What was Asaph Hall’s most significant achievement?

Hall’s most significant achievement was the co-discovery of Phobos and Deimos, the moons of Mars, in 1877. This discovery was a major milestone in planetary science, providing critical data on the Martian system.

Where did Asaph Hall work?

Hall worked at the United States Naval Observatory and later at the Harvard College Observatory, where he contributed to astronomical research and planetary observations.

What instruments did Asaph Hall use in his research?

Hall primarily used the 26-inch refractor telescope at the United States Naval Observatory to observe Mars and its moons.

Asaph Hall

Q: What awards did Asaph Hall receive?

Hall received the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, the Lalande Prize, and was knighted as a Knight of the Legion of Honour for his contributions to astronomy.

American astronomer (1829–1907)

Person Human Q106559

Facts

27 properties

Instance of: human
Sex or gender: male^[27]
Date of birth: October 15, 1829
Date of death: November 22, 1907
Place of birth: Goshen
Place of death: Annapolis
Country of citizenship: United States^[13]
Occupation: astronomer, mathematician, carpenter
Employer: Harvard University, Old Naval Observatory^[15]^[16]
Field of work: astronomy^[14]
Educated at: New-York Central College, McGrawville^[17]
Award received: Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, Lalande Prize, Knight of the Legion of Honour^[18]^[19]^[20]
Father: Asaph Hall II^[9]
Spouse: Angeline Stickney^[10]
Child: Percival Hall, Asaph Hall Jr.^[11]^[12]
Languages spoken, written or signed: English^[36]
Contributed to creative work: Popular Science^[39]
Described by source: Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969–1978), Otto's encyclopedia, Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Small Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1926–1947), Small Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Astronomers: A Biographical Reference^[30]^[31]^[32]^[33]^[34]^[35]
Family name: Hall^[28]
Generational suffix: L615860-F1
Given name: Asaph^[29]
Interested in: astronomy^[38]
Maintained by WikiProject: WikiProject Mathematics^[41]
Member of: Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Academy of Sciences, American Philosophical Society^[21]^[22]^[23]^[24]^[25]^[26]

Show all 27 facts +3

Name in native language: Asaph Hall^[37]
On focus list of Wikimedia project: WikiProject Smithsonian Names^[40]
Place of burial: East Street Cemetery^[8]

🏷️ Also known as

en Asaph Hall en Asaph Hall III ar أساف هول el Ασάφ Χωλ el Έιζαφ Χωλ fa آساف هال he אסף הול id Asaph Hall III ja アサフ・ホール ko 아사프 홀 ru Асаф Холл ru Холл А. ru Холл Асаф ru Холл, Асаф sv Asaph Hall III sv Hall uk Асаф Голл uk Асаф Холл zh 阿萨夫·霍尔 zh-hant 阿薩夫·霍爾

🔖 Identifiers · 50

ISNI: 000000003907274X
VIAF cluster ID: 62325866
Library of Congress Authorities ID: n87802742
GND ID: 117415006
American National Biography ID: 1300679
Arabic Ontology lexical concept ID: 151059908
Archives at Yale agent ID: people/74394
Article ID in the Lithuanian Universal Encyclopedia Online: asaph-hall
Awards & Winners artist ID: 01by3y
BabelNet ID: 00006229n
Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers ID: 572
Brockhaus Enzyklopädie online ID: hall-asaph

Show all 50 identifiers +38

CERL Thesaurus ID: cnp01504275
CTHS person ID: 119381
DDB person (GND) ID: 117415006
De Agostini ID: Hall,+Asaph
Deutsche Biographie (GND) ID: 117415006
Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID: biography/Asaph-Hall
FAST ID: 189843
FES digital collections entity ID: 351231
FactGrid item ID: Munna bituberculata
Find a Grave memorial ID: 45063827
Freebase ID: /m/01by3y
GeneaStar person ID: halla
Geni profile ID: 6000000047392824015
IdRef ID: 080845681
Interlingual Index ID: i95392
J9U entity ID: 987007356024305171
Kalliope-Verbund (GND) ID: 117415006
Krugosvet article (archived): nauka_i_tehnika/astronomiya/HOLL_ASAF.html
MR Author ID: 720687
NL CR AUT ID: xx0256201
NNDB people ID: 591/000165096
National Academy of Sciences member ID: 20000604
Nationale Thesaurus voor Auteursnamen ID: 33249019X
Online PWN Encyclopedia ID: 3909625
Open Library ID: OL351930A
Oxford Reference overview ID: 20110803095916814
Prabook ID: 729918, 1107343
Proleksis enciklopedija ID: 25223
Russian Academy of Sciences person ID: 52631
SNAC ARK ID: w6n87chd
Treccani ID: asaph-hall
Treccani's Enciclopedia Italiana ID: asaph-hall
U.S. National Archives Identifier: 10572714
WikiTree person ID: Hall-17927
WordNet 3.1 Synset ID: 11044415-n
WorldCat Entities ID: E39PBJtgY47RxdYCYHBWPW4rMP
Yale LUX ID: person/92332c00-3ca7-4a03-97d9-028b07bf08f5
ZbMATH author ID: hall.asaph

