American time keeping was initially nourished by the need to publish time schedules for the railroads and was later expanded by the use of electric telegraph networks. With the need for accuracy in time keeping, professional astronomers assumed the arbiter's role in public time keeping, selling their observatory's time to cities and railroads. These astronomers were in conflict with others trying to make money by selling time, and battles for customers -- carried out in the name of "public service" -- raged for decades. Throughout the period, astronomers did little to improve their time keeping equipment; major advances in technology and dramatic changes in the public's time keeping habits finally ended the university astronomers' role. Now, the public's time comes via the U.S. Naval Observatory's noon signal. Dr. Bartky is using this grant to complete his research on both the social and technical history of time keeping in the United States. He is examining primary materials at several university archives to determine how astronomers addressed the needs of the general public. This is a fascinating story which will enrich both the history of science and technology and serve as an example of the impact of commercialization on scientific development.
