William P. Bidelman

William Pendry Bidelman
Born(1918-09-25)September 25, 1918
Los Angeles, California, US
DiedMay 3, 2011(2011-05-03) (aged 92)
Murfreesboro, Tennessee, US
Alma materHarvard College, University of Chicago
Known forco-discovery of the barium stars with Philip Keenan, expert on the peculiar stars.
SpouseVerna Pearl Shirk (1918–2009; her death)
Scientific career
Fieldsastronomer, astrophysicist
InstitutionsYerkes Observatory,
Lick Observatory,
Michigan Observatory
McDonald Observatory,
Warner and Swasey Observatory
Doctoral advisorWilliam Wilson Morgan[1]
Doctoral studentsCraig Chester[2]

William Pendry Bidelman (/ˈbaɪdəlmæn/ BY-dəl-man; September 25, 1918 – May 3, 2011)[3] was an American astronomer.[4] Born in Los Angeles, and raised in North Dakota, he was noted for classifying the spectra of stars,[5] and considered a pioneer in recognizing and classifying sub-groups of the peculiar stars.[6]

Bidelman's undergraduate degree was from Harvard College,[4] and his Ph.D. in astronomy was from the University of Chicago under advisor William Wilson Morgan.[7] He was a physicist in the Army during World War II.[4] A professional astronomer for over 50 years,[8] Bidelman taught for ~41 years[9] at The University of Chicago,[10] The University of California,[11]

He co-discovered the class of barium stars with Philip Keenan,[4] the phosphorus and the mercury stars,[12] and was the first to describe the hydrogen-deficient carbon stars.[13]

Born in Los Angeles, California, Bidelman was raised in North Dakota, where he met his future wife of 69 years. He was a father of four and a grandfather.[4] As an Emeritus Professor William P. Bidelman continued working in astronomy after he retired from teaching,[14] and was 92 when he died in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.[4]

  1. ^ "William Pendry Bidelman". Academic Family Tree. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  2. ^ Bidelman, W. P. (1975). "Warner and Swasey Observatory, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Observatory report". Bulletin of the Astronomical Society. 7: 218. Bibcode:1975BAAS....7..218B.
  3. ^ Death record for William Bidelman on Mooseroots. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "William P. Bidelman". The Cleveland Plain Dealer. May 15, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Schmadel 2012 Dictionary Of Minor Planet Names was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Wing, Robert F. "Preface". The Carbon Star Phenomenon. (2000). 177th IAU Symposium, Turkey, 1996. Edited by Robert F. Wing. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands. pp. xvii- xxv. Retrieved July 27, 2016. ISBN 0792363469.
  7. ^ "William P. Bidelman". Ph.D. Tree. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  8. ^ "William P. Bidelman". Legacy.com. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  9. ^ Bidelman, W.P. "The bimillenary of Christ's birth". Planetarian. September 1991, 20(3). Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Struve 1945 Notes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "General Notes". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 66 (388): 38. 1954. Bibcode:1954PASP...66...38.. doi:10.1086/126650.
  12. ^ Bidelman, William P. "The bimillenary of Christ's birth: the astronomical evidence". The International Planetarium Society. Reprinted from the Planetarian, September 1991. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  13. ^ Jaschek, Carlos & Jaschek, Mercedes. (1990). "K-type stars". The Classification of Stars. Cambridge University Press. New York, USA. Retrieved October 17, 2016. ISBN 9780521389969.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Morrison 2008 newsletter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).