2011-2012 Bill 969: Robert Ariail - South Carolina Legislature Online

1 South Carolina General Assembly 2 119th Session, 2011-2012 3 4 S. 969 5 6 STATUS INFORMATION 7 8 Senate Resolution 9 Sponsors: Senator Lourie 10 Document Path: l:\council\bills\gm\24885sd11.docx 11 12 Introduced in the Senate on June 16, 2011 13 Adopted by the Senate on June 16, 2011 14 15 Summary: Robert Ariail 16 17 18 HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 19 20 Date Body Action Description with journal page number 21 6/16/2011 Senate Introduced and adopted 22 23 24 VERSIONS OF THIS BILL 25 26 6/16/2011 27 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A SENATE RESOLUTION 10 11 TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR ROBERT ARIAIL FOR HIS 12 PHILANTHROPY OF ASTRONOMICAL ARTIFACTS AND 13 LITERATURE TO THE STATE MUSEUM AND THE 14 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND FOR HIS 15 REMARKABLE SERVICE ON THEIR BEHALF. 16 17 Whereas, Robert Ariail helped secure and restore a rare Alvan 18 Clark telescope for the State Museum’s Windows to New Worlds 19 observatory, which will serve students and the public of all ages, 20 both onsite and from remote locations; and 21 22 Whereas, Mr. Ariail also located, restored, and recommended the 23 donation to the State Museum of the historic 1849 Henry Fitz 24 telescope, the oldest Americanmade observatory telescope 25 remaining and on the verge of complete loss, from Erskine College 26 to the museum’s science displays; and 27 28 Whereas, he has donated his entire collection of antique telescopes 29 and astronomical instruments, among the best in the world, to the 30 State Museum, containing over two hundred objects, such as rare 31 astronomy tools and instruments and more than sixty telescopes, 32 the oldest dating to 1730; and 33 34 Whereas, his donation of a collection of fine modern telescopes 35 and astronomy instruments for museum programming has allowed 36 the museum an opportunity to expand its public observing inhouse 37 and outreach programs; and 38 39 Whereas, since the inception of the State Museum’s Windows to 40 New Worlds project, Mr. Ariail has guided its development as a 41 State Museum Foundation board member, advisor, and friend; and 42

[969] 2 1 Whereas, his combined gift of texts and instruments to the 2 University of South Carolina Library and State Museum represent 3 a top-ten collection in the world and has created a legacy for both 4 institutions by attracting worldwide attention and business to the 5 museum, university, and our city, county, and State; and 6 7 Whereas, his gift to the University of South Carolina libraries 8 includes over five thousand books, including rare star atlases, 9 scientific journals, rare offprints, manuscripts, and ephemera 10 relating to historical astronomy, a collection important for both 11 teaching and research, as well as providing students and faculty 12 across the State a unique understanding of this area of study; and 13 14 Whereas, not only will the collection attract the attention of 15 researchers around the world, but through digitization of some of 16 these materials, scholars will also be able to access them from any 17 global site and view them with enhanced technology; and 18 19 Whereas, included in the collection are star atlases and 20 monographs of notable astronomers from the eighteenth, 21 nineteenth, and twentieth centuries; periodical publications from 22 numerous major observatories, such as the Dudley Observatory 23 and the Griffith Observatory; and early scholarly publications, 24 including The Observatory, the Philosophical Transactions of the 25 Royal Society of London, and the Journal of the British 26 Astronomical Association; and 27 28 Whereas, one notable manuscript written by William Stukeley, a 29 contemporary and colleague of Sir Isaac Newton, expands on 30 Stukeley’s conversations with Newton and provides detail on his 31 theory of the Milky Way, predating other scholarship on the topic 32 by thirty years. Now, therefore, 33 34 Be it resolved by the Senate: 35 36 That the members of the South Carolina Senate, by this resolution, 37 recognize and honor Robert Ariail for his philanthropy of 38 astronomical artifacts and literature to the State Museum and the 39 University of South Carolina and for his remarkable service on 40 their behalf. 41 42 Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to 43 Robert Ariail.

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