Dirk Brouwer (1902-1966)

Born in the Netherlands, Dirk Brouwer received his Ph.D. in 1927 at the University of Leiden and then joined the faculty at Yale University, where he worked in celestial mechanics with Ernest W. Brown. While still a student he determined the mass of Titan from its influence on other Saturnian moons. From 1941 to 1966 he served as director of the Yale University Observatory and editor of the Astronomical Journal. Brouwer developed general methods for finding orbits and computing errors and applied these methods to comets, asteroids, and planets. He was one of the first to use electronic computers for astronomical computations. He computed the orbits of the first artificial satellites and from them obtained increased knowledge of the figure of the earth. His book, 'Methods of Celestial Mechanics', taught a generation of celestial mechanicians. He also redetermined astronomical constants.