William Robert Brooks (June 11, 1844 – May 3, 1921) was a British-born American astronomer, mainly noted as being one of the most prolific discoverers of new comets of all time.
Hobart College, Geneva, New York, United States
Brooks graduated from Hobart College with an honorary Master of Arts degree in 1891.
Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, United States
Brooks received his Doctor of Science degree from Hamilton College in 1898.
Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House, London, England, United Kingdom
Brooks was a member of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Hobart College, Geneva, New York, United States
Brooks graduated from Hobart College with an honorary Master of Arts degree in 1891.
Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, United States
Brooks received his Doctor of Science degree from Hamilton College in 1898.
Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House, London, England, United Kingdom
Brooks was a member of the Royal Astronomical Society.
William Robert Brooks was born on June 11, 1844, in Maidstone, Kent, England, the son of Review William and Caroline (Wickings) Brooks. His family emigrated to Darien, New York, in 1857, and he spent the remainder of his life in western New York state.
Brooks received his academic education in Marion, New York. He graduated from Hobart College with an honorary Master of Arts degree in 1891. He received his Doctor of Science degree from Hamilton College in 1898.
In 1858 Brooks built his first telescope, and with it observed Donati’s comet. In his father’s church, three years later, Brooks delivered the first of his many popular astronomical lectures.
In 1870 Brooks settled in Phelps, New York, where he worked briefly as a commercial photographer. He increasingly devoted attention to construction and use of telescopes, making a two-inch refractor and reflectors of five and nine inches aperture. His garden, with this portable apparatus, became the Red House Observatory. Here, on 4 October 1881, Brooks discovered his first comet (comet 1881 F, Brooks-Denning), and during the subsequent seven years, he found ten more.
In 1888 he moved to Geneva, New York, to take charge of the newly established Smith Observatory. Even though this observatory, according to the wishes of its founder, was open for the entertainment and instruction of visitors every clear weekday evening, Brooks was able to discover sixteen more comets - most of them in the morning sky.
In addition to his work at the observatory, Brooks was a professor of astronomy at Hobart College from 1900, and at William Smith College from 1908 as well.
William Robert Brooks' major achievement was in being a founder in 1874 of the Red House Observation located in Phelps, New York, where he discovered 11 comets. He is also remembered for his successful service as a director of the Smith Observation in Geneva, New York.
Brooks discovered about 16 additional comets, making 27 in all (many of these discoveries made with a telescope of his own construction). He also discovered the bright naked-eye comet C/1911 O1 (Brooks) and was a pioneer of astrophotography.
For his cometary discoveries, he was widely acclaimed by his contemporaries. He many times won the Warner Prize, and later the Donohoe Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, for discoveries of unexpected comets. He also won the Prix Lalande of the Académie des Sciences (1900); a gold medal at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis (1904); and a gold medal from the Astronomical Society of Mexico.
Brooks belonged to the Royal Astronomical Society, the Liverpool Astronomical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the British Astronomical Association.
While still a child, Brooks developed an interest in observational astronomy and a talent for mechanical construction.
Brooks married Mary E. Smith on October 15, 1868.
