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WILLIAM WALLACE CAMPBELL
William Wallace Campbell was born just east of
Van Buren, Ohio, on April 11, 1862. He
graduated from high school in Fostoria, Ohio in
1880. From his humble beginnings in Hancock
County, Campbell would go on to receive
international acclaim for his scientific
achievements.
While studying at the University of Michigan,
Campbell discovered his passion for astronomy.
After receiving his engineering degree in 1886,
he became Director of the Lick Observatory,
atop Mt. Hamilton in central California. Later,
he was named President of the University of
California, and ultimately, President of the
National Academy of Sciences. He was
nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1900.
Today, Campbell has an asteroid named after
him, as well as a crater on Mars and a crater on
the Moon. W.W. Campbell can rightfully be
recognized as one of Ohio’s greatest native
scientists—an intrepid world explorer and
innovator.
“The great ones (problems), Dr. Campbell faced
greatly, seeing them in the full prospective of their
long future and wide ramifications, as was natural to a
scientist whose habitual intellectual background had
been the whole harmony of the universe.” - W.H.
Wright
Photograph courtesy of Margaret Campbell Rhoads.
(Front cover) Photograph courtesy of Margaret
Campbell Rhoads.
422 W. SANDUSKY ST.
FINDLAY, OH 45840
(419)423-4433
www.hancockhistoricalmuseum.org
HOURS
Wednesday-Friday: 10am-4pm
Sunday: 1-4pm
ADMISSION
Adults—$5
Seniors—$3
Children—$2
Families—$12
This exhibit made possible with generous assistance from:
OBSERVING THE HARMONY
OF THE UNIVERSE
W.W. CAMPBELL
The Charles J. Younger Fund
Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation
The Mariann Dana Younger Fund
Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation
Mr. David Ferguson & Ms. Karen Schwarzwalder
Mrs. Margaret Campbell Rhoads
Ms. Martha Campbell
THE LIFE & ACCOMPLISHMENTS
OF ONE OF OHIO’S GREATEST
NATIVE SCIENTISTS
April 10—November 15, 2015
W.W. Campbell Day in Hancock County—
April 11, 2015
EXHIBIT
The exhibit includes images and artifacts from
William Wallace Campbell’s early life in Hancock
County, as well as his tenure as the Director of
the Lick Observatory and President of the
University of California.
Items on loan from the Lick Observatory include
the Brashear lens from the Einstein camera, a
chronometer, holograph observing books, and
several other instruments used by Campbell in
his research. Items on loan from the University
of California-Santa Cruz Special Collections &
Archives include the Medal from the Royal
Astronomical Society Institute (1906), the Bruce
Medal (1915), the Draper Medal (1882), the
LaLande Medal (1903), the Janssen Medal
(1910), and the American Association for
Advancement of Science Medallion.
A Story Uncovered. Campbell’s link to
Hancock County had been all but forgotten
until 2014, when Findlay resident, David
Ferguson, stumbled across a brief biography
on Campbell as he searched for an interesting
topic to present to the local Symposium Club.
Ferguson was intrigued by Campbell’s life
story and was compelled to learn more when
he discovered that local historians knew very
little of the noteworthy scientist’s local
connection.
David’s research led him to California, where
he met with representatives from the Lick
Observatory, University of California-Santa
Cruz Special Collections & Archives, and
Campbell family members— Martha Campbell
& Margaret Campbell Rhoads. With their
generous assistance, and additional financial
support from the Charles J. Younger and
Mariann Dana Younger Funds of the FindlayHancock County Community Foundation, the
Hancock Historical Museum has created an
exhibit honoring the lifetime accomplishments
of W.W. Campbell and the far reaching
implications of his scientific research.
In 2015, on his 153rd birthday, W.W. Campbell
will receive local recognition that is long
overdue. The Hancock County Commissioners
will declare April 11th “William Wallace
Campbell Day” .
Photograph courtesy of Margaret Campbell Rhoads.
The exhibit will be on display from April 10thNovember 15th, 2015.
Scientific Achievement. Campbell was a
pioneer of astronomical spectroscopy—the
study of visible light and wavelengths—
which is used to derive many properties of
distant stars and galaxies. He also explored
the radial velocity of stars, and calculated
that our solar system is moving through
space at a rate of 14 miles per second.
Campbell led seven solar eclipse
observation expeditions all over the world,
including India, Spain, and the Ukraine. In
1922, Campbell led an expedition to
Australia. He collected data that
demonstrated that light from distant stars
would, in fact, be bent by the Sun’s
gravitational field, as predicted by Albert
Einstein. Campbell proved Einstein’s thennovel theory of relativity.
W.W. Campbell authored or co-authored
nearly 350 scholarly articles, books, essays
and lectures, and was widely influential in
scientific circles around the globe.
Photograph of the Lick Refractor courtesy of
Laurie Hatch. Content courtesy of David
Ferguson.
CALENDAR
April 10th, 10am—Public opening of exhibit
April 11th—William Wallace Campbell Day

8:00am-4pm : Ohio Local History Alliance
Regional Meeting at the Hancock Historical
Museum w/ Proclamation by Hancock
County Commissioners

6pm: Lecture by David Ferguson at the
Hancock County Agency on Aging-Senior
Center
April 20th , 12pm—Lecture by David Ferguson
at Findlay Rotary Club (Findlay Country Club)
November 1st , 1:30--3:30pm—Funday Sunday
at the University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum
November 15th, 1-4pm—Final day of exhibit
Background image of Lick Observatory courtesy of
Laurie Hatch.