Wisconsin 101

Astronomy in the 1900s

In the 1800s, astronomers valued telescope magnification to investigate planets and stars. In the 1900s, astronomers started to ask questions about the structure of our galaxy, the Milky Way, which lead to greater emphasis on light-gathering power. By 1951, William Morgan at…

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May 9, 2018

Region 7 - South Center / Walworth County / Williams Bay / Yerkes Telescope / 2000-2020 / 2020-2040 / Related Stories / Science & Medicine / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940 / Education / 1940-1960 / 1960-1980 / 1980-2000

Yerkes Telescope Construction and Use

The construction of the 40-inch refracting telescope at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, was directed by George Hale, an astrophysicist at the University of Chicago, and funded by Charles Yerkes, a Chicago businessman. The telescope is made of 40-inch glass lenses manufactured by the…

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May 9, 2018

Green County / Region 7 - South Center / New Glarus / The Hefty-Blum White Barn / Manufacturing & Trade / Food & Cooking / 1860-1880 / Object Histories / Nature & Environment

OBJECT HISTORY: The Hefty-Blum White Barn

Barns are a defining feature of the Wisconsin landscape, and hold a special place in the history of Wisconsin. Among the many barns that contributed to Wisconsin’s place as a major dairy producing state is a Swiss barn that was built in 1878 in Green County. This barn, the Hefty-Blum White Barn, was used to…

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September 10, 2017

Read more about the article The Babcock Tester and the Wisconsin Idea

Handlers exhibit the University dairy herd for students at the Farmers Course, UW Stock Pavilion, 1900-1920. Part of the Frank N. Campbell Slide Collection. Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin Archives.

Dane County / Babcock Butterfat Tester / Madison / Region 7 - South Center / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / Food & Cooking / 1880-1900 / Education

The Babcock Tester and the Wisconsin Idea

Free As Well WaterIn 1894 Adolph Schoenman of Plain, Wisconsin, published a booklet extolling the virtues of the Babcock butterfat test. In a parable explaining its benefits, an astonished Farmer Jones exclaims, “Isn’t that a dandy little machine, though? I suppose, of…

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December 1, 2013

Read more about the article The Men Behind the Butterfat Test

The men behind the butterfat test. Left: Portrait of Stephen Moulton Babcock, 1890-1899. Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin Archives. Right: Portrait of F.G. Short, 1890-1899. Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin Archives.

Dane County / Babcock Butterfat Tester / Madison / Region 7 - South Center / Related Stories / Food & Cooking / Manufacturing & Trade / Science & Medicine / 1880-1900 / Education

The Men Behind the Butterfat Test

The “Real” InventorAlthough Stephen M. Babcock has been immortalized for his work on the butterfat test that received his name, it was not really his idea. The Babcock test was originally conceived by the forgotten man of the dairy industry, Frederick Garland Short. Short,…

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December 1, 2013