Albert Whitford

Albert Edward Whitford (October 22, 1905 – March 28, 2002) was an American physicist and astronomer. He served as director of the Washburn Observatory of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Lick Observatory.

Early life Albert Whitford was born in Milton, Wisconsin, the son of Alfred and Mary Whitford. He earned his B.A. from Milton College (1926) and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin (1932). Whitford developed a device for measuring small currents from photoelectric cells, which allowed them to measure fainter stars. He decided to become an astronomer and spent two years at Caltech and Mount Wilson Observatory as a postdoctoral fellow.

Career During World War II, Whitford worked in the MIT Radiation Laboratory. In 1948, he succeeded Stebbins as director of the Washburn Observatory and served as director until 1958. He was director of Lick Observatory from 1958–1968, and oversaw the completion of the Shane Telescope in 1959. He served as president of the American Astronomical Society from 1967–1970, In 1986, Whitford received the Henry Norris Russell Lectureship and in 1996 he was awarded the Bruce Medal.

The asteroid 2301 Whitford is named in his honor.

Personal life On October 23, 1937, Whitford married Eleanor Bell Whitelaw in Chicago, Illinois. They had three children (William, Mary, and Martha) and nine grandchildren.