Simon Newcomb, America's first great astronomer

In 1854, at age 19, Simon Newcomb stood outside the gates of the US Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, longing to go inside to see the telescopes and perhaps even meet one of the astronomers. But he had no idea how he might be received; he was not a US citizen and the only knowledge of astronomy that he could claim was what he had been able to glean on his own from a few aged books. He simply could not risk the humiliation of being turned away, he decided, and left without so much as making an inquiry. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.