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The origin of the Cleveland Astronomical Society can be traced back to February 1922 when Dr. Jason J. Nassau, Mr. Albert F. Schroeder and Mr. Curt B.
Mueller conceived and discussed the idea of forming a club among those citizens of Cleveland and vicinity who were interested in astronomy. Notices published in the Cleveland newspapers and privately communicated to those interested in astronomy resulted in about thirty people attending a preliminary meeting on March
13, 1922 at the University Club (3813 Euclid Avenue).
The Cleveland Astronomical Society was actually organized at a subsequent meeting held April 10,
1922 when officers were elected and a constitution
was adopted.

The first officers were:

President, Professor J. J. Nassau
Vice President, Mrs. Curt B. Muller
Secretary-Treasurer, Mr. Albert F. Schroeder
Assistant Secretary-Treasurer, Mr. Raymond A.
Gordon.

1922-1963 - Dr. Jason J. Nassau                      1991-1994 - Dr. Jean Bishop
1963-1967 - Dr. A Lecher Jones                       1994-1998 - Joseph DeRocher
1967-1969 - Dan Snow                                     1998-2004 - Eugene Reiss
1969-1971 - Dr. Joseph Dolan                           2004-          Robert M. Sledz
1971-1973 - Arthur Stokes
1973-1976 - Dr. William Bidelman
1976-1984 - Dr. Peter Pesch
1984-1988 - Dr. Nicholas Sanduleak
1988-1991 - William Shore

Then their next meeting on May 5, 1922, was held at the Warner & Swasey Observatory on Taylor Road in East Cleveland and they were then incorporated as a non-profit organization on May 28, 1922.

From the beginning, membership in the Society has included men and women from all walks of life-lawyers, doctors, engineers, college professors and students, school teachers, business people, and many others who wished to learn more about astronomy. Since its inception in 1922, the Cleveland Astronomical Society has carried on a program of scientific and social meetings during nine months of the year, October to June.

Case School of Applied Science took the Society under its wing from the organizations conception. As a result, C.A.S. has helped promote and provide members the opportunity to see, hear and visit with eminent scientists and engineers who are actively involved in research and contributing to our ever widening knowledge of the universe.

He preformed his doctorial studies at Syracuse, and gained his Ph.D. mathematics in 1920.
(His thesis was Some Theorems in Alternants.) He then became an assistant professor at

the Case Institute of Technology, in 1921, teaching astronomy. He
continued to instruct at that institution, becoming the University’s

first chair of astronomy from 1924
until 1959 and chairman of the
graduate division from 1936 until
1940, after 1959 he was professor
emeritus

From 1924 until 1959 he was also the director of the CWRU Warner and Swasey Observatory in Cleveland, Ohio. He was a pioneer in the study of galactic structure. He also discovered a new star cluster, co-discovered 2 novae in 1961, and developed a technique of studying the distribution of red (M-class or cooler) stars.

J. J. Nassau
along with a
prestigious
group of
Clevelanders
formed the
Cleveland
Astronomical
Society in
1922. He
remained as
President for
41 years,
until 1963.
Honors:

     ·        The Nassau Astronomical Station at the Warner and Swasey Observatory is named for him.
·        Nassau crater on the Moon is named for him.
·        Asteroid 9240 Nassau is named for him. It was discovered May 31, 1997
·        J. J. Nassau Service Award of the Cleveland Astronomical Society was established November
    1, 2007.

Presidents of the Cleveland Astronomical Society