The Millington
Barnard Collection
The
collection of historic scientific
instruments at the Unversity of Mississippi is named for its
first professors of natural philosophy, John Millington and Frederick
Barnard. This Collection of nearly 500 pieces dates from the beginning
of the University in 1848. Some of the earliest instruments were made
by Millington
before and during his tenure here. The majority of the apparatus was
purchased in 1856-1858 by Chancellor Barnard from the best instrument
makers and workshops in
France, Germany, England, and the United States. The Collection
narrowly survived the Civil War, when the campus served as both a
Confederate and a Federal hospital.
Much of the apparatus was used for
teaching physics until the 1970's. The bulk
of the Collection is now housed at the University Museum, with some
pieces on display in Barnard Observatory and others remaining in the
Department of Physics and Astronomy's exhibit space in Lewis Hall.
**An
expanded exhibition of the Collection will be on display for the
SICU2 Workshop. After the Opening Dinner,
participants and guests are invited to the University Museum to view
the Collection and hear a brief presentation of its history.
Barnard
Observatory
Barnard
Observatory was completed in 1859 and is modeled after Russia's
Poulkovo Observatory. It was built to house the Department of
Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy, and Civil Engineering, along with the
scientific apparatus. The central dome's inhabitant
was to be a 19-inch telescope, the largest in the world at the
time. This instrument was ordered by Barnard in 1857 from
Alvan Clark and Sons but was not completed until 1861, too late to
be delivered to Mississippi due to the onset of the Civil War.
On its first use, this great telescope discovered Sirius's predicted
companion star, a testament to the lens's perfection. It was
purchased
from Alvan Clark in 1863 by the Chicago Astromical Society, then went
to Northwestern
University's Dearborn Observatory, where it was used to discover "a
long list of difficult double stars." It is
known in astronomical research as "the great Dearborn Refractor."
**The Opening Session and Keynote address
of the the SICU2 Workshop will be held in the original lecture hall of
Barnard Observatory. Guided tours of the building, now the home
of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, will also be
available.
Kennon
Observatory
Kennon
Observatory was built in 1939 and designed by long-time astronomy
professor William Lee Kennon. The smaller dome was built for the
department's "comet seeker." The larger dome houses a Grubb
twin equatorial telescope purchased by the department in 1892.
This instrument consists of a 15-inch aperture visual telescope carried
on the same mounting with a 9-inch photographic telescope. It is
the largest Grubb telescope in the U. S. and has a remarkable driving
mechanism made by Grubb for only three telescopes.
**Tours of Kennon Observatory will
be available to Workshop participants. A Friday evening Astronomy
Open House at Kennon Observatory is also planned, weather permitting.
Memory
House
This Greek Revival
home was built sometime between 1853 and 1859 by James and Sarah
Stockard, one of the couples who donated the land on
which the University was raised. Memory House is now the
headquarters of
the
University Foundation.
**The Opening
Reception and Dinner will
take place at historic Memory House.
Carrier
House
Carrier House became the residence
of University of
Mississippi Chancellors in 1971. Prior to this, beginning with
F. A. P Barnard, University Chancellors and their families had lived in
the east wing of Barnard Observatory.
**On Friday
evening, Workshop
participants will dine at the home of the University's
current leader, Chancellor Robert C. Khayat.
Rowan
Oak
William
Faulkner, Nobel Prize winning novelist, resided in Oxford for many
years at Rowan Oak. His Greek Revival-style home was given to the
University by his daughter, and the entire property remains much as it
was when he lived there. For example, the plot outline of A Fable is still visible
on the walls of Faulkner's writing room. Rowan Oak is now part of
the University Museum and is open for tours Tuesday through Sunday.
**The Closing Dinner of the SICU2 Workshop will take place on the lawn
of
Rowan Oak. Participants will have an opportunity to tour the
house and grounds beforehand.
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