Ormsby Mitchel
| Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Nickname(s) | Old Stars |
| Born |
August 28, 1810 Union County, Kentucky |
| Died | October 30, 1862 (aged 52) Beaufort, South Carolina |
| Place of burial | Green-Wood Cemetery Brooklyn, New York |
| Allegiance |
United States of America Union |
| Service/branch |
United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1829–1832, 1861–1862 |
| Rank |
 Major General
|
| Commands held |
Department of the Ohio X Corps Department of the South |
| Battles/wars |
American Civil War - Great Locomotive Chase |
| Other work | Astronomer |
Ormsby MacKnight (or McKnight) Mitchel (August 28, 1810, or possibly 1809, – October 30, 1862) was an American astronomer and major general in the American Civil War.
A multi-talented man, he was also an attorney, surveyor, professor, and publisher. He is notable for publishing the first magazine in the United States devoted to astronomy. Known in the Union Army as "Old Stars", he is best known for ordering the raid that became famous as the Great Locomotive Chase during the American Civil War.
Mitchel was born in Union County, Kentucky, but grew up in Lebanon, Ohio. He was educated in Lebanon, Ohio and afterward at West Point in 1825, where he was a classmate to Robert E. Lee and Joseph E. Johnston. He graduated in 1829, placing 15th out of 46 graduates. Mitchel stayed at West Point as assistant professor of mathematics for three years. After holding several military positions while studying law, he went to Cincinnati, passed the bar and became an attorney. He also filled the office of Chief Engineer of the Little Miami Railroad, then in process of construction. Subsequently in 1836, he became Assistant Professor of mathematics, philosophy, and professor of astronomy at Cincinnati College, and during this incumbency achieved a national renown as an astronomical lecturer and builder of a great observatory (Cincinnati Observatory). He was instrumental in establishing the college's law school, and on his first vacation, surveyed and recommended the route of the planned Little Miami Railroad between Cincinnati and Springfield, Ohio.
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