William P. Bidelman

I have been meaning to get in touch with your family. As part of a life history project back in 1999, I did a fairly comprehensive write up of Dr. Bidelman's life. I'd love to be able to share it with your family. It does show him of a workaholic and I was a bit brutally honest with his protrayal as he presented it, but it is part of his history. Please send me a message so we can figure out the best way to do this. I only have a printed version, the digital copy is long gone, but I could...

I worked with Billy and Gerry Kron at Lick Observatory from 1961 to 1963. I have never met a person with more in depth knowledge about the high resolution spectra of HD stars - he knew them all!
Jim Breckinridge (Pasadena

I am very saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Bidelman. He was my thesis adviser at CWRU Warner & Swasey Observatory from 1973 to 1979. I have fond memories of his inspiring guidance and many kind words.
Billy was, in many ways, a remarkable person. He was the only astronomer I've ever known who would run down the hallway in excitement holding a spectrogram (a thin piece of glass with assorted dark smudges on it) and telling everyone "look at the H-alpha emission in this...

Billy gave me my first full-time job as an astronomer in 1965 to oversee the move and start the science program with the Michigan Schmidt telescope which was relocated to Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory in Chile. He was a joy to work with & for and was full of fruitful ideas and stories galore. He could talk more than anyone I knew. Sometimes a group would form to go to lunch with him, and we always had to wait until he had made his "important discovery of the morning". He and Verna...

I shared an office with Billy at CWRU for six years (1997-2003). We were an odd pairing: a seasoned emeritus and a green graduate student. But I listened and learned a lot. The subject and much of the background for my PhD Dissertation came from Billy. He left an indelible mark on me and my career. And I'm better for it.

I shared an office with Billy at CWRU for five years (1998-2003). We were an odd pairing: a seasoned emeritus and a green graduate student. But I listened and learned a lot. The subject and much of the background for my PhD Dissertation came from Billy. He left an indelible mark on me and my career. And I'm better for it.