Lawyer/Astronomer
Centurion, 1854–1892
Born 25 November 1816 in Morrisania, New York
Died 30 May 1892 in Tranquility, New Jersey
Buried Tranquility Cemetery
, Tranquility, New Jersey
Proposed by Benjamin R. Winthrop
Elected 4 February 1854 at age thirty-seven
Archivist’s Note: Second vice president of the Century Association, 1868 and 1870; father of Rutherford Stuyvesant
Seconder of:
Supporter of:
Century Memorial
Lewis Morris Rutherfurd, one of the best esteemed citizens of New York, and one of the most distinguished scientists in the country, came of a distinguished family; and, although possessed of an ample income, was, in his early years, devoted to the profession of the law, which he studied under William H. Seward, and practised with Peter A. Jay and Hamilton Fish. The natural bent of his mind was toward physical science, and he abandoned the law to follow it. He achieved great distinction in his chosen field of labor. He devoted special attention to astronomical photography and spectral analysis, inventing many delicate and ingenious instruments for photographing the solar spectrum, and the star groups. His photographs of the moon are notable the world over as being of great beauty, and unsurpassed in perfection of detail. He was a voluminous writer in astronomical science; was honored by his own and foreign governments, and by scientific societies the world over as one of the most distinguished men in his favorite pursuit.
Henry E. Howland
1893 Century Association Yearbook
