John Ventre accepts the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge award from the Cincinnati Observatory. Marsie Newbold photo
Guest blog post from Dean Regas, Outreach Astronomer for the Cincinnati Observatory
The Cincinnati Observatory presented former director and full-time volunteer John Ventre with the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge award November 22. Ventre has been instrumental in inspiring a generation of visitors to the Cincinnati Observatory and led the effort to save the facility from the wrecking ball. His tireless dedication has preserved the history of this grand institution and helped expand the education programs offered around the city. Ventre has also acted as a mentor to the educators at both the Cincinnati Observatory and Cincinnati Astronomical Society. Cincinnati has a long tradition in astronomy, and Mayor Mark Mallory issued a proclamation calling this, “John Ventre Day in Cincinnati.”
Ventre mentored Astronomy magazine Editor David Eicher. “John is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met in the world of amateur astronomy,” Eicher says. “He is enthusiastic, tireless, wise, and large-hearted, and influenced me greatly with my little Deep Sky magazine project that helped me grow into a career.”
The award pays homage to Ventre’s forerunner and the founder of the Cincinnati Observatory, Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel. Mitchel was America’s first popularizer of astronomy. The founding of the Cincinnati Observatory in 1842 arose from Mitchel’s lectures for the Cincinnati Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. The award seemed most appropriate and well deserved for Ventre — the longtime popularizer of astronomy in this century who also has tremendous reverence for American astronomical history.