Edwin Hubble

20 November 1889 – 28 September 1953

Edwin Hubble (1889-1953) was an American astronomer who proved that galaxies exist beyond the Milky Way and discovered that the universe is expanding. His observations at Mount Wilson Observatory established the field of extragalactic astronomy and the relation now known as Hubble's law.

Comparing
Compare

Lived at the same time

Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Edwin Hubble.

Life events

Born in Marshfield, Missouri
20 November 1889

Edwin Powell Hubble was born in Marshfield, Missouri, and grew up mainly in Wheaton, Illinois.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Graduated from the University of Chicago
1910

Hubble earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Chicago, where he also excelled as an athlete.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Education ✓
Studied law at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar
1910 – 1913

Hubble spent three years at The Queen's College, Oxford, on a Rhodes Scholarship, studying jurisprudence before returning to science.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Education ✓
Earned PhD in astronomy from the University of Chicago
1917

Hubble completed his doctorate at Yerkes Observatory with a thesis on photographic investigations of faint nebulae.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Education ✓
Joined the staff of Mount Wilson Observatory
1919

After serving in the US Army during the First World War, Hubble joined Mount Wilson Observatory in California, home of the 100-inch Hooker telescope.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Identified a Cepheid variable in the Andromeda Nebula
October 1923

Hubble's discovery of a Cepheid variable star in Andromeda proved the nebula lay far outside the Milky Way, establishing the existence of other galaxies.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Married Grace Burke Leib
26 February 1924

Hubble married Grace Burke Leib in California; the couple remained together until his death.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relationship ✓
Published the velocity-distance relation now known as Hubble's law
1929

Hubble published observations showing that galaxies recede at speeds proportional to their distance, providing key evidence for the expanding universe.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Helped commission the 200-inch Hale Telescope at Palomar
1949

Hubble was the first astronomer to use the new 200-inch Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory for scientific observations.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Died in San Marino, California
28 September 1953

Hubble died of a cerebral thrombosis in San Marino, California, at the age of 63.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