Editing Boyden Observatory (section)

== History ==

The Boyden Station of [[Harvard College Observatory|Harvard Observatory]] was founded in 1889 by [[Harvard University]] at Mount Harvard near [[Lima]], Peru. It was relocated to [[Arequipa]], Peru in October 1890 ([[List of observatory codes|obs.
 code]]: [[IAU code#800|800]]).<ref name=2010BAIL /><ref name=BOYD-HIST /> It was named after [[Uriah A. Boyden]], who in 1879 left in his will $238,000 to Harvard Observatory to be used for astronomical purposes. Significant work done at Arequipa include the discovery of [[Phoebe (moon)|Phoebe]], an outer moon of [[Saturn]], by [[William Henry Pickering]] using photographic plates captured with the {{convert|24|in|cm|abbr=on}} Bruce Astrograph.<ref name=ASSA-BRUCE /><ref name=1917REPT />

In 1927, the observatory was moved to its present location in South Africa.<ref name=BOYD-HIST /> This was done because it was expected that Bloemfontein would be less cloudy than Arequipa, which after two years of recording proved to be true.<ref name=1929BAIL /> The site near the settlement of Mazelspoort was formally dedicated in 1933.<ref name=1934ANNC /> Its first and longtime director in South Africa was [[John S. Paraskevopoulos]], who held the post from 1927 to 1951.<ref name=1956HAFF /> Financial issues at Harvard almost led to the closure of Boyden in 1954, but several European countries became partners in funding and using the observatory. In 1975 Harvard, which had transferred the title to the [[Smithsonian Institution]], announced it would withdraw its support in the following year. UFS agreed to support the facility, and it was donated to UFS in 1976.<ref name=1976JARR />