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Boyden Station [Sold]
Access to material may be restricted.
Access to material may be restricted.

Boyden Station [Sold]

AddressHarvard Kopje, Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, South Africa
Site Number1351
Alternate Names Boyden Observing Station, Harvard Kopje
Building Root Number N/A
PIRC Site Number 1351
Sponsor / Donor (Original)
Architect (Original)
Building Acquired 1927
Constructed 1927
StatusInactive
Materials for this building in our collection are not fully processed at this time.
Site Name HistoryThe site is named for Uriah Atherton Boyden of Boston. It is currently known by its location name, Harvard Kopje.Historical NotesThis observing station was originally established in 1891 in Peru and was moved to South Africa in 1927. Boyden Observing Station was built by Harvard in order to have coverage of the southern hemisphere. The university left the project in 1955 after a Corporation decision to liquidate the station due to expenses in 1953.
Additional Information
Smith, Elske v P. Photographs of Boyden Station in South Africa, circa 1930s-1950s. 1930. Harvard University Archives call number HUY 178.
Harvard College Observatory. Records of Boyden Station, Bloemfontein, South Africa, 1907-1956. 1907. hollis.harvard.edu, http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.ARCH:hua24014.
“New Telescope for Harvard College.” Cambridge Chronicle, 4 Mar. 1927, p. 11.
“Harvard’s Southern Observatory Moved: Transferred From Peru to South Africa.” Daily Boston Globe, 24 Oct. 1928, p. 10.
“Harvard Moving Observatory From Peru to South Africa: Boyden Station at Areguipa Expected to Be Located Near to Bloemfontein Because of Clearer Nights --New 60-Inch Telescope Being Built.” The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Feb. 1927, p. 4B.
“Observatory Moves to South Africa.” The Harvard Crimson, 21 Dec. 1926, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1926/12/21/observatory-moves-to-south-africa-pas/.
“College Will Have New Telescope in Africa.” The Harvard Crimson, 24 Feb. 1927, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1927/2/24/college-will-have-new-telescope-in/.