Report an error or request removal Lineage (PROV-JSON)

🔗 Connections

Member of 6

Russian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Philosophical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences

Award received 3

Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, Lalande Prize, Knight of the Legion of Honour

Named after 3

2023 Asaph, Hall, Hall Cliff

Occupation 3

mathematician, astronomer, carpenter

← Discoverer or inventor 3

Phobos, Deimos, NGC 7693

Employer 2

Harvard University, Old Naval Observatory

Child 1

Percival Hall

Children (paternal) 1

Percival Hall

Contributed to creative work 1

Popular Science

Country of citizenship 1

United States

Described by source 1

Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary

FactGrid item ID 1

Munna bituberculata

Family name 1

Hall

Field of work 1

astronomy

Instance of 1

human

Interested in 1

astronomy

Languages spoken, written or signed 1

English

Maintained by WikiProject 1

WikiProject Mathematics

Place of birth 1

Goshen

Place of death 1

Annapolis

Sex or gender 1

male

Spouse 1

Angeline Stickney

Spouses 1

Angeline Stickney

← FactGrid item ID 1

Bettencourt-Saint-Ouen

Press Enter · cited answer in seconds

Summary

Asaph Hall was born on October 15, 1829^[1], in Goshen^[2]. He died on November 22, 1907^[3], in Annapolis^[4]. He worked as an astronomer^[5], mathematician^[6], and carpenter^[7].

Body

Works and Contributions

Things named for Asaph Hall include 2023 Asaph^[42], an asteroid^[43]; Hall^[44], an impact crater^[45]; and Hall Cliff^[46], a cliff^[47].

Why It Matters

He is credited with the discovery of Phobos^[48], a moon of Mars^[49]; Deimos^[50], a moon of Mars^[51]; and NGC 7693^[52], a lenticular galaxy^[53]. Entities named for him include 2023 Asaph^[42], an asteroid^[43]; Hall^[44], an impact crater^[45]; and Hall Cliff^[46], a cliff^[47].

FAQs

Where was Asaph Hall born?

Asaph Hall's place of birth was Goshen^[2].

Where did Asaph Hall die?

Asaph Hall died in Annapolis^[4].

Who were Asaph Hall's parents?

Asaph Hall's father was Asaph Hall II^[9].

Who was Asaph Hall married to?

Asaph Hall's spouses include Angeline Stickney^[10].

What did Asaph Hall do for work?

Asaph Hall worked as an astronomer^[5], mathematician^[6], and carpenter^[7].

Where did Asaph Hall go to school?

Asaph Hall was educated at New-York Central College, McGrawville^[17].

What awards did Asaph Hall receive?

Honors received include Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society^[18], Lalande Prize^[19], and Knight of the Legion of Honour^[20].

What did Asaph Hall discover?

Asaph Hall is credited as discoverer of Phobos^[48], Deimos^[50], and NGC 7693^[52].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

