Timeline of Edwin Hubble's life and astronomical discoveries, from his birth in Missouri to his confirmation of galaxies beyond the Milky Way and the expansion of the universe.
Edwin Powell Hubble is born in Marshfield, Missouri, to John Powell Hubble and Virginia Lee James. The family moves to Chicago in 1898. #astronomy #biography
Hubble graduates from high school in Wheaton, Illinois, and receives a scholarship to attend the University of Chicago. #education
Hubble wins a Rhodes Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford, where he reads jurisprudence (Roman and English law) and literature, earning a bachelor's degree in 1912. #education
Hubble earns a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and astronomy from the University of Chicago. He is a star athlete and excels in boxing. #astronomy
After Oxford, Hubble returns to the U.S., briefly practices law in Louisville, Kentucky, but soon decides to return to astronomy. #astronomy
Hubble enrolls as a graduate student at the University of Chicago's Yerkes Observatory, where he studies astronomy under Edwin Frost and Frank Schlesinger. #astronomy
Hubble volunteers for the U.S. Army during World War I, serves in the 86th Division and later in the 2nd Division, eventually reaching the rank of major. He is wounded and returns to the U.S. in 1919. #war
Hubble completes his Ph.D. dissertation on the classification of faint nebulae, laying groundwork for his later work on galaxies. #astronomy
Hubble is offered a staff position at Mount Wilson Observatory in California, where he begins using the 100-inch Hooker telescope. #astronomy
Hubble publishes a classification system for nebulae, separating galactic and extragalactic types. #astronomy
Using the Hooker telescope, Hubble identifies a Cepheid variable star in the Andromeda Nebula (M31). He calculates its distance, proving it is far beyond the Milky Way. #astronomy #discovery
Hubble's findings that Andromeda is an extragalactic object are presented at the AAS meeting. The universe is now known to contain many galaxies. #astronomy
Hubble introduces the morphological classification of galaxies into ellipticals, spirals, and irregulars, known as the Hubble sequence. #astronomy
Hubble's paper 'Cepheids in Spiral Nebulae' is published, confirming the extragalactic nature of spiral nebulae. #astronomy
Hubble continues his work on galactic and extragalactic nebulae, expanding the classification. #astronomy
Hubble collaborates with Milton Humason to measure redshifts of galaxies, finding a correlation between distance and redshift. #astronomy
Hubble publishes 'A Relation between Distance and Radial Velocity among Extra-Galactic Nebulae,' showing that the universe is expanding. Hubble's law is V = H0 * D. #astronomy #cosmology
Hubble and Humason publish further evidence of the expansion, measuring redshifts for many more galaxies. #astronomy
Hubble is awarded the Bruce Medal from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for his contributions to astronomy. #award
Hubble is elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in recognition of his discoveries. #honor
Hubble's popular science book 'The Realm of the Nebulae' is published, summarizing his work on galaxies and the expanding universe. #book #astronomy
Hubble receives the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society for his outstanding achievements. #award
Hubble studies the luminosity function and spatial distribution of galaxies, contributing to the understanding of large-scale structure. #astronomy
Hubble is elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest scientific honors in the United States. #honor
Hubble serves as President of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. #leadership
Hubble is appointed to the Advisory Council of the Mount Wilson Observatory, helping to guide research. #astronomy
Hubble presents the Halley Lecture at the University of Oxford on the expansion of the universe. #lecture
During World War II, Hubble serves as Chief of the Ballistics Branch at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, working on supersonic projectiles. #war
Hubble returns to astronomical research at Mount Wilson, focusing on nebular collections and galaxy counts. #astronomy
Hubble is involved in planning for the 200-inch Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory, which he will use for deep galaxy surveys. #astronomy
The 200-inch Hale Telescope sees first light, and Hubble is among the first to use it for observing galaxies. #astronomy
Hubble's book 'The Observational Approach to Cosmology' is published, summarizing cosmology from an observational perspective. #book #cosmology
Hubble is elected to the American Philosophical Society, an honor for distinguished scientists. #honor
Hubble suffers a severe heart attack while on vacation. He recovers but his health declines. #health
Hubble continues work on galaxy counts and refining the Hubble constant value. #astronomy
Edwin Hubble dies of a cerebral thrombosis at his home in San Marino, California. His wife Grace survives him. #obituary
After his death, Hubble's law becomes a cornerstone of cosmology, later leading to the Big Bang theory. #cosmology
The Hubble Space Telescope is named in his honor, launched by NASA and ESA. It revolutionizes astronomy. #telescope
