M K V Bappu: 1960 - 1971
Manali Kallat Vainu Bappu (10 August 1927 – 19 August 1982) took over as the director of Kodaikanal Observatory in 1960, and continued to be the director of IIA after its formation in 1971. Kodaikanal Observatory is presently a centre of IIA.
A K Das: 1946 - 1960
Prof. Anil Kumar Das (1 February 1902 - 18 February 1961) was the director of Kodaikanal Observatory from 1946 till 1960. Most of his scientific contributions were in the spectro-photometric study of sunspots and chromosphere.
A L Narayan: 1937 - 1946
Dr. Appadvedula Lakshmi Narayan (1887 – 7 March 1973) was the first Indian director of Kodaikanal Observatory. He joined the observatory as assistant director in 1929. His work was centered around spectroscopic studies of the sun.
Thomas Royds: 1923 - 1937
Thomas Royds (April 11, 1884 – May 1, 1955) was a British solar physicist. During his time at Kodaikanal, he produced 49 research papers including the proof for the presence of oxygen in solar chromosphere.
John Evershed: 1911 - 1923
John Evershed (26 February 1864 – 17 November 1956) was an English astronomer. During his time at Kodaikanal, he identified radial motions in sunspots, a phenomenon now known as the Evershed effect.
C M Smith: 1899 - 1910
Charles Michie Smith (13 July 1854–27 September 1922) was the founding director of Kodaikanal Observatory. He was the Government Astronomer for Madras, replacing N. R. Pogson and took up the initiative to shift the observatory to Kodaikanal.
Related Pages
Directors of Indian Institute of Astrophysics : 1971 onwards
Directors of Madras Observatory : 1786 - 1899
Information compiled by Bhaskara Achari, Dean's Secretariate, IIA Bangalore.