Birthday profile

George Herbig

American astronomer (1920–2013)

Born
January 2, 1920
Died
October 12, 2013
Zodiac sign
Capricorn
Birth year
1920

About George Herbig

George Howard Herbig (January 2, 1920 – October 12, 2013) was an American astronomer at the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy. He is perhaps best known for his contribution to the discovery of Herbig–Haro objects. == Background == Born in 1920 in Wheeling, West Virginia, Herbig received his Doctor of Philosophy in 1948 at the University of California, Berkeley; his dissertation is titled A Study of Variable Stars in Nebulosity. == Career == His specialty was stars at an early stage of evolution (a class of intermediate mass pre–main sequence stars are named Herbig Ae/Be stars after him) and the interstellar medium. He was perhaps best known for his discovery, with Guillermo Haro, of the Herbig–Haro objects; bright patches of nebulosity excited by bipolar outflow from a star being born. Herbig also made prominent contributions to the field of diffuse interstellar band (DIB) research, especially through a series of nine articles published between 1963 and 1995 entitled "The diffuse interstellar bands." == Honors == Awards Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy of the American Astronomical Society (1955) Foreign Scientific Member, Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Heidelberg Henry Norris Russell Lectureship of the AAS (1975) Médaille, Université de Liège (1969) Bruce Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (1980) Petrie Prize and Lectureship of the Canadian Astronomical Society (1995) Named after him Asteroid 11754 Herbig Herbig Ae/Be stars Herbig–Haro objects == Selected publications == "High-Resolution Spectroscopy of FU Orionis Stars", ApJ 595 (2003) 384–411 "The Young Cluster IC 5146", AJ 123 (2002) 304–327 "Barnard's Merope Nebula Revisited: New Observational Results", AJ 121 (2001) 3138–3148 "The Diffuse Interstellar Bands", Annu. Rev. Astrophys. 33 (1995) 19–73 "The Unusual Pre-Main-Sequence star VY Tauri", ApJ 360 (1990) 639–649 "The Structure and Spectrum of R Monocerotis", ApJ 152 (1968) 439 "The Spectra of Two Nebulous Objects Near NGC 1999", ApJ 113 (1951) 697 == References == == Further reading == Reipurth, Bo. GEORGE HERBIG and Early Stellar Evolution.

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The world when George Herbig was born

George Herbig was born in 1920. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1920

  • #1 song"Swanee" – Al Jolson
  • Top movieThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
  • Best-selling bookThe Age of Innocence – Edith Wharton

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentBabe Ruth sold to the New York Yankees
  • Top headlineWomen win the right to vote with the 19th Amendment
  • Technology milestoneFirst commercial radio broadcasts
  • Defining fadFlappers and the Jazz Age
  • Notable inventionBand-Aid adhesive bandages
  • World population1.86 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWoodrow Wilson
  • Sports championCleveland Indians (World Series)
  • U.S. population106.0M

1920 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in George Herbig's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19202026
Gas$0.30$3.45/gal
Average home$6,296$435,000
Average income$3,269$67,500
Movie ticket$0.15$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population106.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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