Cincinnati observatory (Ohio)

The Cincinnati Observatory began operation in April of 1845 under the directorship of Ormsby McKnight Mitchel. Mitchel was a professor of engineering and mathematics at Cincinnati College, a predecessor of the University of Cincinnati, and held a great interest in astronomy, which he shared with the people of Cincinnati through a series of public lectures. In 1841, Mitchel founded the Cincinnati Astronomical Society and sold shares in the society to raise money for the observatory. Mitchel also designed the observatory building and persuaded John Quincy Adams to lay the cornerstone for the building. Nicholas Longworth, a wealthy landowner in Cincinnati and member of the Cincinnati Astronomical Society, donated the original land for the observatory on Mt. Ida, which was later renamed as Mt. Adams in honor of John Quincy Adams.

The telescope was installed in the observatory on April 14, 1845. Mitchel, serving as the first director, quickly began to make important discoveries including finding stars, and developing a chronograph for accurately measuring and recording time. In the Spring of 1860, Mitchel accepted a position at the Dudley Observatory in Albany, New York, and the observatory was closed through the end of the Civil War.

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