Professor Carl K. Seyfert joined Vanderbilt’s physics and astronomy department in 1946 with enthusiasm to build a new observatory that would house a donated telescope mirror and bring the program into the space age. Because the university could not fund a new building, Seyfert was put in contact with the Barnard Astronomical Society and interested alumni to raise funds for the project.
Seyfert dove in by giving lectures on astronomy and the proposed observatory to civic groups in the Nashville area. He also cultivated the public’s interest in astronomy as the weatherman on WSM-TV by sharing astronomy highlights on the broadcast. Arthur J. Dyer, head of the Nashville Bridge Company, contacted Seyfert after hearing him speak to get help with placing a sundial on his property. Dyer, a Vanderbilt alum himself, became a major supporter of the observatory’s development. Together, Seyfert and Dyer found a suitable location and obtained in-kind services and donated materials from private individuals and over 80 firms and foundations for construction.
The Arthur J. Dyer Observatory began construction in March 1952 and was dedicated on December 27, 1953, with Dyer presenting the facility to Vanderbilt. The observatory immediately became an important research and graduate training facility, while also serving the public through educational programs. It remains an important historic site and continues to serve Vanderbilt and the surrounding area with science and art programming for all ages.
More information can be found on our website’s History page, and the January 1954 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine has a lengthy feature on the observatory’s creation and completion.