Career
John East. Mellish lived outside of Madison, Wisconsin in Cottage Grove. He later discovered another three comets: 1915a (1915 II, C/1915 C1), 1915d (1915 IV, C/1915 R1), and 1917a (1917 I, Doctorate/1917 F1, Doctorate/Mellish 1). In November 1915 he announced to have observed craters on Mars, and being the second person to do so after East. East. Barnard.
Both claims are disputed to this day, but he is still credited to be the first human to recognize craters on Mars using the great 40-inch Yerkes refractor.
A crater on Mars (Mellish) was named in his honor.