Adapted from "Steadman Thompson as I Remember him," by Herb Doughty, unpublished memoir, 9 Mar 2015 (with permission). Picture by Steve Kahler (with permission)
I first met Stead in 1952 at a meeting of the Columbus Astronomical Society where I was representing the Astronomy Club of Lima, Ohio. Stead was the only lifetime member of CAS and was a highly eccentric, but bright and independently wealthy Amateur Astronomer, with a passionate interest in the US Space Program in general, and satellite tracking in particular.
Over the next few years Stead was a contributor to the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers, Sky and Telescope, and was the leader of the Columbus Moonwatch Team.
In September, 1957, I enrolled at the Ohio State University majoring in Astronomy. I became reacquainted with Stead upon the October 4th announcement that Sputnik had been launched. I was invited to help the "Columbus Satellite Tracking Center," which was located at Stead's house.
To say that Stead was a bibliophile is to put it too mildly. I discovered that his personal library contained tens of thousands of quite carefully selected books on diverse, but mainly scientific, topics. One section was the most complete collection ever assembled of lunar materials printed between 1600 and 1900. The ceilings were covered with USGS maps of the ocean floor.
At that time, Sputnik was the object of our attention and we listened to reports via short-wave radio as we tried to estimate the period and inclination in order to define the orbit using the tools available at the time -- a desk calculator and logarithm tables.
Anticipating the need, Steadman, with other volunteers, created a few hand-made copies of a notebook he had created containing tables, formulae and notes that would help in making rapid estimates of preliminary orbits. It was called "Auntie Mable's Tables."
Stead was independently wealthy after the death of his mother and could devote himself full-time to astronomical pursuits. He often took visitors outdoors to view various celestial objects through his reflector telescope. He believed in mathematical and scientific questioning and in this way encouraged those around him to excel in their chosen fields.
In the early 1960s Stead gave away many of his scientific books to the Perkins Observatory Library (owned and operated by Ohio Wesleyan University) and moved to San Francisco, later to Pacifica, California, to live within sight of the Pacific Ocean. Several of his young friends from Columbus also got to the area, some to the University of California at Berkeley, just a short drive across the Bay.
Stead never lost his interest in conversation and would regale visitors with obscure bits of trivia, He would often visit bookshops with no specific titles in mind but would come away with a bag full of books on obscure topics. When asked, for example, "why did you buy this book on Navajo rug weaving?", he would simply reply, "because I don't know anything about it."
All of his life Stead had health issues There were often episodes of severe depression, usually related to his weight, as he was described by his doctors as morbidly obese. So in the early 1980s he decided to simply drop out of sight from his Pacifica Apartment and, with the help of a long-time doctor in San Francisco, obtained a room in San Francisco and assumed a new name. Eventually I was able to connect Stead with a small band of his closest friends him but eventually he died of complications relating to diabetes.
During the early years of space flight Stead supported tracking efforts at a time before there were electronic computers and he certainly gave friendly and encouraging suggestions to those he permitted into his inner circle. He is missed.
I first met Stead in 1952 at a meeting of the Columbus Astronomical Society where I was representing the Astronomy Club of Lima, Ohio. Stead was the only lifetime member of CAS and was a highly eccentric, but bright and independently wealthy Amateur Astronomer, with a passionate interest in the US Space Program in general, and satellite tracking in particular.
Over the next few years Stead was a contributor to the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers, Sky and Telescope, and was the leader of the Columbus Moonwatch Team.
In September, 1957, I enrolled at the Ohio State University majoring in Astronomy. I became reacquainted with Stead upon the October 4th announcement that Sputnik had been launched. I was invited to help the "Columbus Satellite Tracking Center," which was located at Stead's house.
To say that Stead was a bibliophile is to put it too mildly. I discovered that his personal library contained tens of thousands of quite carefully selected books on diverse, but mainly scientific, topics. One section was the most complete collection ever assembled of lunar materials printed between 1600 and 1900. The ceilings were covered with USGS maps of the ocean floor.
