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Voices from the IU Bicentennial Indiana University

Benjamin F. Peery’s Astronomical Influence on IU

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By: Arielle Pare, Bicentennial Intern, Class of 2021, International Studies, French, Bloomington

Edited by: Ellie Kaverman and Bre Ann Briskey, Bicentennial Graduate Assistants

Dr. Peery in the Indianapolis Star on May 22, 1967. Courtesy of IU Archives, P0087610

Dr. Benjamin F. Peery Jr., an astrophysicist and professor at IU from 1960 to 1977, was the second African-American to earn a Ph.D. in astronomy. His research in astronomy and astrophysics were particularly relevant during the 1960s and 1970s as interest in the space race occupied the nation, Dr. Peery’s research continues to be valuable in the fields of science as cultural interest appears to be ever-piqued by the mysteries of space.

Childhood and Education

Dr. Benjamin Franklin Peery was born on March 4, 1922 and was the oldest of seven brothers.[1] As a child, he moved throughout the Midwest, including Minnesota and Missouri, often living in white majority communities.[2] He described his experience of often being “the Black family” of a community.[3] After his first year of college at the University of Minnesota, the United States entered World War II and Dr. Peery joined the Army Air Force.

Dr. Peery, center, with unnamed IU faculty members. Courtesy of IU Archives, P0087601

After the war, Dr. Peery returned to the United States and finished his degree in physics at the University of Minnesota in 1949.[4] He went on to earn his master’s degree at Fisk University in 1955[5] and his Ph.D. in astronomy in 1962 at the University of Michigan.[6]

After reading some astronomy literature, Dr. Peery became “absolutely gripped” by the subject. He described the first time he looked through a telescope, “I was so astounded that I dropped the meter stick, and lenses were falling all over the place… I wasn’t prepared for it at all.”[7] Later, Dr. Peery described astronomy as “physics in the great laboratory of the sky.”[8]

 

Within astronomy, Dr. Peery had diverse areas of interests and expertise. They included the physics of binary stars and stellar evolution, as well as the technology of image intensifiers.[9] These interests inspired his visiting lectures and enriched the teaching materials for his students at IU.

Andromeda Galaxy as seen through the Link Observatory telescope, late 1930s. Courtesy of IU Archives, P0036150

Coming to Indiana

While finishing his doctoral dissertation at the University of Michigan, Peery considered future career prospects. Ultimately, advice from Richard Glenn Gettell, president of Mount Holyoke College, in a recruitment visit remained with him: “If you’re interested in research, the choice is made for you — it’s Indiana University.”[10]

Dr. Frank Edmondson, the chair of the astronomy department at IU from 1944-1978, was familiar with a machine that Dr. Peery built for the measurement of spectrograms and was interested in his work.[11] Peery’s colleagues called this machine the “PeeryScope” and it was one of the first oscilloscope measuring engines ever built.[12]

Dr. R. Kent Honeycutt, who worked with Dr. Peery at IU for over a decade, said that Dr. Peery’s work (including the invention of the PeeryScope) remains relevant for astronomers in a variety of manners.

“He studied the abundances of rare chemical elements…in stars that have neared the end of their lives and are making rare chemical elements,” Dr. Honeycutt said in an email recollecting Dr. Peery’s influence. “Ben’s early work has contributed significantly to our understanding of the origin of the chemical elements and their isotopes.”[13]

The astronomy department at IU was largely a one-person department since its beginning in 1856 with Daniel Kirkwood. By the time that Dr. Peery came to IU in 1962, he was one of eight faculty members.[14]

Courtesy of The Bedford Daily Times Mail, February 04, 1968, p. 5.

Life as a Teacher

Dr. Peery became an assistant professor of astronomy at Indiana University in February 1962 and joined the graduate school faculty in the 1962-1963 school year.[15]

Dr. Peery attained the rank of associate professor with permanent tenure in 1968 and was promoted to professor in 1973.

