Reminiscences of an Eclectic Historian–astronomer

From astronomy to history of science, astrobiology to astrometry, New Zealand to NASA, the author has enjoyed an eclectic career. Although working for much of his career at the United States Naval Observatory at multiple tasks including classical astrometry, history, and public affairs, his major contributions have been to the history of astronomy, covering periods from the ancient Greeks to the present. He has written on institutional history and the history of ideas, including astrobiology, cosmic evolution, discovery and classification, and the societal impact of astronomy. He has originated or advanced the concepts of cosmotheology, the biological Universe, the postbiological Universe, and the Three Kingdom (3K) system of classification in astronomy. He has argued that the philosophy of astronomy needs to be developed as a coherent discipline, one that could enrich the history of astronomy and astronomy itself. As Chief Historian of NASA he focused on the societal impact of space exploration, and the importance of exploration to society. For better or worse his contributions have been chiefly in the realm of ideas rather than data

Art history · Astronomer · Classics · Historical Astronomy and Related Studies · History · History and Developments in Astronomy · Philosophy