Sidney van den Bergh

Sidney Van den Bergh (born 20 May 1929) is a retired Dutch-Canadian astronomer.

Van den Bergh showed an interest in science from an early age, learning to read with books on astronomy. He obtained an MSc from Ohio State University (1952) and a Dr. rer. nat. from the University of Göttingen (1956).

The second part of his career began in 1978 in Victoria, British Columbia, at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory where he was appointed director in 1977 and took office in 1978, remaining in that position until 1986 when he semi-retired and took the new role of principal research officer. He has served as president of the Canadian Astronomical Society and as vice-president of the International Astronomical Union from 1972 to 1982. Appointed officer of the Order of Canada (1994)

Named after him 4230 van den Bergh, a distant Hildan asteroid Comet Van den Bergh (discovered by Van den Bergh in 1974)