Today in the history of astronomy, a key figure in our understanding of the expanding universe is born.

| Published: November 11, 2026

V.M. Slipher (bottom) accompanies Carl Lampland at the business end of the 24-inch Clark refractor, in an undated image. Credit: Lowell University

Vesto Melvin Slipher was born on a farm in Mulberry, Indiana, on Nov. 11, 1875. He graduated from high school, taught briefly at a country school, and then enrolled at Indiana University in Bloomington. In 1901, one of Slipher’s professors, Wilbur Cogshall, persuaded the founder of the fledgling Lowell Observatory to bring the young astronomer on staff. Percival Lowell was reluctant; as far as he was concerned, the association would be temporary. In the end, however, Slipher would stay at the observatory for 53 years. In 1915, he became assistant director, and when Lowell died the following year, Slipher became acting director and then director by 1926.…