Quick Facts
Biography
Harold Jacoby (4 March 1865 – 20 July 1932) was an American astronomer, born in New York City.
Career overview
Jacoby graduated at Columbia in 1885. He applied himself to astronomical research, and was appointed assistant astronomer United States eclipse expedition to West Africa (1889–90).
He became professor of astronomy at Columbia University in 1894, and chaired the department until shortly before his death. Columbia's Rutherfurd Observatory was started during his tenure, with a twelve-inch Clarke refractor telescope and a transit instrument emplaced atop Pupin Hall.
Jacoby made many observations of celestial events such as lunar and solar eclipses. He was well known in Europe and America, and was a member of a large number of scientific groups. He published Practical Talks by an Astronomer (1891, 1902), Astronomy: A Popular Handbook (1913) and Navigation (1917).