The history of the University of Kansas' 27-inch reflecting telescope is traced from its beginnings in the drained, basement swimming pool of a talented Kansas City amateur astronomer, William Pitt, to its removal to its present location on the top of Lindley Hall in Lawrence under the supervision of Prof. N. W. Storer. Emphasis is placed on the early attempt by Dr. Dinsmore Alter to develop the University of Kansas' Observatory into a self-sustaining, first-class research facility and on those circumstances and events which have ultimately led to its evolution into a public relations showpiece and teaching telescope. As they enter, visitors to the University of Kansas' Observatory are greeted by a bronze plaque introducing them to the William Pitt 27-inch reflecting telescope. Few such individuals, upon leaving however, do so with an appreciation of the history and "romance," to use the word of former Professor of Astronomy, Dinsmore Alter, associated with this telescope. As Visiting Professor of Astronomy during the 1978-79 academic year, the writer had an opportunity to trace the development of the University's principal optical instrument and found it both a fascinating and, from an astronomer's point of view, often frustrating tale. This short article attempts to present the reader with a brief look at both these aspects of the story. While the study of astronomy at the University of Kansas dates from 1876, the first observatory building on campus was not erected until about 1885. Built on land deeded to the University by the State of Kansas, this structure, which really amounted to no more than a simple wooden shed with a slit roof, housed a 6-inch Alvan Clark refractor and a 2-inch transit telescope. The lifetime of the new observatory was extremely short, for within a year Gov. Robinson rescinded the gift of land upon which the building had been erected, and the structure was razed. From this time until 1919, the University had no permanent structure from which to make astronomical observations, although the teaching of astronomy was continued 1 Permanent address: Department of Physics, Benedictine College, Atchison, Kansas 66002. This content downloaded from 207.46.13.25 on Mon, 12 Sep 2016 04:20:18 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 188 TRANSACTIONS OF THE KANSAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCES under the direction of a number of individuals, among them Prof. E. L. Nichols, the founder of the Physical Review. 1918-1935: THE ALTER YEARS In 1918, after serving two years with the artillery corps, Dr. Dinsmore Alter rejoined the University faculty, having been hired in 1916 just prior to the outbreak of hostilities between the United States and Germany. One of Prof. Alter's first official acts was to secure from the state legislature an appropriation of $3500 for the construction of a new observatory building and the purchase of a new 3-inch transit instrument and an equatorial mount for the 6-inch Clark refractor. The building, completed in the fall of 1919, occupied the site upon which the University's large Hoch Auditorium now stands. Throughout his 17 year association with the University, Alter, whose principal research interest was the computation of asteroid orbits, cherished the hope of creating an active program of asteroidal and cometary research in Lawrence. In a letter to then Chancellor Frank Strong dated May 28, 1919, he described the first step in fulfilling his dream: the construction of a 20-inch reflecting telescope. As outlined in his letter, Alter agreed to purchase, grind and figure the primary mirror for the instrument and then to donate it to the University, contingent upon the latter's purchase of an appropriate mounting and construction of an additional dome in which to house the telescope. A 1.6-inch thick blank was shortly thereafter purchased from the Pittsburg Plate Glass Co., and the grinding was begun in 1920, only to be abandoned soon afterward when it appeared that no mounting would be forthcoming from the University. In the fall of 1925, undaunted, Alter approached Mr. W. Y. Morgan, a member of the Kansas Board of Regents, with a plan for a new observatory and a proposal for a program of astronomical research for the University. To implement the proposal, which had been endorsed by some of the leading astronomers of the day, including W. S. Adams of Mt. Wilson, E. B. Frost of Yerkes, R. G. Aitken of Lick and Harlow Shapley of Harvard, required an estimated total of $850,000, $210,000 of which Alter hoped to secure by an outright gift to purchase, among other things, a 36-inch reflector; the remainder of the $850,000 was to go into an endowment fund, the interest from which was to be used to provide salaries for two additional astronomers and a staff of computers, whose primary efforts would be directed towards the determination of accurate asteroid orbits. As with his previous efforts, Alter was not successful in securing the necessary financial backing for his program, and no equipment or staff was added at this time. Indeed, in 1926, the Observatory was razed for the second time to make room for a new auditorium (Hoch), and rebuilt west of Marvin Hall. It was in the same year, 1926, that Alter (probably through the intercesThis content downloaded from 207.46.13.25 on Mon, 12 Sep 2016 04:20:18 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms VOLUME 83, NUMBER 4 189 ~ ~':":;? jk~l~ ~r* .I.rr *t? i~-.JWrt : t i?[l~y i