J. Allen Hynek

He got married for the first time in 1932. This marriage ended in a divorce after seven years.

In 1942 he tied the knot again with Miriam “Mimi” Curtis, a woman 14 years his junior. The couple was blessed with five children.

During his later years he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The grueling treatment left him exhausted yet he held close to his heart a last wish—he wanted to see the Halley’s Comet which was due to appear in 1986. His friends ensured that his last wish was fulfilled and he died a contented man shortly afterwards; he died on 27 April 1986.

He was born on May 1, 1910, to Czech parents, in Chicago. His father made cigars for a living while his mother taught at a local grammar school.

When Josef was young, he became ill and was confined to bed. During this time his mother used to read books to him, instilling in him a curiosity to learn more about the world. One of the books she read to him was a high school text book on astronomy which became his favorite.

As a teenager he developed an interest in occult and the “mystical”. So interested was he in occult that as a high school student he spent over $100 to purchase a book called ‘The Secret Teachings of All Ages’.

He decided to pursue a career in astronomy and received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago in 1931. He completed his Ph.D. in astrophysics at Yerkes Observatory in 1935, submitting his thesis on “A Quantitative Study of Certain Phases of F-Type Spectra”.

The Ohio State University appointed Hynek as an instructor in the department of physics and astronomy in 1936, where he specialized in the study of stellar evolution and identification of spectroscopic binaries.

He was promoted to assistant professor in 1939 and taught summer school at the Harvard College Observatory in 1941.

He took a leave from Ohio State University during World War II and served as a civilian scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory from 1942 to 1946 where he worked on developing a proximity fuse for the navy.

In June 1947, a salesman had reported seeing shiny unidentified objects pass in front of Mount Rainer. Following this reporting, several others also came forward claiming to have witnessed similar sightings. The U.S. Air Force officials formed the Project Sign and recruited Hynek as the project’s astronomical consultant.

After the war he returned to Ohio State University and was promoted to a full professorship in 1950. During this time he also became assistant dean of the Graduate School.

This great astronomer was born in a year of the Halley's Comet and died in the year of its next return.