Charles Greeley Abbot
American astrophysicist and the 5th Secretary of the Smithsonian (1872-1973) · United States · Scientists · Died at 101
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A typical day, 30 days to 17 September 2026
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Something wrong?He spent decades measuring the sun's energy output with such obsessive precision that he ended up inventing the solar cooker, the solar boiler, and a handful of other devices to trap what he'd been studying.
A life in dates
Also in Deutsch
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"Father of modern airconditioning" honored. Washington, D.C. Oct. 8. A bronze bust of Lord Kelvin of Largs, nineteenth century scientist who formulated the laws of thermodynamics, was LCCN2016878642
Lindbergh Receives Langley Medal
Manly Receives Langley Medal
Presentation of Langley Medal to Admiral Byrd
Abbot at Table Mountain, California
Abbot's Scheme for a Smooth Bore Gun
Charles Greeley AbbotAwards
In their orbit 2
About this person
Charles Greeley Abbot was born May 31, 1872, and became an American astrophysicist whose career unfolded almost entirely within the Smithsonian Institution. He began as director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, then rose to Assistant Secretary, and finally served as the fifth Secretary of the Smithsonian from 1928 until 1944. His research centered on the solar constant - the measure of how much energy the sun delivers to Earth - and that work pushed him from theory into invention: he patented the solar cooker, solar boiler, solar still, and other devices designed to harness the radiation he'd spent years quantifying. He died December 17, 1973, a month shy of his 102nd birthday.
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Scientists from the United States 1
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