Jürgen Stock (8 July 1923 – 19 March 2004) was a German astronomer, best known for discovering the site of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile after a two year search starting in 1960, and was its first director from 1962 to 1965.
In the 1950s he worked at Case-Western Reserve University and Boyden Observatory in South Africa, which uniquely linked him to scientific initiatives in both the northern and southern hemisphere.
[3] In 1958, Stock moved to Cleveland again joining the astronomical faculty of the Case Institute of Technology (now Case-Western Reserve University).
[3] Between 1960 and 1961, Stock spent the largest part of time in the mountains of Coquimbo Region with the task of choosing the place where one could build an observatory.
He kept an almost daily record of his work in Chile and sent reports about his search at regular intervals to Kuiper and later to Donald Shane, President of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA).
In addition to detailing the scientific specifications of the task the Stock site survey reports contain information about his daily experiences during the site survey: relationships with people, logistical difficulties, impressions on the construction of vehicles and their spare parts, animals, droughts, etc.
Stock was appointed director, construction began in 1963 and regular astronomical observations commenced at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in 1965.
After Salvador Allende was elected as Chilean president, all foreigners working at universities were checked and in the meantime were not paid.
His eldest daughter Jeanette Stock is Professor of Astronomy at the Universidad de Zulia in Maracaibo, Venezuela.