George Ellery Hale

George Ellery Hale was an American astronomer who discovered the magnetic fields of sunspots in 1908. He achieved this by applying the Zeeman effect to solar observations, proving that sunspots were areas of intense magnetic activity.

Hale was instrumental in the founding of the Mount Wilson Observatory and the Palomar Observatory in California. He also played a key role in establishing the Yerkes Observatory for the University of Chicago earlier in his career.

Hale was the driving force behind the conception and funding of the massive 200-inch Hale Telescope located at Palomar Observatory. Though he died in 1938 before its completion, the groundbreaking telescope was named in his honor.

Hale was born in 1868 and passed away in 1938, spending his career advancing astrophysics in the United States. His visionary leadership in the early 20th century permanently transformed American astronomy into a world-leading scientific enterprise.