Francis Charles McMath

He became successful in the bridge-building industry, and was president of the Canadian Bridge and Iron Company in Detroit.

He had a strong interest in amateur astronomy, and, along with his son Robert, began an ambitious program of observatory development.

They began collaborating with the University of Michigan, and in 1931 the director suggested naming the site the McMath-Hulbert Observatory in honor of the founders.

In 1932 the McMath's and Judge Hulbert devised an innovative technique of taking multiple still images of the Sun, Moon, planets and stars, then combining them into a movie.

A gift to the Union College, located in Schenectady, New York, endowed a summer research fellowship in 1946 in Civil Engineering in his name.