Georges Lemaitre and Stiglers Law of Eponymy
arXiv:1106.3928 · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-32254-9_8
Abstract
One of the greatest discoveries of modern times is that of the expanding Universe, almost invariably attributed to Hubble (1929). What is not widely known is that the original treatise by Lemaitre (1927) contained a rich fusion of both theory and of observation. Stiglers law of eponymy is yet again affirmed: no scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer (Merton, 1957). An appeal is made for a Lemaitre Telescope, to honour the discoverer of the expanding universe.
arXiv commentRevised title and text with a Note Added in Proof, containing emphasis of reflections by Lemaitre himself in 1950. To appear in "Georges Lemaitre: Life, Science and Legacy. Proceedings of the 80th Anniversary Conference held by the Faraday Institute, St Edmund's College, Cambridge."