12.5 Retirement and Mount Wilson
267
George Hale had problems with his stomach. In a letter also dated April
1921, which must have crossed Kapteyn’s letter, Hale wrote that after much
thought and after consultation with Seares and St. John, he had come to the
conclusion that it was not wise for Kapteyn to come to Mount Wilson. Hale’s
health was such that he would not be working at the Observatory for some
time, so he had to temporarily handed over the directorship to Walter Adams.
I think that neither you nor Adams fully understood each other in the past, and I
am very much afraid that for various reasons (such as differences of opinion about
the ‘Entente policy’ [the Allies’ attitude towards Germany]) misunderstandings
may arise that could prevent or seriously disrupt your future cooperation with
the Observatory.
Kapteyn finally gave up his intended visit. He wrote to Hale:
I still think, as Adams apparently thinks, that without you in between us, misunderstandings can easily arise again. Which Heaven forbids. My attitude toward
international cooperation (as you say) can only make it more difficult. So of
course I will not come. And if you want to continue the cooperation with me –
for which I am very grateful – I will do what I can from here.
12.6 The International Astronomical Union
In 1919 the International Astronomical Union IAU was founded. This was
the ultimate body to facilitate international cooperation, of which Kapteyn
had been a champion. However, in accordance with the practice of those days,
Germany was excluded from participation and membership. Kapteyn therefore
disapproved of the IAU.
The first General Assembly of the IAU took place in Rome in May 1922.
At that time Kapteyn was too ill to attend and it is very likely that he had
refused to participate anyway. The Committee for the IAU, which coordinated
matters concerning the Union for the Netherlands, consisted of de Sitter,
Hertzsprung, Nijland and Jacob Evert Baron de Vos van Steenwijk (1889–
1978), who was secretary. The latter had a PhD in astronomy. He came from
a family of politicians; after having been a teacher for some time, he became
Mayor of Zwolle and later Haarlem, and Commissioner of the Queen in North
Holland. However, he remained actively interested in astronomy. In Rome, a
proposal was discussed by the Dutch delegation to take parallax plates of all
6188 stars in the Preliminary General Catalog every ten years. That sounds
like something coming from the Kapteyn. However, he sent Willem de Sitter
a postcard before the meeting: ‘Amice, remember that the proposal you will
267
George Hale had problems with his stomach. In a letter also dated April
1921, which must have crossed Kapteyn’s letter, Hale wrote that after much
thought and after consultation with Seares and St. John, he had come to the
conclusion that it was not wise for Kapteyn to come to Mount Wilson. Hale’s
health was such that he would not be working at the Observatory for some
time, so he had to temporarily handed over the directorship to Walter Adams.
I think that neither you nor Adams fully understood each other in the past, and I
am very much afraid that for various reasons (such as differences of opinion about
the ‘Entente policy’ [the Allies’ attitude towards Germany]) misunderstandings
may arise that could prevent or seriously disrupt your future cooperation with
the Observatory.
Kapteyn finally gave up his intended visit. He wrote to Hale:
I still think, as Adams apparently thinks, that without you in between us, misunderstandings can easily arise again. Which Heaven forbids. My attitude toward
international cooperation (as you say) can only make it more difficult. So of
course I will not come. And if you want to continue the cooperation with me –
for which I am very grateful – I will do what I can from here.
12.6 The International Astronomical Union
In 1919 the International Astronomical Union IAU was founded. This was
the ultimate body to facilitate international cooperation, of which Kapteyn
had been a champion. However, in accordance with the practice of those days,
Germany was excluded from participation and membership. Kapteyn therefore
disapproved of the IAU.
The first General Assembly of the IAU took place in Rome in May 1922.
At that time Kapteyn was too ill to attend and it is very likely that he had
refused to participate anyway. The Committee for the IAU, which coordinated
matters concerning the Union for the Netherlands, consisted of de Sitter,
Hertzsprung, Nijland and Jacob Evert Baron de Vos van Steenwijk (1889–
1978), who was secretary. The latter had a PhD in astronomy. He came from
a family of politicians; after having been a teacher for some time, he became
Mayor of Zwolle and later Haarlem, and Commissioner of the Queen in North
Holland. However, he remained actively interested in astronomy. In Rome, a
proposal was discussed by the Dutch delegation to take parallax plates of all
6188 stars in the Preliminary General Catalog every ten years. That sounds
like something coming from the Kapteyn. However, he sent Willem de Sitter
a postcard before the meeting: ‘Amice, remember that the proposal you will