The Cincinnati Observatory was founded by Ormsby McKnight Mitchel, who, as a
Professor at Cincinnati College in 1842, generated public enthusiasm for
astronomy through a series of public lectures.
In 1871 the University of Cincinnati took over control of the Observatory, and
began its move to a new location at Mt. Lookout, a few miles away. The old
telescope lens was refigured in 1876 and the original tube shortened. The
telescope was then moved once more in 1904 into a newer building, and its place
in the older building was taken by a larger instrument, a 16 inch refractor
built by Alvan Clark & Sons.