As temporary trustee, he felt that it was not his place to make any dramatic changes in the Observatory's staff or location.

See was employed at Lowell Observatory at that time, but was both an extremely unpopular man and regarded as a bad scientist.

When Lowell returned to work in 1901, Putnam resumed his role as the financial and legal power behind the Observatory.

Putnam died in June 1923, aged around 61, during Constance Lowell's attempt to contest Percival's will.

This contest, which continues to this day, began in 1935 under the direction of the Mathematical Association of America.