The Voyage To Europe
Ford, by virtue of a sabbatical his father took, was lucky enough to tour Europe, the Middle East, and Egypt when he was 15. Ford spent his 16th birthday in Alexandretta. Among several adventures Ford had at the time, one included climbing to the top of the Great Pyramid and carving his name into it.
Ford also visited several observatories, astronomers, and museums. He used the 6" refractor at the University of Leiden, for example, to make 36 variable star estimates for the AAVSO at this time. Later he visited American astronomer George W. Ritchey then on staff at the Observatoire de Paris where Ritchey told Ford all about his wish to create the 300" 'Apalantic Supertelescope'. We now know this general design today as the 'Ritchey-Chrétien' telescope. Ford also attended a meeting of the Société Astronomique de France while in Paris.
Ford's astronomical adventures in Europe were brought to a conclusion when he visited Greenwich Observatory and stood, on 31 May, "right below the transit slit, with one foot at 23h 59m 59.999s and the other one at 00h 00m 00.001s."
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