Born Dec. 31, 1864, in California, Robert Aitken was frequently ill as a child, with severe ear infections that eventually led to progressive deafness. Despite his education being delayed by his health until he was nine and his plans to become a preacher, Aitken graduated with a B.A. in mathematics in 1887. He taught math and astronomy at Livermore College and the University of the Pacific for some time, before moving to Mount Hamilton to study at Lick Observatory. There he was offered a one-year appointment – and ended up staying for 40 years, as assistant astronomer, associate director, and beginning in 1930, the director of the observatory.
Aitken became famous for his double star research, discovering over 3,100 new binaries. He authored the New General Catalogue of Double Stars Within 120° of the North Pole, a reference commonly known as the Aitken Double Stars (ADS) catalog. ADS numbers are still used to identify some binaries. He also served as the president of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and earned the Bruce Medal and the Gold Medal of the American Astronomical Society.