Dr. Benjamin Peery with a colleague at Indiana University in the mid-1960s. Courtesy of IU Archives, P0087609

Dr. Peery regularly worked with his IU astronomy department colleagues, Dr. Edmondson and Marshal H. Wrubel, the first director of IU’s Research Computing Center.[16]

Dr. Peery advocated for graduate students by taking initiative on cumulative examinations to measure student progress. He was influential in stressing the importance of modern photometry and took action to provide spectrographs for the university.[17]

During his tenure, the astronomy department saw numerous improvements in curricula and equipment as the department expanded. Dr. Peery participated in the proposal to add a 16-inch telescope to the Goethe Link observatory, which enabled current students in their work and helped recruit future astronomy students.[18]

Goethe Link Observatory after construction, late 1930s. Courtesy of IU Archives, P0036122

Participating in public education was “terribly important and terribly exciting” for Dr. Peery; he said that he thoroughly enjoyed giving lectures.[19] He often encouraged students to continue their education. In 1972, he wrote an essay lamenting the insufficient numbers of students in graduate school for astronomy.[20]

Goethe Link Observatory telescope, late 1930s. Courtesy of IU Archives, P0036046

“A Wild Game”

In addition to his academic achievements, Dr. Peery kept an admirable sense of humor. If one event was to summarize Dr. Peery’s philosophy, it is likely to be his 1973 interview with the Vincennes Sun Commercial, during a time when the IU astronomy department was receiving a remarkable number of calls from concerned Hoosiers regarding UFO sightings. Dr. Peery consequently coined the term ‘UFOria’–a play on the word euphoria describing a certain contagious fascination with these unidentified flying objects.[21]

Dr. Peery, undated. Courtesy of The American Institute of Physics

Life Off Campus

Dr. Peery also participated in numerous organizations outside of IU. He was a member of the American Astronomical Society, the National Science Foundation, and the International Astronomical Union, taking positions on numerous organizing committees and divisions.[22]

In addition to these roles, he contributed regularly to periodical magazines, particularly The Astrophysical Journal.[23]

Leaving IU

Dr. Peery spent 17 years at Indiana University. As a self-proclaimed “opera nut,” he especially enjoyed the arts on campus.[24] When Howard University in Washington, D.C. contacted him to help set up a physics graduate program in 1977, he was hesitant to leave. However, he saw the offer as an important opportunity.[25]

While at Howard, through a NASA grant, he helped develop research and education facilities for the benefit of future astronomers.[26] He was featured in the PBS documentary series “The Astronomers” in 1991, becoming the first Black astronomer to be broadcasted to a mass audience.[27]

Dr. Peery, undated. Courtesy of The Washington Post, 2010

Dr. Peery retired from Howard University in 1992. He passed away on December 23, 2010.[28]

Bibliography

  1. Astronomy Proposal, Indiana University College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s records, Collection C8, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

 

  1. Benjamin Franklin Peery (1922- 2010).” American Astronomical Society, https://aas.org/obituaries/benjamin-franklin-peery-1922-2010.

 

  1. Benjamin F. Peery, Howard University Astronomer, Dies At 88.” The Washington Post, December 23, 2010, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/23/AR2010122304395.html.

 

  1. “Benjamin F. Peery.” International Astronomical Union, https://www.iau.org/administration/membership/individual/3417/.

 

  1. “Dr. Peery Sets Lecture for Astronomy Club.” Chicago Tribune, April 4, 1965, p. 6.

 

  1. Spring 2019 email correspondence with R. Kent Honeycutt.

 

  1. Faculty Minutes, 1964-1968, Robert d’Escourt Atkinson papers, Collection C74, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

 

  1. Faculty Meetings: Minutes Feb. 1970-, Robert d’Escourt Atkinson papers, Collection C74, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

 

  1. Faculty Meetings: Minutes 1966-1967, Robert d’Escourt Atkinson papers, Collection C74, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

 

  1. Interview of Benjamin Peery by David DeVorkin on 1977 November 5, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics, College Park, MD USA, www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/33698.

 

  1. “I.U. Observatory Open to Public Two Nights.” The Herald (Jasper, Indiana), September 11, 1961, p. 11.

