Person

Gascoigne, Sidney Charles Bartholemew (1915 - 2010)

AO FAA

Born
11 November 1915
Napier, New Zealand
Died
25 March 2010
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Occupation
Astronomer
Alternative Names
  • Gascoigne, Ben

Summary

Ben Gascoigne was an astronomer who made significant contributions to understanding stellar evolution, distance scale, faint star photometry, and Magellanic Clouds. After his work during WWII in optical munitions at the Commonwealth Solar Observatory, he turned his attention to astronomy, particularly the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, encouraged by the Observatory's Director, Richard van der Reit Woolley. Gascoigne was also involved in the recommissioning of the Great Melbourne Telescope on its transfer to Mount Stromlo from Melbourne in 1944. For the Commonwealth Observatory he played a key role in the building and commissioning of the Anglo-Australian Telescope at Siding Spring. For over 20 years he held a personal chair at the Australian National University where, from 1962 to 1967, he had been Assistant Director (Research).

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Details

Chronology

1937
Education - Master of Science (MSc), Auckland University College
1940 - 1941
Career position - Optical munitions work with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) in New Zealand
1941
Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Bristol, UK
1941 - 1945
Career position - Research Fellow, Commonwealth Observatory
1945 - 1951
Career position - Senior Scientific Officer, Commonwealth Solar Observatory
1951 - 1957
Career position - Principal Scientific Officer, Commonwealth Observatory
1951 - 1961
Career position - Reader, Australian National University in Canberra
1958 - 1964
Career position - President, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Sub-Commission on the Magellanic Clouds
1961 - 1967
Career position - Assistant Director (Research), Australian National University
1964 - 1980
Career position - Professor )personal chair), Australian National University
1966 - 2010
Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)
1979 - 2010
Career position - Associate, Royal Astronomical Society
1980
Life event - Retired
1985 - 2010
Award - Honorary Member, Optical Society of Australia
1988 - 2010
Award - Honorary Fellow, Astronomical Society of Australia
11 June 1996
Award - Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in recognition of service to observational astronomy, specialising in the life history of stars, particularly in the Magellanic Clouds and for his contribution to astronomical optics and to the Anglo-Australian Telescope
1 Jan 2001
Award - Centenary Medal - for service to Australian society and science in astronomy
2002
Award - Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Auckland

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions

Books

  • Bhathal, Ragbir, Australian Astronomers: Achievements at the Frontiers of Astronomy (Canberra: National Library of Australia, 1996), 243 pp. Details
  • Gascoigne, S. C. B, Proust, K. M.; and Robins, M. O., The Creation of the Anglo-Australian Observatory (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), 314 pp. Details

Book Sections

  • Gascoigne, S. C. B., 'Ellery, Robert Lewis John (1827-1908), astronomer and public servant' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 4: 1851 - 1890 D-J, Douglas Pike, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1972), pp. 135-137. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ellery-robert-lewis-john-3477. Details
  • Gascoigne, S. C. B., 'Australian Astronomy Since the Second World War' in Australian Science in the Making, R. W. Home, ed. (Sydney: Cambridge University Press, 1988), pp. 345-373. Details
  • Gascoigne, S. C. B., 'Rimmer, William Bolton (1882-1945), astronomer and public servant' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 16: 1940 - 1980 Pik-Z, John Ritchie and Diane Langmore, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2002), pp. 94-95. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/rimmer-william-bolton-11528. Details

Journal Articles

  • Anon, 'Ben Gascoigne', Newsletter, Australian Academy of Science, 80 (2010), 18, https://www.science.org.au/files/userfiles/events/documents/aas80.pdf. Details
  • Cannon, Russell, Gillingham, Peter and Malin, David, 'Ben Gascoigne - a "Founding Father" of the AAO', Australian Astronomical Observatory Newsletter (2010), 28-30. Details
  • Gascoigne, S. C. B., 'Arthur Robert Hogg', Records of the Australian Academy of Science, 1 (3) (1968), 58-70. https://www.publish.csiro.au/hr/HR9680130058. Details
  • Gascoigne, S. C. B., 'Further observations of Magellanic Cloud cepheids', Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 146 (1-36) (1969). Details
  • Gascoigne, S. C. B., 'Bart J. Bok', Australian Physicist, 20 (October) (1983), 229. Details
  • Gascoigne, S. C. B., 'History of Australian Astronomy: Astro-physics at Mount Stromlo, the Woolley Era', Proceedings of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 5 (1984), 597-605. Details
  • Gascoigne, S. C. B., 'Astrophysics at Mount Stromlo: the Woolley Era', Proceedings of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 5 (1984), 597-605. Details
  • Gascoigne, S. C. B., '200 years of Astronomy in Australia', Australian Science Teachers Journal, 34 (2) (1988), 53-55. Details
  • Gascoigne, S. C. B., 'Bok, Woolley and Australian Astronomy', Historical Records of Australian Science, 9 (2) (1992), 119-126. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9920920119. Details
  • Gascoigne, S. C. B., 'Robert LJ. Ellery, His Life and Times', Proceedings of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 10 (1992), 170-176. Details
  • Gascoigne, S. C. B., 'The Great Melbourne Telescope and Other 19th Century Reflectors', Historical Records of Australian Science, 10 (3) (1995), 223-245. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9951030223. Details
  • Gascoigne, S. C. B., 'The Great Melbourne Telescope and Other 19th Century Reflectors', Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, 37 (1996), 101-128. Details
  • Watson, F. G., 'Obituary: Sidney Charles bartholomew "Ben" Gascoigne (1915 - 2010)', The observatory, 130 (2010), 274-5. Details
  • Watson, Fred, 'S. C. B. 'Ben' Gascoigne 1915 - 2010', Historical Records of Australian Science, 36 (2025), 1-15, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR24034. Details

Newspaper Articles

Resources

Resource Sections

See also

McCarthy, G.J. and Helen Cohn

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 31 July 2025

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