Charles Greeley Abbot
| Charles Greeley Abbot | |
|---|---|
Dr. Charles Greeley Abbot
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| Born |
May 31, 1872 Wilton, New Hampshire, United States |
| Died | December 17, 1973 (aged 101) Riverdale, Maryland, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | astrophysics |
| Alma mater | MIT |
| Notable awards |
Henry Draper Medal (1910) Rumford Prize (1915) |
Charles Greeley Abbot (May 31, 1872 – December 17, 1973) was an American astrophysicist and the fifth secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, serving from 1928 until 1944. Abbot went from being director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, to becoming Assistant Secretary, and then Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution over the course of his career. As an astrophysicist, he researched the solar constant, research that led him to invent the solar cooker, solar boiler, solar still, and other patented solar energy inventions.
Charles Greeley Abbot was born in Wilton, New Hampshire. His parents were farmers and he was the youngest of four children. As a youth he built and invented numerous things, such as a forge to fix tools, a water wheel to power a saw, and a bicycle. He dropped out of school when he was 13 to become a carpenter. Two years later he went back to high school. He attended Phillips Andover Academy. When a friend of his went to Boston to take the entrance exam to get into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Abbot went for the chance to visit Boston. However, upon arrival, he was uncomfortable visiting Boston alone and chose to take the exam instead. He passed and his family gathered the funds to send him to MIT for one year. He started out studying chemical engineering, but eventually moved on to physics.
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