Leslie C. Peltier Historical Marker to be dedicated in Delphos, Ohio

An Ohio Historical Marker honoring the late astronomer Leslie C. Peltier will be dedicated on the lawn of the Delphos Public Library on Saturday, September 20, 2003 at 11:00AM. The marker was obtained through the efforts of local historian Bob Ebbeskotte with assistance from the Delphos Rotary Club. The marker will be placed on the lawn of the Delphos Public Library on whose Board Peltier served for more than 30 years.

Leslie Peltier was a farm boy with a tenth grade education who went on to become, according to Harvard Observatory's Dr. Harlow Shapley, the "world's greatest non-professional astronomer." With guidance from his parents, Peltier developed a love for the night sky at an early age and during a lifetime of stargazing discovered 12 comets, two novae and made 132,000 variable star observations. His ability and accomplishments led the mountain home of Ford Observatory to be christened Mount Peltier and the Astronomical League to establish the Leslie C. Peltier Award to be awarded to an amateur astronomer who contributes to astronomy observations of lasting significance. Peltier spent his entire life living in or near Delphos, Ohio with his wife Dorotha (Nihiser) Peltier. The Peltiers are the parents of two children, Stanley and Gordon.

The marker was funded through Delphos citizens and the Longaberger Legacy Initiative (LLI), an Ohio Bicentennial project sponsored by the Longaberger Company and the Ohio Bicentennial Commission. Markers that qualified for the LLI received 2/3 funding from the Longaberger Company and the Ohio Bicentennial Commission with the remaining 1/3 the responsibility of the sponsoring organization or individual. The Longaberger Company supplied a grant of $144,000 to the Ohio Bicentennial Commission with the goal of placing more Ohio Historical Markers across the state during Ohio's Bicentennial.

• Biography of Leslie C. Peltier
• Leslie Peltier's Merry-Go-Round Observatory