(187?-1947) An active member of the Victoria Centre and winner of the Chant Medal in 1941.

H. BOYD BRYDON (187?-1947) was born and educated in England. After a career as a steam engineer in the Chicago area, he retired to Victoria in 1925 and took up astronomy as a hobby. In 1931, he purchased A.F. Miller's historic 10-cm refractor and installed it in an observatory which he built at his home at 2390 Oak Bay Avenue. This was the focus of Centre observing activities, not only while Brydon was still active, but even after the Centre purchased the refractor from him in 1943.

A tireless promoter of astronomy for amateurs, he spoke at meetings and on radio, and published twenty-eight papers in the Journal, a record unmatched by any amateur member. Many of these articles were concerned with improvements in mountings and drives for small telescopes but others showed the range of his observing interests including auroras, occultations, variable stars, and sunspots. Occasionally he ventured into more speculative topics such as the origin of comets and extra-terrestrial life.

Brydon served the Centre as a councillor, Secretary, Treasurer, President and Honorary President and then, in 1938, went on the National Council. He was elected Second Vice-President of the Society in 1943, and First Vice-President in 1945, but had to decline the presidency because of ill-health. At the presentation to him of the Chant Medal for 1941, K.O. Wright noted that, "The great increase in activity among amateur astronomers in Victoria during the past ten years can be directly traced to the work of Mr. Brydon."

—Peter Broughton (from Looking Up)

Notes

Death records in BC show he died on November 24, 1947 at Oak Bay, aged 76. This would make his year of birth 1871 or 1870.—WM

Further Reading

• Presentation of the 1941 Chant Medal to H. Boyd Brydon, JRASC (March 1942)
• The Wray Telescope of the Victoria Centre of the R.A.S.C., JRASC (February 1945)
• Dedication of the "Brydon" Telescope, JRASC (October 1950)
• JRASC articles by H. Boyd Brydon
• JRASC offprints by H. Boyd Brydon