William Tyler Olcott

William Tyler Olcott (1873–1936) was an American lawyer and amateur astronomer.

In 1909, after attending a lecture by Edward Charles Pickering, he developed an interest in observing variable stars. In 1911, he founded the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO).^[1] W. Olcott also published several books to popularize the field of amateur astronomy.

Awards and honors

• AAVSO Merit Award (1936)
• The William Tyler Olcott Award of the AAVSO, initiated in 2000, is named for him.
• The crater Olcott on the Moon is named after him.

Bibliography

• W. T. Olcott, In Starland With A Three-Inch Telescope, 1909, New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons.
• W. T. Olcott, Variable Star Work for the Amateur Astronomer, 1911, Popular Astronomy.
• W. T. Olcott, Star Lore of All Ages, 1911, New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons.
• W. T. Olcott, Sun Lore of All Ages: A Collection of Myths and Legends Concerning the Sun and Its Worship, 1914,
• W. T. Olcott & Edmund W. Putnam, A Field Book of the Stars, 1929, New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons.

References

1. Williams, Thomas R.; Saladyga, Michael (2011). Advancing Variable Star Astronomy - The Centennial History of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 27,331. ISBN 978-0-521-51912-0.

External links

• Works by William Tyler Olcott at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about William Tyler Olcott at Internet Archive
• Sun Lore of All Ages, at sacred-texts.com