Eric Mervyn Lindsay

Eric Mervyn Lindsay (January 26, 1907–July 27, 1974) was an Irish astronomer.

He was born in Portadown, County Armagh in Ireland to Richard and Susan Lindsay. He was educated in Dublin at the King's Hospital School, then attended Queen's University, Belfast where he earned his B.Sc. in 1928 and a M.Sc. in 1929. He later went to Harvard University and was awarded a Ph.D. in 1934.

He then went to South Africa for a post-graduate astronomy studies, and in 1935 was married to Sylvia Mussells from Cape Town. He returned to Ireland in 1937 to become director of the Armagh Observatory. He remained the director of the observatory until his death of a heart attack.

He is more noted for his political influence in favour of astronomy than for important astronomical discoveries. For example, he was responsible for persuading the Irish government and Harvard University to found a telescope at Boyden Station in South Africa for the purpose of charting the southern skies. Dr. Lindsay was also instrumental in the founding of Armagh Planetarium.

Dr. Lindsay and his wife Sylvia had one son, Derek Michael Lindsay, who was born in 1944. Derek became a professor of Chemistry in New York.

Awards and honours

* The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, 1963.
* Member of the Royal Irish Academy, 1939.
* Lindsay crater on the Moon is named for him.

External links

* [http://star.arm.ac.uk/history/lindsay.html Armagh Observatory]
* [http://www.clanlindsay.com/eric_mervyn_lindsay.htm Clan lindsay]
* [http://www.qub.ac.uk/rascal/CLDs/CLD44.html Papers of Dr. Lindsay]