[2] ↑ Asaph Hall — place of birth (P19): Goshen. archive.org. archive.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[4] ↑ Asaph Hall — place of death (P20): Annapolis. Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969–1978). Retrieved 2015-09-28. wikidata.org.
[27] ↑ Asaph Hall — sex or gender (P21): male. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2024-06-19. wikidata.org.
[9] ↑ Asaph Hall — father (P22): Asaph Hall II. wikidata.org.
[10] ↑ Asaph Hall — spouse (P26): Angeline Stickney. wikidata.org.
[13] ↑ Asaph Hall — country of citizenship (P27): United States. wikidata.org.
[11] ↑ Asaph Hall — child (P40): Percival Hall. wikidata.org.
[12] ↑ Asaph Hall — child (P40): Asaph Hall Jr.. wikidata.org.
[17] ↑ Asaph Hall — educated at (P69): New-York Central College, McGrawville. wikidata.org.
[14] ↑ Asaph Hall — field of work (P101): astronomy. Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved 2022-11-07. wikidata.org.
[5] ↑ Asaph Hall — occupation (P106): astronomer. wikidata.org.
[6] ↑ Asaph Hall — occupation (P106): mathematician. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2026-04-20. wikidata.org.
[7] ↑ Asaph Hall — occupation (P106): carpenter. wikidata.org.
[15] ↑ Asaph Hall — employer (P108): Harvard University. wikidata.org.
[16] ↑ Asaph Hall — employer (P108): Old Naval Observatory. wikidata.org.
[8] ↑ Asaph Hall — place of burial (P119): East Street Cemetery. Find a Grave. Retrieved 2022-01-10. wikidata.org.
[18] ↑ Asaph Hall — award received (P166): Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society. wikidata.org.
[19] ↑ Asaph Hall — award received (P166): Lalande Prize. wikidata.org.
[20] ↑ Asaph Hall — award received (P166): Knight of the Legion of Honour. articles.adsabs.harvard.edu. articles.adsabs.harvard.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[21] ↑ Asaph Hall — member of (P463): Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences. wikidata.org.
[22] ↑ Asaph Hall — member of (P463): American Academy of Arts and Sciences. wikidata.org.
[23] ↑ Asaph Hall — member of (P463): Russian Academy of Sciences. wikidata.org.
[24] ↑ Asaph Hall — member of (P463): American Association for the Advancement of Science. NNDB. wikidata.org.
[25] ↑ Asaph Hall — member of (P463): National Academy of Sciences. wikidata.org.
[26] ↑ Asaph Hall — member of (P463): American Philosophical Society. wikidata.org.
[1] ↑ Asaph Hall — date of birth (P569): October 15, 1829. SNAC. Retrieved 2017-10-09. archive.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[3] ↑ Asaph Hall — date of death (P570): November 22, 1907. SNAC. Retrieved 2017-10-09. wikidata.org.
[28] ↑ Asaph Hall — family name (P734): Hall. wikidata.org.
[29] ↑ Asaph Hall — given name (P735): Asaph. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2015-08-14. wikidata.org.
[30] ↑ Asaph Hall — described by source (P1343): Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969–1978). wikidata.org.
[31] ↑ Asaph Hall — described by source (P1343): Otto's encyclopedia. wikidata.org.
[32] ↑ Asaph Hall — described by source (P1343): Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. wikidata.org.
[33] ↑ Asaph Hall — described by source (P1343): Small Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. wikidata.org.
[34] ↑ Asaph Hall — described by source (P1343): Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1926–1947). wikidata.org.
[35] ↑ Asaph Hall — described by source (P1343): Astronomers: A Biographical Reference. wikidata.org.
[36] ↑ Asaph Hall — languages spoken, written or signed (P1412): English. Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved 2022-03-01. wikidata.org.
[37] ↑ Asaph Hall — name in native language (P1559): Asaph Hall. wikidata.org.
[38] ↑ Asaph Hall — interested in (P2650): astronomy. wikidata.org.
[39] ↑ Asaph Hall — contributed to creative work (P3919): Popular Science. wikidata.org.
[40] ↑ Asaph Hall — on focus list of Wikimedia project (P5008): WikiProject Smithsonian Names. wikidata.org.
[41] ↑ Asaph Hall — maintained by WikiProject (P6104): WikiProject Mathematics. wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

Inline context (facts about related entities)

[49] ↑ Phobos — P31: moon of Mars. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[51] ↑ Deimos — P31: moon of Mars. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[53] ↑ NGC 7693 — P31: lenticular galaxy. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[43] ↑ 2023 Asaph — P31: asteroid. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[45] ↑ Hall — P31: impact crater. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[47] ↑ Hall Cliff — P31: cliff. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Asaph Hall. Retrieved November 8, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/asaph-hall

MLA “Asaph Hall.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 8 Nov. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/asaph-hall.

BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_asaph-hall_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Asaph Hall}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/asaph-hall}, note = {Accessed: 2026-11-08}}

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According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Asaph Hall — https://4ort.xyz/entity/asaph-hall (retrieved 2026-11-08)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/asaph-hall · Last refreshed: November 8, 2026

Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

12w ago · Mahirtwofivesix · 2026-08-19 view diff on Wikidata ↗

BabelNet ID → 00006229n

Arabic Ontology lexical concept ID → 151059908

"added/modified IDs mapped to WordNet 3.1"
20w ago · Printstream · 2026-06-25 view diff on Wikidata ↗

FES digital collections entity ID → 351231

"Created claim: FES digital collections entity ID: 351231, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1782398664614"
25w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-15 view diff on Wikidata ↗

"Changed the item: QuickStatements 3.0 batch #31699: import P21 and P106 from GND (1)"

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