John E. Mellish

John Edward Mellish
John E. Mellish circa 1910
Born	(1886-01-12)January 12, 1886 Madison, Wisconsin
Died	July 13, 1970(1970-07-13) (aged 84) Medford, Oregon
Occupation(s)	Astronomer Telescope builder
Known for	Discovery of comets
Parents	Arthur Mellish (father) Judith Sedora S. Mellish (mother)

John Edward Mellish (12 January 1886 – 13 July 1970, Medford, Oregon) was an American amateur astronomer and telescope builder.[1]

Biography

Mellish was born in Wisconsin, the son of Arthur Mellish (1862–1928) and Judith Sedora Stimson Mellish (1864–1954).[1][2] Mellish lived outside of Madison, Wisconsin in Cottage Grove. By age 24 he was credited with discovering or co-discovering two comets: C/1907 G1 (Grigg–Mellish) and C/1907 T1 (Mellish) using home built telescopes, and received astronomical medals from both the United States and Mexico as a result.[3] He later discovered another three comets: C/1915 C1 (Mellish), C/1915 R1 (Mellish), and C/1917 F1 (Mellish).[4]

In November 1915 he announced to have observed craters on Mars, and being the second person to do so after E. E. Barnard. Both claims are disputed to this day, but he is still credited to be the first human to recognize craters on Mars using the great 40-inch Yerkes refractor.

John E. Mellish, 1925

A crater on Mars (Mellish) was named in his honor.

In 1931, Mellish confessed to committing incest with his 15-year-old daughter.[5] Astronomers advocated that he be spared jail time because of his value to science,[5][6][7] and it was proposed that he be sterilized.[8] Mellish was held in the Kane County Jail from September 1931 to April 1933, when he was paroled,[9][10] and he moved to California.[11][12] His wife divorced him in May 1933 and was given custody of their eight children.[12]

After living in Escondido, California from 1933 to 1936, Mellish relocated to a ranch at Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.[13] However he returned to Escondido, where he and his son were arrested in 1938 on charges involving two juvenile girls.[14][15] Mellish died in Medford, Oregon, in 1970.[16]

See also

• Sherzer Observatory

References

1. Thompson, Paul (December 1979). "The boy astronomer of Cottage Grove". Wisconsin Academic Review. 26 (1): 34–40.
2. "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MM2P-J9H : accessed 22 January 2019), John E Mellish in household of Arthur Mellish, St Lawrence town, Waupaca, Wisconsin, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 138, sheet 7A, family 126, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,823.
3. Technical World Magazine. Armour Institute of Technology. 1910. pp. 456. technical world magazine john winthrop.
4. NASA PDS Small Bodies Node comet catalog Archived 2015-07-09 at the Wayback Machine, consulted 2012-03-20
5. "Science Fights Law for Genius". The Brownsville Herald. July 1, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved January 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Noted Astronomer, Native of Cottage Grove, Prays for Cell to Atone for Sin". Wisconsin State Journal. June 5, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved January 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Genius in Jail as Scientists Urge Pardon". The Province. June 5, 1932. p. 21. Retrieved January 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Urge Operation for Astronomer Accused by Wife". Chicago Tribune. June 5, 1932. p. 10. Retrieved January 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Lens Maker Paroled to California". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. April 14, 1933. p. 2. Retrieved January 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Lens-Maker Genius Freed from Jail to Aid Science". The Minneapolis Journal. Minneapolis, MN. April 14, 1933. p. 1. Retrieved January 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "John E. Mellish Famous Maker of Lens Is Freed". The Jacksonville Daily Journal. April 14, 1933. p. 6. Retrieved January 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "St. Charles Lens Genius' Wife Is Given Divorce". Chicago Tribune. May 12, 1933. p. 21. Retrieved January 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "John E. Mellish Leaves Escondido". Weekly Times-Advocate. Escondido, CA. May 15, 1936. p. 12. Retrieved January 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Runaway Girls Jail Man and Son". Daily Times-Advocate. Escondido, CA. December 2, 1938. p. 24. Retrieved January 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Scientist Accused in Girls' Captivity". The Sacramento Union. Sacramento, CA. December 28, 1938. p. 2. Retrieved January 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "John E. Mellish". Daily Times-Advocate. Escondido, CA. August 4, 1970. p. 15. Retrieved January 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

• Discussion of crater observations on Mars Archived 2004-07-30 at the Wayback Machine
• Wisconsin Academy review The boy astronomer of Cottage Grove