Leander McCormick Observatory
Leander McCormick Observatory at night
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| Organization | Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Code | 780 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Charlottesville, Virginia, United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 38°1′58.2″N 78°31′20.4″W / 38.032833°N 78.522333°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Altitude | 264 meters (866 ft) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Established | 1884 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | McCormick Observatory | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| McCormick Telescope | 26-inch refractor |
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McCormick, Leander, Observatory
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| Location | 600 McCormick Rd., Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Coordinates | 38°1′58.2″N 78°31′20.4″W / 38.032833°N 78.522333°WCoordinates: 38°1′58.2″N 78°31′20.4″W / 38.032833°N 78.522333°W |
| Area | 1.3 acre |
| Built | 1884 |
| Architectural style | Late Gothic Revival, Queen Anne |
| NRHP Reference # | 04001245 |
| VLR # | 002-1759 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 19, 2004 |
| Designated VLR | March 17, 2004, September 29, 2006 |
The Leander McCormick Observatory is one of the astronomical observatories operated by the Department of Astronomy of the University of Virginia and is situated just outside Charlottesville, Virginia (USA) in Albemarle County on the summit of Mount Jefferson (also known as Observatory Hill). It is named for Leander J. McCormick (1819–1900), who provided the funds for the telescope and observatory.
Leander McCormick was the son of Robert McCormick (1780–1846), the inventor of a mechanical reaper, and brother of Cyrus H. McCormick, who patented it and undertook the large scale manufacture and marketing of the invention. The McCormick family's homestead of Walnut Grove was located near Raphine, Virginia, although they moved to Chicago in 1848 to manufacture the reaper on a large scale. In Chicago, Cyrus, Leander and their brother William founded what became the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company and eventually International Harvester.
In 1870 Leander decided to donate the largest telescope in the world to his home state of Virginia. However, the financial impact of the American Civil War on Virginia as well as the impact of the Great Chicago Fire on his own finances, delayed his effort. In addition to the University of Virginia, for years he was also considering Washington College (later Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia, since it was located much closer to the family homestead. In 1870, Robert E. Lee, who was then president of Washington College, sent a letter of introduction to Joseph Henry, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, making known McCormick's wishes to establish an astronomical observatory in the state. It was largely through the efforts of Charles Scott Venable (aide-de-camp to Gen. Robert E. Lee from 1862 to 1865 and professor of mathematics at the University of Virginia from 1865 to 1896) that McCormick finally decided to make his gift to the University of Virginia in 1877. In 1878, the University of Virginia officially received McCormick's donation of the telescope. This was followed in 1881 by a donation of $18,000 for the observatory itself, contingent on the University's raising the funds to endow the professorship.
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