Sagan, Carl (1934–1996)

Carl Sagan, born in Brooklyn, New York, was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, and exobi-ologist who wrote the introduction for the first edition of Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time, published in 1988. Around age 5 Sagan became interested in astronomy, and his curiosity was further kindled by reading a library book about stars. He became an avid reader of science fiction, especially the Edgar Rice Burroughs books about John Carter of Mars. Sagan graduated from Rahway High School in New Jersey in 1951, named in the yearbook as the male “most likely to succeed” and “class brain.” He went on to complete his B.A. with general and special honors in 1954, his B.S. in physics in 1955, and his M.S. in physics in 1956, all from the University of Chicago. Sagan completed his Ph.D. in astronomy and astrophysics in 1960, with a dissertation titled “Physical Studies of Planets.”

from 1960 to 1962, during his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley, Sagan helped to develop an infrared radiometer, which was sent to Venus aboard Mariner 2. He then spent a year as visiting assistant professor of genetics at Stanford University School of Medicine. In 1963 he began a joint appointment as lecturer (and later assistant professor) of astronomy at Harvard University and as an astrophysicist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Upon being denied tenure at Harvard, Sagan went to Cornell University where he became director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at the Center for Radio Physics and Space Research and David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences.

Sagan's research interests included the greenhouse effect on Venus, the seasonal changes on Mars due to dust storms, the origin of life, and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. His mentors included Gerard Kuiper and Nobel laureates H. J. Muller and Joshua Lederberg. Sagan maintained a close association with NASA beginning in the 1950s, working with the Apollo, Mariner, Pioneer, Viking, Voyager, and Galileo programs. He was author, coauthor, or editor of more than 20 books and published more than 600 scholarly and popular articles. Sagan was a successful popularizer of science, most notably with the 1-part series “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage,” which was first broadcast in 1980. He also wrote the science fiction novel Contact, published in 1985 and adapted as a major motion picture released in 1997.

Honors awarded to Sagan include the NASA award for distinguished public service (twice), the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal, the NASA Apollo Achievement Award, the Leo Szilard Award for Physics in the Public Interest, the Sidney Hillman Foundation Prize, the Public Welfare Medal (the highest award of the National Academy of Sciences), and the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction, as well as many others. He was a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, received 22 honorary degrees, and Asteroid 2079 Sagan was named in his honor.

[Page 1124]Sagan was married three times and fathered five children. He was married to his first wife, Lynn Alexander (later Lynn Margulis), from 1957 to 1963. They had two sons, Jeremy and Dorion. His second marriage was to Linda Salzman, from 1968 to 1981. They had one son, Nicholas. His third marriage, which lasted from 1981 until his death, was to long-time collaborator Ann Druyan. They had one daughter, Alexandra (or Sasha), and one son, Samuel.

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