Wednesday, October 12, 2022

The Astronomical Achievements of David Rittenhouse

We are so excited to share that Montgomery County Historical Society, Executive Director Barry Rauhauser will be with us for the October lecture to present the fascinating life of David Rittenhouse.

Born in 1732, David Rittenhouse came of age at a time when the entire world was turning its head towards science.  Self-taught, Rittenhouse would become a craftsman, an astronomer, a surveyor, an instrument maker, and a scientist.  Alongside the likes of Benjamin Franklin, Rittenhouse would lead the early United States into the world of enlightenment. Rittenhouse served as President of the American Philosophical Society and as treasurer of Pennsylvania, and the first Director of the U.S. Mint. He observed the transit of Venus and helped to survey Pennsylvania’s borders.  Join us for this presentation where we will learn about the man whom Thomas Jefferson called an example of “New World genius.”

Lectures are FREE and open to the public.

Lectures start at 7:30PM

Abington Friends Meeting, The John Barnes Room

520 Meetinghouse Road, Jenkintown

Masks are recommended but not required to attend the lecture.

The lecture series is sponsored by a grant from the Jenkinstown Lyceum. For more information please call the Old York Road Historical Society at 215-886-8590.

If you are interested in learning about more of our future programs and are not on our email reminder list but would like to be, please send your email address to OldYorkRoadHistory@gmail.com. Information for upcoming programs and events can also be found on our Facebook and Instagram accounts.

As you can probably tell by his surname, there’s a bit of German in Barry Rauhauser’s family tree.  His ancestors came to America and settled in York County, Pennsylvania in 1749 and most of his family has never left the beautiful state of Pennsylvania.  His grandparents still talked “Dutchified” occasionally and he’s had his share of hog-maw, panhas and schnitz und knepp. 

In fact, exploring this Pennsylvania-German cultural background was what pulled him into the field of history and led to him to Penn State’s American Studies program and Winterthur Museum’s Early American Culture graduate program.  

For thirteen years, Barry worked as the Curator and Website Manager of LancasterHistory.org in Lancaster, PA.  For the past six years, he has been the Executive Director of Historical Society of Montgomery County where he hopes to have an impact on the public’s appreciation of history and their desire to preserve and use local history.

Barry is also an avid bicyclist and frequently stops along his bike rides to photograph old cemeteries and houses.