[2] Peritonitis.
Father: William Watson (farmer, b. 17-Jan-1811, d. 28-Nov-1878)
Mother: Rebecca Bacon Watson (b. Jun-1818, m. 1837, d. 1901)
Sister: Catharine Watson (chemist, b. circa 1839, d. 18-Jul-1877)
Brother: Edward Watson (physician, b. Nov-1840, d. 1901)
Brother: Elthan Watson (b. circa 1844, d. 1879)
Wife: Annette Waite Watson (m. 1860, no children)
High School: Ann Arbor High School, Ann Arbor, MI (briefly attended, 1850)
University: BA Astronomy, University of Michigan (1857)
University: MA Physics, University of Michigan (1859)
Teacher: Mathematics, University of Michigan (1858-60)
Professor: Astronomy, University of Michigan (1859-60 and 1863-79)
Professor: Physics, University of Michigan (1860-63)
Professor: Astronomy, University of Wisconsin at Madison (1879-80)
Administrator: Assistant Director, Ann Arbor Observatory, University of Michigan (1858-59)
Administrator: Acting Director, Ann Arbor Observatory, University of Michigan (1859-63)
Administrator: Director, Ann Arbor Observatory, University of Michigan (1863-79)
Administrator: Director, Washburn Observatory, University of Wisconsin at Madison (1879-80)
American Philosophical Society 1877
National Academy of Sciences 1867
Gold Medal of the Imperial Institute of France 1870
Asteroid Namesake 729 Watsonia
Lunar Crater Watson (62.6° S, 124.5° W, 64 km. diameter)
Naturalized US Citizen
Canadian Ancestry
Irish Ancestry Paternal
Author of books:
A Popular Treatise on Comets (1861)
Theoretical Astronomy: Relating to the Motions of the Heavenly Bodies (1868)