Streator in LaSalle County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Clyde William Tombaugh

February 6, 2020

1. Clyde William Tombaugh Marker

Inscription.
Clyde William Tombaugh was born near Reading (south of Streator) in 1906. He attended Heenanville Grade School and Streator High School and became interested in astronomy at an early age. In 1922 his family moved to Kansas. He built telescopes and at age twenty-three began work at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. In 1930, after a lengthy study of reckonings by Percival Lowell, Tombaugh discovered the ninth planet in our solar system, which he named Pluto.

Erected 1985 by the Streatorland Historical Society and the Illinois State Historical Society.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Air & Space. In addition, it is included in the Illinois State Historical Society series list. A significant historical date for this entry is February 18, 1930.

Location. 41° 8.85′ N, 88° 50.131′ W. Marker is in Streator, Illinois, in LaSalle County. Marker is on North Bloomington Street (Illinois Route 23) just north of El Camino Court, on the right when traveling north. North end of Anderson Fields Golf Course. Close to Kroger Plaza. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1901 North Bloomington Street, Streator IL 61364, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Streator's Stargazer (here, next to this marker); 100th Anniversary of the First Transcontinental Flight

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(about 800 feet away, measured in a direct line); Colonel Ralph Plumb (approx. 1.7 miles away); Streator Civil War Memorial (approx. 1.7 miles away); Dedicated to the Soldiers, Sailors, and Patriots of the American Revolutionary War (approx. 1.8 miles away); American Heroes Mural (approx. 1.8 miles away); World War II (approx. 1.8 miles away); George "Honey Boy" Evans (approx. 1.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Streator.

Also see . . . Clyde Tombaugh. Wikipedia entry (Submitted on April 22, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

Additional commentary.
1. Pluto
In August 2006, Pluto was determined to be a dwarf planet rather than as a planet. At the time the marker was erected (1985), it was considered a planet.

— Submitted February 6, 2020, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.

Clyde William Tombaugh image. Click for full size.

via Wikipedia, unknown

2. Clyde William Tombaugh

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 24, 2021

3. Clyde William Tombaugh Marker

(looking east from North Bloomington Street • marker on left • Pluto / Clyde Tombaugh monument on right)

Pluto display nearby image. Click for full size.

4. Pluto display nearby

Credits. This page was last revised on April 22, 2022. It was originally submitted on February 5, 2020. This page has been viewed 486 times since then and 60 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on February 6, 2020. 2. submitted on April 22, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. 3. submitted on July 17, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 4. submitted on February 5, 2020. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.