Bok, Bartholomeus ("Bart") Jan (1906–1983)
Dutch-born American astronomer famous for his studies of star-forming regions
and of the structure of the Galaxy. Educated at the Universities of Leiden
and Groningen, he worked at Harvard University from 1929 to 1957, and for
the next nine years directed the Mount
Stromlo Observatory in Australia. In the early 1940s he helped set up
the National Observatory of Mexico at Tonantzintla, and a decade later did
a similar job for Harvard's southern station in South Africa. In Australia
he helped establish the Siding Spring Observatory.
The latter part of his career was spent at the University of Arizona, where
he directed the Steward Observatory from
1966 to 1970. Working closely with his wife, Priscilla Fairfield Bok, he
studied the structure and evolution of star clusters and the Galaxy, mapping
the spiral arms of the Milky Way, especially in the Carina
region, and the Magellanic Clouds.
Bok initiated radio astronomy at Harvard and promoted it elsewhere. His
investigations of interstellar gas and dust led to studies of star
formation, and he became known for his work on small dark nebulae now
called Bok globules. He was an important
teacher, writer, leader, and popularizer of astronomy.
Related
category
• ASTRONOMERS
AND ASTROPHYSICISTS
Source: The
Bruce Medalists website
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