Background
Morgan, William Wilson was born on January 3, 1906 in Bethesda, Tennessee, United States. Son of William Thomas and Mary McCorkle (Wilson) Morgan.
Morgan, William Wilson was born on January 3, 1906 in Bethesda, Tennessee, United States. Son of William Thomas and Mary McCorkle (Wilson) Morgan.
Morgan attended but left just before the start of his senior year. He began working as a research assistant at Yerkes Observatory and started taking classes there (Yerkes is affiliated with the University of Chicago). Morgan graduated from the University of Chicago in 1927 with a Bachelor of Science degree on the basis of transfer credits from Washington and Lee combined with his subsequent courses at Yerkes Observatory.
While at University of California/Yerkes, Morgan continued his post-graduate studies and received a doctorate in December 1931.
Instructor, Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, Williams Bay, Wisconsin, 1932-1936;
assistant professor, Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, 1936-1943;
associate professor, Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, 1943-1947;
professor, Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, 1947-1966;
Bernard E. and Ellen C. Sunny Distinguished professor astronomy, Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, 1966-1974;
professor emeritus, Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, 1974-1994;
department chairman astronomy, Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, 1960-1966. Director Yerkes and McDonald Observatories, 1960-1963. Managing editor Astrophysical Journal, 1947-1952.
Henry Norris Russell lecturer American Astronomical Society, 1961.
(Includes 14 Spectrograms.)
Member American Academy Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Sciences. Member Pontifical Academies Sciences. Member Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Royal Astronomical Society (associate Herschel medal), National Academy of Sciences Argentina, Society Royale des Sciences de Liege.
Married Helen Montgomery Barrett, June 2, 1928 (deceased 1963). Children: Emily Wilson, William Barrett. Married Jean Doyle Eliot, 1966.