Alvan Clark

Alvan Clark (1804-1887) was an engraver and portrait painter whose paintings are held in the Fogg, MFA, and other art museums. In mid-life, Clark turned his attention to telescope making and astronomy, establishing Alvan Clark and Sons in Cambridgeport, MA. Clark became the premier, refracting-telescope maker of his day, supplying not only many college observatories but also the world's great institutions. The firm ground the largest lenses of the day, including the the 18.5-inch at the Dearborn Observatory (Univ. of Chicago), the 26-inch at the United States Naval Observatory, the 30-inch at Pulkovo Observatory, the 36-inch telescope at Lick Observatory, and the 40-inch at Yerkes Observatory. Harvard owns a couple of Alvan Clark telescopes at the Harvard College Observatory and at Oak Ridge Observatory. CHSI has a large one that went on an eclipse expedition to Costa Rica.