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Then Again: Art, Architecture, Astronomy and the Arctic -- A Vermonter's curious career
https://vtdigger.org/2025/06/01/then-again-art-architecture-astronomy-and-the-arctic-a-vermonters-curious-career/Mark Bushnell
People just kept recognizing Russell Porter’s genius and offering him jobs.
While reading this marvelous story I was again and again amazed at the talents and achievements of this unique person.
A group of explorers with sled dogs trek across a snowy, icy landscape under cloudy skies, with rocky cliffs in the background.Russell Porter couldn’t get enough of adventures in frigid climes, participating in nine Arctic and sub-Arctic expeditions. Photo via National Archives
If Russell Porter ever wrote a resume, recipients could be forgiven if they thought someone was playing a joke on them. At various times, he was an artist, but also an engineer. An architect, but also a cartographer. He was a builder, and a death-defying arctic explorer, while also being a ground-breaking telescope designer.
In truth, Porter might never have had to write a resume and make sense of all this nonlinear bouncing between vocations and avocations. Resumes weren’t mandatory in the job market during the first half of the 20th century. More importantly, he didn’t seem to need one, because people just kept recognizing his genius and offering him jobs.
. . .
The war delayed the completion of the Palomar Observatory, but Porter lived just long enough to see it begin operation in 1948. The Hale Telescope allowed humans to see farther into the universe than ever before. It is still in operation today.
Late in life, Porter received an honorary doctor of science degree from Norwich University. In January 1949, Middlebury College’s president and fellows voted to do likewise at the school’s spring graduation, but Porter died before he could receive it.
As gratifying as those tributes might have been, Porter, that lover of barren landscapes, might have been more thrilled that two celestial craters — one on the moon, one on Mars — were named in his honor.
In truth, Porter might never have had to write a resume and make sense of all this nonlinear bouncing between vocations and avocations. Resumes weren’t mandatory in the job market during the first half of the 20th century. More importantly, he didn’t seem to need one, because people just kept recognizing his genius and offering him jobs.
. . .
The war delayed the completion of the Palomar Observatory, but Porter lived just long enough to see it begin operation in 1948. The Hale Telescope allowed humans to see farther into the universe than ever before. It is still in operation today.
Late in life, Porter received an honorary doctor of science degree from Norwich University. In January 1949, Middlebury College’s president and fellows voted to do likewise at the school’s spring graduation, but Porter died before he could receive it.
As gratifying as those tributes might have been, Porter, that lover of barren landscapes, might have been more thrilled that two celestial craters — one on the moon, one on Mars — were named in his honor.