astronomy

John S. Hougham

John S. Hougham is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand John S. Hougham rather than just read about it. In short: John Scherer Hougham (28 May 1821 – 31 March 1894) was Purdue University's first appointed professor, first (unofficial) acting President (March 11, 1874 – June 11, 1874) after Purdue's first President Richard Dale Owen resigned on March 1, 1874, and later an official acting President (November 6, 1875 – April 30, 1876) between the administrations of Abraham C. Shortridge and Emerson E.

Key takeaways

John S. Hougham belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect John S. Hougham to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of John S. Hougham from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

John Scherer Hougham (28 May 1821 – 31 March 1894) was Purdue University's first appointed professor, first (unofficial) acting President (March 11, 1874 – June 11, 1874) after Purdue's first President Richard Dale Owen resigned on March 1, 1874, and later an official acting President (November 6, 1875 – April 30, 1876) between the administrations of Abraham C. Shortridge and Emerson E. White. Hougham first graduated from Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana, in 1846, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity, and later after his death, the location of the John S. Hougham Manuscript Collection. He then rose to Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Franklin College in Franklin, Indiana (1848–1867). During this time he was also a well regarded maker of scientific instruments for educational and professional use in medicine, chemistry, astronomy, and other related fields (e.g., solar compass). "Hougham Street" in Franklin, IN, adjacent to the Franklin College campus, was named to honor one of the city's most illustrious residents. After those appointments, he was Chairman of Philosophy and Agriculture at Kansas State University (1868–1872). He then took an appointment as Professor of Physics and Industrial Mechanics, and Chairman of Agricultural Chemistry at Purdue University (1872–1876), serving in those early years of Purdue's history as an academic "handyman" – and for a time acting president during parts of 1874, '75, and '76 – to John Purdue and the founding Trustees, visiting other universities around the country in search of new ideas and faculty to bring back to his native Indiana. Around 1876, he returned to Kansas State where he spent the remaining years of his academic career.

Notes

Additional sources Presidents of Purdue University (Acting included). [Retrieved October 28, 2022] Presidents of Purdue University (Acting omitted). [Retrieved October 28, 2022] Rittenhouse Journal index. Elgin, Richard L. 1993. "John S. Hougham and the Early History of the Solar Compass." Rittenhouse: The Journal of the American Scientific Instrument Enterprise 7(28):117-121. [Retrieved October 28, 2022] Davis, Michael J. 2012. "John S. Hougham's Solar Compass." Hoosier Surveyor 38(4):16-17. [Retrieved October 28, 2022] This article describes one of Hougham's solar compasses owned by the Johnson County Museum in Franklin, Indiana. The Hougham/Huffam Family Tree. "John Scherer Hougham - Developer of the solar compass" by RICHARD L ELGIN, PHD, LS, PE, ELGIN SURVEYING & ENGINEERING, NC. [Retrieved August 18, 2016]

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John S. Hougham

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John S. Hougham claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to John S. Hougham before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about John S. Hougham ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of John S. Hougham

In research: John S. Hougham appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses John S. Hougham in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: John S. Hougham is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1821 births, 1894 deaths, 19th-century American engineers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for John S. Hougham outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study John S. Hougham in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what John S. Hougham means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain John S. Hougham out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is John S. Hougham in simple terms?

Why does John S. Hougham matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study John S. Hougham?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on John S. Hougham.