Jordan, Frank Craig

Born Cordova, Illinois, USA, 24 September 1865

Died Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, 15 February 1941

Frank Jordan was a talented and resourceful observer, a respected astronomer, first at Yerkes Observatory and later at the University of Pittsburgh, and a director of the Allegheny Observatory until his death. Although tragedy stalked his personal life, he seems to have been generally optimistic and outgoing; it may not be irrelevant to note that he was an active member of the Presbyterian Church. He was the only child of John Henry Jordan and Louisiana Craig, who died in childbirth. He married Clara A. Ross in 1893. They had two children, a daughter, who died shortly after birth, and a son, Frank Warren, who died at age 3. His wife, who was chronically ill, passed away in 1907. Jordan then married a widow, Mrs. Harriet Caywood Roy, in 1909; they had one son, John William. Professor and Mrs. Jordan were both killed in a fire at their home, attributed to a coal gas explosion, in 1941;...