer, and scientific leader. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1948 and remained an influential figure in the field until his death in Boston in 1976.