Charles Lane Poor

Charles Lane Poor (January 18, 1866 – September 27, 1951) was an American astronomy professor, noted for his opposition to Einstein's theory of relativity.

This article is about the American astronomer. For the United States Navy admiral, see Charles Henry Poor.
Charles Lane Poor
Born(1866-01-18)January 18, 1866
Hackensack, New Jersey
DiedSeptember 27, 1951(1951-09-27) (aged 85)
CitizenshipAmerican
Alma materCity College of New York
Johns Hopkins University
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy
InstitutionsColumbia University
Doctoral advisorSimon Newcomb

Biography

He was born on January 18, 1866 in Hackensack, New Jersey to Edward Erie Poor.

He graduated from the City College of New York and received a Ph.D. in 1892 from Johns Hopkins University. Poor became an astronomer and professor of celestial mechanics at Columbia University from 1903 to 1944, when he was named Professor Emeritus. He published several works disputing the evidence for Einstein's theory of relativity during the 1920s.[1][2] Poor published a series of papers that reflect objections the theory of relativity.[3]

For 25 years, Poor was chairman of the admissions committee of the New York Yacht Club. In addition, he was a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and an associate fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He served several terms as mayor of Dering Harbor on Long Island, New York, and invented a "line of position computers" for yachting navigation. At Columbia University, Poor was a teacher of the astronomer Samuel A. Mitchell, who went on to become director of the Leander McCormick Observatory at the University of Virginia.[4]

He died on September 27, 1951.[5][6]

Legacy

One of Poor's sons, Edmund Ward Poor, was one of ten co-founders of Grumman Aircraft on Long Island. Another son was Alfred Easton Poor, an architect.

Selected publications

See also

References
  1. Charles Lane Poor, Gravitation Versus Relativity, G.P. Putnam, New York (1922).
  2. Charles Lane Poor, Journal of the Optical Society of America, V20, p. 173 (1930).
  3. Tobey, Ronald C. (1971). The American Ideology of National Science, 1919-1930. University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 107–108. ISBN 978-0822932277.
  4. Leander McCormick Observatory.
  5. Obituary, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, V112, p. 279 (1952).
  6. Obituary, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, V64, p. 48 (1952).
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