Evans, David S. (David Stanley), 1916-2004

Methodist minister.

Astronomer David Stanley Evans was born in Cardiff, Wales, on January 28, 1916. He obtained his bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1937 from Kings College, Cambridge, and his Ph.D. degree in 1941 from Cambridge Observatory, where he was a student of Sir Arthur Eddington. A conscientious objector to World War II, Evans spent the war years working with Kurt Mendelssohn on medical research. During this time Evans also served as scientific editor of Discovery and editor of The Observatory, as well as a research assistant at Oxford's University Observatory from 1938-1946.

Evans moved to Pretoria, South Africa, in 1946 to serve as the second assistant at the Radcliffe Observatory. Beginning in 1952, Evans served as chief assistant and eventually as principal scientific officer at the Royal Observatory in Cape Town, South Africa. While in South Africa, Evans worked on many research activities, including developing a new method to measure stellar angular diameters using lunar occultations.

From 1965-1966, Evans and his family lived in Austin, Texas, where he was the National Science Foundation Senior Visiting Scientist at the University of Texas and McDonald Observatory. Evans and his family moved to Austin permanently in 1968, when he became a professor of astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin.

Evans served as associate director of the university's McDonald Observatory between 1970 and 1981. At the observatory, Evans worked extensively with his students and colleagues to measure the angular diameters of late-type stars. His use of stellar angular diameters to determine the surface brightness of stars was a major scientific contribution. The Barnes-Evans Relation, a significant method used in astronomical measurement, also resulted from this work.

In addition to his work at the Observatory, Evans was a prolific writer. He wrote eight books on astronomy and its history, published many articles in professional journals, and contributed chapters to several books. Among his many books are Teach Yourself Astronomy (1966); Herschel at the Cape (1969); Big and Bright, A History of McDonald Observatory (1986); Under Capricorn, A Study of Southern Hemisphere Astronomy (1988); Lacaille: Astronomer, Traveler (1992); and Harlan’s Globetrotter’s, A Story of An Eclipse (2005). The latter work, written with Karen Winget, chronicled the Mauritania eclipse expedition and was published after Evans’s death.

Evans taught at the University of Texas until his retirement in 1986, when he became a professor emeritus. He died on November 14, 2004 in Austin, Texas. He was survived by his wife Betty Hall Hart, his two sons, and his six grandchildren.

[adapted from "In Memoriam" issued by the University of Texas at Austin's Faculty Council and an obituary issued by the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa]

Astronomer David Stanley Evans was born in Cardiff, Wales, on January 28, 1916. He obtained his bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1937 from Kings College, Cambridge, and his Ph.D. degree in 1941 from Cambridge Observatory.

Evans worked at the Radcliffe Observatory in Pretoria, South Africa starting in 1946. While in South Africa, Evans worked on many research activities, including developing a new method to measure stellar angular diameters using lunar occultations. From 1965-1966, Evans and his family lived in Austin, Texas, where he was the National Science Foundation Senior Visiting Scientist at the University of Texas and McDonald Observatory. Evans and his family moved to Austin permanently in 1968, when he became a professor of astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin. Evans served as associate director of the university's McDonald Observatory between 1970 and 1981. The Barnes-Evans Relation, a significant method used in astronomical measurement, also resulted from his work there. In addition to his work at the Observatory, Evans was a prolific writer. He wrote eight books on astronomy and its history, published many articles in professional journals, and contributed chapters to several books. Evans taught at the University of Texas until his retirement in 1986.