Astronomy glossary
What is Denison Olmsted?
Denison Olmsted — Denison Olmsted (1791-1859) is credited with giving birth to meteor science after the 1833 Leonid Meteor Storm over North America spurred him to study this phenomenon. He subsequently demonstrated that meteors are not an atmospheric phenomenon, but cosmic in origin. Olmsted was born in East Hartford, Connecticut on June 18, 1791. He attended Yale University and graduated with a degree in physics…
Denison Olmsted (1791-1859) is credited with giving birth to meteor science after the 1833 Leonid Meteor Storm over North America spurred him to study this phenomenon. He subsequently demonstrated that meteors are not an atmospheric phenomenon, but cosmic in origin. Olmsted was born in East Hartford, Connecticut on June 18, 1791. He attended Yale University and graduated with a degree in physics in 1813. In 1817, he became the chair of chemistry, mineralogy, and geology at the University of North Carolina. He returned to Yale in 1825 where he was appointed professor of mathematics and natural philosophy. Olmstead had many academic pursuits on which he published several textbooks and papers before his death in New Haven, Connecticut on May 13, 1859.