 

  1. Ketzenberger, John. “Business Insider: Link Observatory Space Science Institute gets kids to reach for the stars.” IndyStar, January 22, 2016. https://www.indystar.com/story/money/2016/01/22/business-insider-link-observatory-space-science-institute-gets-kids-aim-stars/79040828/.

 

  1. Marshal H. Wrubel Papers, 1950-1969, Collection C151, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

 

  1. Minutes of the Board of Trustees of Indiana University, 19 April 1968.

 

  1. Minutes of the Board of Trustees of Indiana University, 16 February 1962- 17 February 1962.

 

  1. Separated Material, Indiana University College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s records, Collection C8, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

 

  1. Tech Books Astronomer as Speaker.” The Times (Shreveport, Louisiana), April 20, 1969, p. 23.

 

  1. “The Goethe Link Observatory.” Indiana Astronomical Society, http://www.iasindy.org/link.html.

 

  1. Williams, Scott. “Benjamin Franklin Peery, Jr.” Astronomers of the African Diaspora, State University of New York at Buffalo, http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/physics/peery_benjaminf.html.
  2. “Graduate Astronomy Education: A Professor’s View,” Benjamin F. Peery, Volume198, Issue1, Education in and History of Modern Astronomy, August 1972, p. 30-35

Notes

[1] “Benjamin Franklin Peery (1922- 2010).” American Astronomical Society, https://aas.org/obituaries/benjamin-franklin-peery-1922-2010.

[2] Emma Brown. “Benjamin F. Peery, Howard University Astronomer, Dies At 88.” The Washington Post, December 23, 2010, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/23/AR2010122304395.html.

[3] Interview of Benjamin Peery by David DeVorkin on 1977 November 5, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics, College Park, MD USA, www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/33698.

[4] Ibid.

[5] “Benjamin Franklin Peery (1922- 2010).”

[6] Ibid.

[7] Interview of Benjamin Peery by David DeVorkin on 1977 November 5, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics, College Park, MD USA, www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/33698.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Scott Williams, “Benjamin Franklin Peery, Jr.” Astronomers of the African Diaspora, State University of New York at Buffalo, http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/physics/peery_benjaminf.html.

[10] Interview of Benjamin Peery by David DeVorkin on 1977 November 5, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics, College Park, MD USA, www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/33698.

[11] Interview of Benjamin Peery by David DeVorkin on 1977 November 5, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics, College Park, MD USA, www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/33698.

[12]  “Benjamin Franklin Peery (1922- 2010).” American Astronomical Society, https://aas.org/obituaries/benjamin-franklin-peery-1922-2010.

[13] Spring 2019 email correspondence with R. Kent Honeycutt.

[14] Faculty Minutes, 1964-1968, Robert d’Escourt Atkinson papers, Collection C74, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

[15] Minutes of the Board of Trustees of Indiana University, 16 February 1962- 17 February 1962.

[16] Marshal H. Wrubel Papers, 1950-1969, Collection C151, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

[17] Faculty Meetings: Minutes 1966-1967, Robert d’Escourt Atkinson papers, Collection C74, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

[18] Astronomy Proposal, Indiana University College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s records, Collection C8, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

[19] Interview of Benjamin Peery by David DeVorkin on 1977 November 5, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics, College Park, MD USA, www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/33698.

[20] “Graduate Astronomy Education: A Professor’s View,” Benjamin F. Peery, Volume198, Issue1, Education in and History of Modern Astronomy, August 1972, p. 30-35

[21] “Something in Your Sky? Maybe It’s Merely UFOria,” The Vincennes Sun Commercial (Vincennes, Indiana), October 21, 1973, p. 5.

[22] “Benjamin F. Peery.” International Astronomical Union, https://www.iau.org/administration/membership/individual/3417/.

[23] Biography file of Benjamin Peery, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

[24] Interview of Benjamin Peery by David DeVorkin on 1977 November 5, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics, College Park, MD USA, www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/33698.

[25] Ibid.

[26] “Benjamin Franklin Peery (1922- 2010).”

[27] Ibid.

[28] Ibid.

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