At that time, Sputnik was the object of our attention and we listened to reports via short-wave radio as we tried to estimate the period and inclination in order to define the orbit using the tools available at the time -- a desk calculator and logarithm tables.
Anticipating the need, Steadman, with other volunteers, created a few hand-made copies of a notebook he had created containing tables, formulae and notes that would help in making rapid estimates of preliminary orbits. It was called "Auntie Mable's Tables."
Stead was independently wealthy after the death of his mother and could devote himself full-time to astronomical pursuits. He often took visitors outdoors to view various celestial objects through his reflector telescope. He believed in mathematical and scientific questioning and in this way encouraged those around him to excel in their chosen fields.
In the early 1960s Stead gave away many of his scientific books to the Perkins Observatory Library (owned and operated by Ohio Wesleyan University) and moved to San Francisco, later to Pacifica, California, to live within sight of the Pacific Ocean. Several of his young friends from Columbus also got to the area, some to the University of California at Berkeley, just a short drive across the Bay.
Stead never lost his interest in conversation and would regale visitors with obscure bits of trivia, He would often visit bookshops with no specific titles in mind but would come away with a bag full of books on obscure topics. When asked, for example, "why did you buy this book on Navajo rug weaving?", he would simply reply, "because I don't know anything about it."
All of his life Stead had health issues There were often episodes of severe depression, usually related to his weight, as he was described by his doctors as morbidly obese. So in the early 1980s he decided to simply drop out of sight from his Pacifica Apartment and, with the help of a long-time doctor in San Francisco, obtained a room in San Francisco and assumed a new name. Eventually I was able to connect Stead with a small band of his closest friends him but eventually he died of complications relating to diabetes.
During the early years of space flight Stead supported tracking efforts at a time before there were electronic computers and he certainly gave friendly and encouraging suggestions to those he permitted into his inner circle. He is missed.
Adapted from "Steadman Thompson as I Remember him," by Herb Doughty, unpublished memoir, 9 Mar 2015 (with permission). Picture by Steve Kahler (with permission)
I first met Stead in 1952 at a meeting of the Columbus Astronomical Society where I was representing the Astronomy Club of Lima, Ohio. Stead was the only lifetime member of CAS and was a highly eccentric, but bright and independently wealthy Amateur Astronomer, with a passionate interest in the US Space Program in general, and satellite tracking in particular.
Over the next few years Stead was a contributor to the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers, Sky and Telescope, and was the leader of the Columbus Moonwatch Team.
In September, 1957, I enrolled at the Ohio State University majoring in Astronomy. I became reacquainted with Stead upon the October 4th announcement that Sputnik had been launched. I was invited to help the "Columbus Satellite Tracking Center," which was located at Stead's house.
To say that Stead was a bibliophile is to put it too mildly. I discovered that his personal library contained tens of thousands of quite carefully selected books on diverse, but mainly scientific, topics. One section was the most complete collection ever assembled of lunar materials printed between 1600 and 1900. The ceilings were covered with USGS maps of the ocean floor.
At that time, Sputnik was the object of our attention and we listened to reports via short-wave radio as we tried to estimate the period and inclination in order to define the orbit using the tools available at the time -- a desk calculator and logarithm tables.
Anticipating the need, Steadman, with other volunteers, created a few hand-made copies of a notebook he had created containing tables, formulae and notes that would help in making rapid estimates of preliminary orbits. It was called "Auntie Mable's Tables."
Stead was independently wealthy after the death of his mother and could devote himself full-time to astronomical pursuits. He often took visitors outdoors to view various celestial objects through his reflector telescope. He believed in mathematical and scientific questioning and in this way encouraged those around him to excel in their chosen fields.
