PRITCHETT, prich'et, Henry Smith, American astronomer and educator: b. Fayette, Mo., 16 April 1857. He was graduated from Pritchett College, Glasgow, Mo., in 1875 and later studied astronomy under Asaph Hall in the United States Naval Observatory where he became assistant astronomer in 1878. In 1880 he accepted the position of directing astronomer at Morrison Observatory, Glasgow, Mo., and in 1881 was appointed to the chair of astronomy and mathematics at Washington University, Saint Louis, Mo. He was permitted leave of absence in 1882 in order that he might observe the transit of Venus at Auckland, and he also made pendulum observations at Auckland, Syd ney, Singapore and Hongkong. He was in Europe on scientific work in 1894-95, was ap pointed superintendent of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1897, in 1900 president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and in 1906 president of the Carnegie Foundation. Fourteen colleges and
universities honored him with the degrees of A.B., Ph.D., LLD. and Sc.D.
pre-vat' do-ts6ne, in the German university system (and others modeled on it), an instructor whose lectures rank with those of the professor, but who un like them has no standing in the faculty as a governing body of the university. He receives no fees except directly from his pupils. He must have received the doctoral degree and also be habilitated, that is, successfully defended a thesis, the result of his own research. The post is commonly a means of preparation for university professorship. Many distinguished men, Kant among others, have held the post as a stepping-stone to higher university rank.