Background
Wilson, Olin Chaddock was born on January 13, 1909 in San Francisco, California, United States. Son of Olin Chaddock and Sophie C. (Clary) Wilson.
Wilson, Olin Chaddock was born on January 13, 1909 in San Francisco, California, United States. Son of Olin Chaddock and Sophie C. (Clary) Wilson.
He studied astronomy and physics at the University of California, Berkeley and wrote his first scientific paper in 1932 on the subject of the speed of light.
He received his Doctor of Philosophy from the California Institute of Technology in 1934. He was the first scientist to discover activity cycles, similar to the solar 11-year sunspot cycle, in other stars. In collaboration with Vainu Bappu, an Indian astronomer, he also showed that there was a correlation between the width of the Ca II lines in stellar spectra and the star"s luminosity, the Wilson-Bappu Effect.
Wilson was a staff member of Mount Wilson Observatory (not named after Olin Wilson) for most of his research career where he studied stellar chromospheres.
Married Katherine Elizabeth Johnson, September 3, 1943. Children: Nicole, Randall.