Fred Whipple

(1906 - 2004)

 

Born in Red Oak, Iowa, USA, Fred Whipple spent most of his life as an astronomer, exploring comets and meteorites.

After studying at Occidental college in California, he earned an undergraduate degree at UCLA, and a doctoral degree in astronomy at the University of California at Berkeley.

Heading to Harvard in the 1940s, he spent his first job inspecting sky survey photographic plates, spending some of his surplus time searching for comets, which he found and studied.

His pioneering research at Harvard on comets became pivotal to understanding the complexity and makeup of these enigmatic celestial bodies.

In 1955, Whipple became involved with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, in Washington D.C., which was later moved to Cambridge, Mass.

Dr Whipple retired from Harvard in 1977, and passed away in August 2004 aged 97, the last surviving writing contributor to the original Collier's space articles.