Percival Lowell (March 13, 1855 — November 12, 1916) was an American author and astronomer, best known for his promotion of the theory that Mars had an intelligent civilization that constructed canals to distribute water across its dried but once-lush surface and his founding of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, which later discovered Pluto, then considered to be the ninth planet.
He was born in Boston to the Brahmin Lowell family; his paternal great-uncle (his grandfather's half-brother) was the industrialist namesake of the mill town of Lowell, Massachusetts, while his maternal grandfather was the industrialist namesake of the mill town of Lawrence, Massachusetts. He went to Harvard (of course) and gave a speech at his graduation on the nebular hypothesis, which was cutting-edge astronomy at the time.
He spent several years involved in diplomatic missions to Korea, China, and Japan, where he wrote books about the people and cultures of the region, most famously The Soul of the Far East (1888).
He was inspired to return to astronomy by the book La Planète Mars (1892) by French astronomer Camille Flammarion, which was based on work by Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli. Schiaparelli had noticed various lines on Mars that looked like water channels to him; Flammarion and Lowell read Schiaparelli's "canali" (channels) as meaning canals, with the distinction being that channels can be natural but canals are constructed. This led to the theory that Mars was a dying but once-green world inhabited by an intelligent species that built canals to distribute water from the polar caps, which Lowell promoted avidly.
He began a study of the best location in the United States for an astronomical observatory, prioritizing "good air" (high altitude, low pollution, and few clouds) and feasible logistics. He selected Flagstaff, a small town in the San Francisco Mountains in the north of the Arizona Territory: its altitude of just under 7000' (just over 2000m) placed it above most other observatories of the time, its dark skies meant clean observations, the cloudless Arizona weather meant more observation nights than most observatories, and its location on the train line between Santa Fe to Los Angeles made logistics simple. Lowell Observatory was constructed on Mars Hill (altitude 7250'/2210m) in Flagstaff in time for the 1894-1895 opposition (close approach) of Mars — the first time an observatory had been deliberately constructed in a remote, elevated location for optimal viewing quality.
He carefully observed Mars through that opposition, and in 1895 he published his first book on the planet, simply titled Mars. In it, he discusses the canals and oases of Mars, concluding that they were constructed and maintained by an intelligent species of some unknown sort. It was followed by Mars and its Canals (1906) and Mars as the Abode of Life (1908).
He became one of the foremost astronomical science promoters of the turn of the century - the Carl Sagan or Neil deGrasse Tyson of his day, with the caveat that what he was presenting was not generally agreed upon by the scientific community. The Once-Green Mars theory became common knowledge with the public even as most astronomers became increasingly skeptical and began to shun him and his observatory.
He investigated the other planets as well. He attempted to draw a map of Venus, viewing it during daylight with the telescope stopped down to restrict the light coming in. There are theories that in doing so, he accidentally created an opthalmoscope, giving him a view of the blood vessels in his own eye; pop culture has frequently taken this theory and conflated it with his more-widely-known investigations of Mars, leading to mistaken suggestions that the Martian canals were actually the blood vessels in his eyes.
Deciding to tackle one of the greatest extant problems in astronomy, he took on the search for Planet X, the hypothetical planet out past Neptune that was responsible for perceived irregularities in Uranus's orbit. He spent the rest of his life searching for it, but failed to find it before his death in 1916. He was laid to rest in a mausoleum on Mars Hill, on the grounds of his observatory.
His will left the vast majority of his money to the observatory he founded, and a mere half-million dollars to his wife, while naming his wife the will's executor. A decade-long legal struggle ensued as his widow attempted to argue that the bequest to the observatory was not legal; by the end of the fight, the estate had shrunk in size considerably, but the remainder of what was left was finally given to the observatory. Once funding was secure, the observatory hired amateur astronomer Clyde Tombaugh to continue Lowell's search. In 1930, Lowell Observatory announced the discovery of Planet X; after a public request for name suggestions, the name Pluto was chosen, with its astronomical symbol being a superimposed P and L (♇)...the first two letters of Pluto, but also the initials of observatory founder Percival Lowell.
His method of choosing the location for his observatory quickly became the standard. Astronomers emphasized altitude and clear skies, leading to telescopes being placed at higher and higher altitudes and in more and more remote locations - "where they may see rather than to be seen", as Lowell put it. Flagstaff was considered such a good location that the US Naval Observatory relocated their large telescopes to a dark-sky site outside the city in the late 1940s.
His works inspired many others - English-language works about a Once-Green Mars with canals generally draw their inspiration from Lowell, at least indirectly. Authors specifically inspired by him include H. G. Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ray Bradbury, and Robert A. Heinlein.
In fiction, he may be referenced in modern works set on a Once-Green Mars; in works that involve Victorian-era trips to Mars or visits from Martians, he may show up as a Historical Domain Character.
Tropes associated with Percival Lowell:
- Once-Green Mars: He was one of the first and greatest proponents of this theory in the English-language world. His works would likely be the Trope Maker if they were intended as fiction.
- Planet X: Lowell spent the last decade of his life searching for Planet X, and Pluto was discovered by the observatory he founded while continuing that search.
Works featuring Percival Lowell as a Historical Domain Character:
- Har Deshur
- The Martian War: A Thrilling Eyewitness Account of the Recent Invasion As Reported by Mr. H.G. Wells by Kevin J. Anderson
- Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams
- War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches
