Wang Shouguan

Wang Shouguan (Chinese: 王绶琯; 15 January 1923 – 28 January 2021) was a Chinese astronomer, president and honorary president of the Chinese Astronomical Society.[1][2] He was hailed as one of the founders of modern astrophysics and radio astronomy in China.[1][2] He was a delegate to the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th National People's Congress.[1][2]

Wang Shouguan
Born(1923-01-15)January 15, 1923
Fuzhou, Fujian, China
DiedJanuary 28, 2021(2021-01-28) (aged 98)
Beijing, China
Alma materMawei Naval School
Royal Naval College, Greenwich
Scientific career
FieldsAstrophysics
InstitutionsPurple Mountain Observatory
Xujiahui Observatory
Beijing Astronomical Observatory
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese王綬琯
Simplified Chinese王绶琯
In this Chinese name, the family name is Wang.

Biography

Wang was born in Fuzhou, Fujian, on January 15, 1923.[1][2] His uncle worked in the Republic of China Navy.[3] In 1936, at the age of 13, he entered Mawei Naval School, he studied navigation at the beginning, but switched to shipbuilding later because of myopia.[1][2][3] After graduating in 1943, he worked at a factory for a year.[1][2] In 1945, he pursued advanced studies in the United Kingdom, where he studied at the Shipbuilding Class, Royal Naval College, Greenwich.[1][2] In 1950 he switched to astronomy, and was hired as an assistant astronomer at the University of London.[1][2]

Wang returned to China in 1953.[1][2] He successively worked at the Purple Mountain Observatory, Xujiahui Observatory, and Beijing Astronomical Observatory.[1][2] In 1981, he became deputy director of the Department of Mathematical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, rising to director in 1994.[1][2] In October 1993, the asteroid with international code 3171 was named "Wangshouguan".[1][2]

On January 28, 2021, he died of illness in Beijing, aged 98.[1][2][4]

Honours and awards

References
  1. Yu Hanqi (虞涵棋); Wang Xinxin (王心馨) (29 January 2021). 中国射电天文奠基人王绶琯院士逝世，享年98岁 [Academician Wang Shouguan, founder of radio astronomy in China, dies at the age of 98]. thepaper.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  2. Sun Zifa (孙自法) (29 January 2021). 中国射电天文学开创者王绶琯院士逝世 享年98岁 [Academician Wang Shouguan, founder of radio astronomy in China, dies at the age of 98]. qq.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  3. 巨星陨落！王绶琯院士逝世，他是“能听懂星星说话的人” [Star fall! Academician Wang Shouguan passed away, he was "a man who can understand stars"]. qq.com (in Chinese). 29 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  4. 著名天文学家、中国科学院院士王绶琯逝世 [Wang Shouguan, a famous astronomer and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is dead]. sina (in Chinese). 29 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
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