Synopses & Reviews
This book describes the birth and early development of the International Astronomical Union, the world-wide union of professional astronomers that over the past 75 years played an important role in the development of astronomy. However, much attention is also paid to the Union's successful bridging political controversies and maintaining the ties between astronomers in times of war or heavy political tension. The book therefore is of interest not only to astronomers -- professional as well as amateur -- but also to students of the history of modern science in general. The author (born 1914), who earlier published a study of the history of the European Southern Observatory, is an emeritus professor of astronomy of the Universities of Groningen and Leiden, and has witnessed the development of the Union over the past 55 years, the years 1976--1979 as its President.
Review
`... owe a high debt of gratitude to Blaauw not only for providing this well-documented outline but for giving the IAU archives a high visibility and for taking steps to ensure their preservation.' Owen Gingerich, Science, Vol. 266, December 1994 `It is, however, a book that should appeal to astronomical and observatory libraries.' ISIS, 91:4 (2000)
Synopsis
This History has its origin in a suggestion, made in September 1990 by former IAU General Secretary Derek McNally, who felt "that a 75 year history of the Union was needed before the col- lective memory of those who knew the Union before the Second World War vanished. It would then be a preparatory volume to a centennial history in 2019. " Indeed, of those who knew the Union that long ago, few are still with us. Six years ago, at Baltimore on August 2, 1988, listening and reminiscing at the Inaugural Ceremonies of the Union's 20th General Assembly, I realized that it was almost exactly half a century ago that, at the age of 24, I attended the Inaugurations at my "first" Assembly: on August 3, 1938 in Stockholm. Now, in 1994, this is almost 56 years ago, three quarters of the Union's age. Only vague recollections - no better than that -lead me back to this event, just before World War II. And so, this is not a history based on recollection, far from it. Recollection was helpful in that it allowed me, better perhaps than a younger author, to appreciate circumstances under which the letters and reports which form the basis for this History were written. The account is largely based on archival documents, collected from a wide variety of sources.
Table of Contents
Preface. 1. Birth and Consolidation; 1919--1922. 2. Earlier 20th Century Developments; World War I. 3. The IRC and the `Neutral' States; Suspicion and Resentment. 4. 1922--1928: First General Assemblies; IAU becomes Fully International. 5. The Years 1928--1938. 6. The IAU and Political Persecutions in the 1930's. 7. 1938--1948; World War II: Interruption and Recovery. 8. 1948--1958; Flourishing Science and Disturbing Politics. 9. The China Conflict. 10. 1958--1964; Reforms, Berkeley 1961, and Hamburg 1964. 11. 1964--1969; Reforms Continued, the Astronomer's Handbook Prague 1967, and the 50th Anniversary. 12. Financing in the Union; a Review over 75 Years. References. The IAU Historical Archives. Subject Index. Name Index.