Charles Greeley Abbot

American astrophysicist and the 5th Secretary of the Smithsonian (1872–1973)

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Lived 1872–1973, aged 101United States

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United States rank#96
Scientists rank#106
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Wikipedia
47 languages
Cross-language footprint
Rank in United States
#96
Scientists
Era
1872–1973
Aged 101

Summary

Updated 2026-05-29

Smithsonian Institution's fifth secretary (1928–1944) who spent his career pivoting between astrophysics and institutional leadership. His obsession with measuring the sun's energy output spawned a string of solar inventions—cookers, boilers, stills—that never quite caught on.

Biography

About

Charles Greeley Abbot was an American astrophysicist and also the fifth secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, serving from 1928 until 1944. Abbot went from being director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, to becoming Assistant Secretary, and then Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution over the course of his career. As an astrophysicist, he researched the solar constant, research that led him to invent the solar cooker, solar boiler, solar still, and other patented solar energy inventions.

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