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Bart Bok in his last year, 1983, photo by University of Arizona.

Top 10 Fun Facts about Bart Bok

Bartholomeus Jan “Bart” Bok was a Dutch-American astronomer, lecturer, teacher, writer, leader and administrator.  He was born in Hoorn; Holland in 1906, then studied at the University of Leiden and earned his Ph.D at University of Groningen.

His father, Jan Bok, was a sergeant-major in the Dutch army and was constantly on the move when he was transferred to different towns.He was a fundamental figure in both the understanding of the Milky Way and for the discovery of Bok globules, which are small, densely dark clouds of interstellar gas and dust.

Bok suggested that these globules may be in the process of contracting, before forming into stars through a two-tracked research career, he offered a visualization of this galaxy both by helping determine its shape as a spiral galaxy and by his work on the nature of how stars are formed in it.

He also worked on various observatories such as the Harvard College Observatory, Mount Stromlo Observatory in Australia and Steward Observatory in Arizona. In addition, he contributed to the evolution of modern astronomy through his designs of new telescopes and observatory structures in both these places.

1.He worked at Harvard University

Photo by Somesh Kesarla Suresh on

For almost thirty years, 1929 to 1957, Bok worked at Harvard University where he taught astronomy and directed the Harvard Observatory. In 1932, he completed his Doctoral dissertation entitled A Study of the Eta Carinae Region.

He then became an assistant professor in 1933 and 6 years later an associate professor. By 1946, he was an associate director of the Harvard Observatory by and he became a full professor in 1947. He was specifically appointed to the Robert Wheeler Wilson Chair in Astronomy.

2.He directed the Mt. Stromlo Observatory in Australia

When the Boks moved to Australia in 1957, Bart took up the position of Director at Mount Stromlo Observatory in the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. His main role at the observatory was aimed to develop the optical astronomy in Australia, and its integration with the well-established field of radio astronomy.

Bok established a thriving international graduate program at Stromlo during his tenure. The program was later known as Harvard in the South. The Prime Minister of the time, Robert Menzies, gave out funds for a new telescope at Stromlo; in addition, he established a field observatory at Siding Spring.

3.Bok was a tireless promoter of astronomy

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Bok devoted three days each month to public lectures where he would promote astronomy to the general public. He took advantage of mass media to promote astronomy. In addition, he made a television series which was broadcast on the ABC which reached a lot of people in Australia.

4.His honorary appointments

During his lifetime, Bart Bok received several honorary appointments such as being appointed the Vice-president of the International Astronomical Union in 1970.

He was the President of the American Astronomical Society and a corresponding member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Considering his interest in astronomy he was an Associate Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in London.

In 1968, he was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences. He also became an honorary Member of various societies such as, the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, the Astronomical Society of Australia and the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand.

5.Memorial awards named after him

The Bok Prize is annually awarded by the Astronomical Society of Australia. The awards begun in 1989 to mainly recognize outstanding research in astronomy by an Honors student or eligible master’s student at an Australian university.

In addition, the Bart J Bok Postdoctoral Fellowship is given out by the Astronomy Department of the University of Arizona and Steward Observatory.

6.He directed the Steward Observatory in Arizona

Steward Observatory. Photo by Alex Lovell-Troy.

During his last years Bok worked as a director of the Steward Observatory from 1966 to 1970 and the head of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona. By 1970, Steward was regarded as one of the world’s premier astronomical research institutions.

He was also responsible for the construction of the 90 inches (2.3 m) telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory and oversaw a doubling of the university’s staff and growth in the graduate student program.

7.He First discovered the  Bok globules

In the 1940s, with the help of Edith Reilly, he discovered that very small, dense dark nebulae, later called Bok globules, are the cocoons of nascent stars. His investigations of interstellar gas and dust led to studies of star formation, and he became known for his work on small dark nebulae now called Bok globules.

8.He was the driving force in creating observational definitions of the Milky Way

Photo by William Zhang on

From his observations, the galaxy’s diameter is three to five times what it was thought to be just seven or eight years ago, and the galaxy’s mass is three to six times what it was believed to be.

He worked closely with his wife, Priscilla Fairfield Bok, and together they made observations and published books.He initiated radio astronomy at Harvard and promoted it and his investigations of interstellar gas and dust led to studies of star formation.

Bok studied the structure and evolution of star clusters and the Galaxy and mapped the spiral arms of the Milky Way especially in the Carina region, and the Magellanic Clouds.

9.Bok got married to a fellow astronomer in1929

In 1929, Bok got married to Priscilla Fairfield, a fellow astronomer. The couple worked and collaborated together on their astronomical work. Both had mutual enthusiasm for explaining astronomy to the public that The Boston Globe described them in 1936 as the salesmen of the Milky Way.

They co-authored academic papers and worked together on research. Their book The Milky Way went through five editions and was acclaimed as one of the most successful books ever published in astronomy.

10.Things named after him

The 90-inch Bok telescope, Arizona, USA, photo by General Epitaph.

A 43-km diameter crater on the far side of the Moon was named Lunar crater after Bart Bok and his wife Priscilla. Another Bok Prize is awarded by the Harvard University’s Department of Astronomy since 1958 to recognise research in the area of Milky Way research by observational methods.

The Bok Telescope which is a 90-inch (2.3 m) telescope in the Steward Observatory was named after him in 1996. Asteroid 1983 Bok was also named after him, jointly with his wife Priscilla discovered by Elizabeth Roemer in 1975.

Bart Bok was indeed a fundamental figure in both the understanding of the Milky Way and for the discovery of Bok globules among various scientific developments. He made various contributions to the observatories that he directed and managed to establish a thriving international graduate program at Stromlo during his tenure.