1902-1966

Dutch-American astronomer who made significant contributions to the understanding of celestial mechanics. Brouwer was also a pioneer in the use of (then) high-speed digital computers for solving problems in celestial mechanics, many of which found practical application with the launching of artificial satellites in the late 1950s and early 1960s. For his contributions to astronomy, Brouwer was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1955. Other work led to mathematical techniques for precisely determining the positions of planets, setting the stage for their later exploration.