Born Glasgow, Scotland, 1909

Died Glasgow, Scotland, 23 July 1944

Murray Geddes, along with his family, immigrated to New Zealand at an early age. Later, he obtained an MS in physics and took up a career in teaching. His avocational studies of the Aurora Australis in collaboration with Norwegian physicist   Carl Störmer showed that southern auroral displays were far more common than had previously been understood and at times exceeded the Aurora Borealis. Geddes photographed the aurora to determine the auroral height, study auroral forms, and strengthen the correlation of auroral activity with sunspots. Recognizing from studies of Antarctic exploration historical records that New Zealand provided the only inhabitable landmass from which auroral studies could be carried out consistently, Geddes organized a corps of 700 auroral observers to assist in these studies. He also made useful contributions to the study of zodiacal light. He was an assiduous meteor observer and discovered comet C/1932 M2, for which Geddes received both the Donohoe Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and a Donavan Prize and Medal from Australia. Geddes had been appointed director of the Carter Observatory shortly before being called to active duty as a naval reservist. He died while serving in the New Zealand Navy in the North Sea during World War II.