Dirk Brouwer

Dirk Brouwer (born Sept. 1, 1902, Rotterdam—died Jan. 31, 1966, New Haven, Conn., U.S.) was a Dutch-born U.S. astronomer and geophysicist known for his achievements in celestial mechanics, especially for his pioneering application of high-speed digital computers. After leaving the University of Leiden, Brouwer served as a faculty member at Yale University from 1928 until his death, becoming both professor of astronomy and director of the Yale Observatory in 1941. At Yale he first studied...