File:Percival_Lowell_by_James_E._Purdy.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Percival Lowell was an American astronomer in the late 1800s and early 1900s who became famous for observing Mars and proposing that intelligent beings had built canals on its surface. Though his canal theory was later disproven, his work helped fuel widespread public interest in the possibility of life on other planets.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Lawrence
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Boston
- Place of death
- Flagstaff
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Field of work
- diplomacy
- Image
- Percival Lowell 1900s2.jpg
Show 14 more facts
- described at URL
- www.jstor.org/stable/23298476
- maintained by WikiProject
- WikiProject Mathematics
- member of
- American Philosophical Society
- Commons category
- Percival Lowell
- Commons Creator page
- Percival Lowell
- date of birth
- 1855-00-00
- date of death
- 1916-00-00
- name in native language
- Percival Lowell
- cause of death
- stroke
- writing language
- English language
- student
- Andrew Ellicott Douglass
- manner of death
- natural causes
- P6944
- Percival Lowell
- collection items at
- National Museum of Natural History
via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
Percival Lowell (/ˈloʊəl/; March 13, 1855 – November 12, 1916) was an American businessman, author, mathematician, and astronomer who fueled speculation that there were canals on Mars, and furthered theories of a ninth planet within the Solar System. He founded the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and formed the beginning of the effort that led to the discovery of Pluto 14 years after his death.
Life and career
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Percival Lowell” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.