Dr. Goethe Link and his observatory

Goethe Stone Link was born in Selvin in Warrick County in southwestern Indiana on May 20, 1879 to Dr. William Hall Link & Phoebe (née Stone) Link.  Leaving his home in Petersburg, Indiana at the age of 15, he matriculated at Wabash College for two years & then transferred to Indiana University for his junior year.  He then went to the Central College of Physicians and Surgeons in Indianapolis and graduated four years later in 1902.

After interning at City Hospital, he started practicing medicine together with his father in Indianapolis in the Fountain Square area but later specialized in innovative operations on the thyroid.  He continued doing these until the age of 88 – having completed over 22,000 of these surgeries!  He is credited with the development of new instruments and techniques in this field and was also one of the 16 co-founders of the Indiana School of Medicine.

Besides being an amateur astronomer and a physician, in his 3 collegiate years he was a professional bicycle racer (competing in Indiana, Illinois & Kentucky) and later a pioneering aeronaut who won two silver trophies in the 1909 National Balloon Race for both distance & time in the air!

In May 1937, on a high bluff overlooking the White River Valley near Brooklyn, Indiana, construction began on the Goethe Link Observatory financed by Dr. Link. When completed 2-1/2 years later, the observatory’s 36-inch telescope was among the 8th largest in the nation. It was also the 2nd largest privately-owned observatory in the country. Here Dr. Link observed for his own pleasure and held open houses for the public as well.

During the observatory’s early construction, the famous astronomer Harlow Shapley from Harvard visited the site and encouraged the astronomy department to hire an additional astronomer to take advantage of this remarkable facility. Dr. F. K. Edmondson persuaded President Herman B. Wells of the need and Dr. James Cuffey came from Harvard as a post-doc fellow in 1937.  In 1948, Dr. Link & his wife, Helen, donated the observatory and its 12 acres to Indiana University.  It was used for serious astronomical work by astronomy department’s faculty and graduate students until the late 1980’s when increasing sky brightness from the suburbs of Indianapolis compromised the value of most research observations.  It is now used primarily by the Indiana Astronomical Society, to which Dr. Link earlier belonged.

Dr. Link died on December 31, 1980 at the age of 101.  By any standard, Dr. Link, with his many interests, was truly a renaissance man, and we gratefully acknowledge his many contributions to medicine, astronomy and the community.

For more on the history of the Link Observatory, Thomas Borlik gave a very nice presentation during the Indiana Astronomical Society General Meeting celebrating the IAS 90th anniversary.  We've supplied the link to the youtube recording for your convenience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCCRdhwaZ9M