In the early 1960s Stead gave away many of his scientific books to the Perkins Observatory Library (owned and operated by Ohio Wesleyan University) and moved to San Francisco, later to Pacifica, California, to live within sight of the Pacific Ocean. Several of his young friends from Columbus also got to the area, some to the University of California at Berkeley, just a short drive across the Bay.
Stead never lost his interest in conversation and would regale visitors with obscure bits of trivia, He would often visit bookshops with no specific titles in mind but would come away with a bag full of books on obscure topics. When asked, for example, "why did you buy this book on Navajo rug weaving?", he would simply reply, "because I don't know anything about it."
All of his life Stead had health issues There were often episodes of severe depression, usually related to his weight, as he was described by his doctors as morbidly obese. So in the early 1980s he decided to simply drop out of sight from his Pacifica Apartment and, with the help of a long-time doctor in San Francisco, obtained a room in San Francisco and assumed a new name. Eventually I was able to connect Stead with a small band of his closest friends him but eventually he died of complications relating to diabetes.
During the early years of space flight Stead supported tracking efforts at a time before there were electronic computers and he certainly gave friendly and encouraging suggestions to those he permitted into his inner circle. He is missed.
I first met Stead in 1952 at a meeting of the Columbus Astronomical Society where I was representing the Astronomy Club of Lima, Ohio. Stead was the only lifetime member of CAS and was a highly eccentric, but bright and independently wealthy Amateur Astronomer, with a passionate interest in the US Space Program in general, and satellite tracking in particular.
Over the next few years Stead was a contributor to the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers, Sky and Telescope, and was the leader of the Columbus Moonwatch Team.
In September, 1957, I enrolled at the Ohio State University majoring in Astronomy. I became reacquainted with Stead upon the October 4th announcement that Sputnik had been launched. I was invited to help the "Columbus Satellite Tracking Center," which was located at Stead's house.
To say that Stead was a bibliophile is to put it too mildly. I discovered that his personal library contained tens of thousands of quite carefully selected books on diverse, but mainly scientific, topics. One section was the most complete collection ever assembled of lunar materials printed between 1600 and 1900. The ceilings were covered with USGS maps of the ocean floor.
At that time, Sputnik was the object of our attention and we listened to reports via short-wave radio as we tried to estimate the period and inclination in order to define the orbit using the tools available at the time -- a desk calculator and logarithm tables.
Anticipating the need, Steadman, with other volunteers, created a few hand-made copies of a notebook he had created containing tables, formulae and notes that would help in making rapid estimates of preliminary orbits. It was called "Auntie Mable's Tables."
Stead was independently wealthy after the death of his mother and could devote himself full-time to astronomical pursuits. He often took visitors outdoors to view various celestial objects through his reflector telescope. He believed in mathematical and scientific questioning and in this way encouraged those around him to excel in their chosen fields.
In the early 1960s Stead gave away many of his scientific books to the Perkins Observatory Library (owned and operated by Ohio Wesleyan University) and moved to San Francisco, later to Pacifica, California, to live within sight of the Pacific Ocean. Several of his young friends from Columbus also got to the area, some to the University of California at Berkeley, just a short drive across the Bay.
Stead never lost his interest in conversation and would regale visitors with obscure bits of trivia, He would often visit bookshops with no specific titles in mind but would come away with a bag full of books on obscure topics. When asked, for example, "why did you buy this book on Navajo rug weaving?", he would simply reply, "because I don't know anything about it."
All of his life Stead had health issues There were often episodes of severe depression, usually related to his weight, as he was described by his doctors as morbidly obese. So in the early 1980s he decided to simply drop out of sight from his Pacifica Apartment and, with the help of a long-time doctor in San Francisco, obtained a room in San Francisco and assumed a new name. Eventually I was able to connect Stead with a small band of his closest friends him but eventually he died of complications relating to diabetes.
During the early years of space flight Stead supported tracking efforts at a time before there were electronic computers and he certainly gave friendly and encouraging suggestions to those he permitted into his inner circle. He is missed.
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