Allan Sandage
He measured the cosmos, giving us the first reliable speed of the universe's expansion and a credible age for its existence.
1926–2010 (age 84)·American astronomer·Birthday: June 18·The Greatest Generation
Biography
Allan Sandage was the patient, meticulous heir to Edwin Hubble's cosmic quest. As a young astronomer at the Mount Wilson and Palomar observatories, he inherited Hubble's unfinished work and spent decades refining the measurements of celestial distances and velocities. His life's work was a relentless pursuit of two numbers: the Hubble constant, which tells us how fast the universe is expanding, and the age of the universe itself. Through countless nights at the telescope and painstaking analysis, Sandage wrestled with recalcitrant data, gradually narrowing the possibilities. He was a classical observer in an age before digital surveys, and his determinations, though later refined, provided the foundational framework for modern cosmology. His later years were marked by a controversial turn as he championed a decelerating universe against the rising tide of evidence for dark energy, a testament to his unwavering commitment to the data as he saw it.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
Allan was born in 1926, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Allan Was Born
The biggest hits of 1926
#1 Movie
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Allan's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1926Born
Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket
President: Calvin Coolidge"Baby Face" — Jan Garber
1931Started school
The Empire State Building opens as the world's tallest
Gas: $0.17/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Minnie the Moocher" — Cab CallowayBest Picture: Cimarron
1939Became a teenager
World War II begins; The Wizard of Oz premieres
Gas: $0.19/galMin wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Over the Rainbow" — Judy GarlandBest Picture: Gone with the Wind
1942Could drive
Battle of Midway turns the tide in the Pacific
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,175Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"White Christmas" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Mrs. Miniver
1944Could vote
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1947Turned 21
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1956Turned 30
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1966Turned 40
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1976Turned 50
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1986Turned 60
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 70
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 80
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2010Died at 84
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
Key Achievements
- Determined the first reasonably accurate value for the Hubble constant, the rate of the universe's expansion.
- Calculated a credible age for the universe based on the expansion rate and stellar evolution.
- Spent over six decades as the preeminent observational cosmologist, shaping the field's core questions.
- Produced the Hubble Atlas of Galaxies, a seminal photographic catalog used by generations of astronomers.
Did You Know?
He was hired by Edwin Hubble as a graduate student and essentially completed Hubble's life's work after his death.
Sandage's Ph.D. advisor was the legendary astrophysicist Walter Baade.
He discovered the first quasar, 3C 48, though its strange nature was not understood until later.
In his later career, he became a vocal proponent of a cosmological model that did not include a cosmological constant or dark energy.
““Cosmology is the search for two numbers.””
