Eight years after John Kennedy delivered a speech before the United States Congress, setting out a national goal that "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth," the Apollo 11 lunar module carrying the astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon on July 20, 1969. It not only fulfilled Kennedy's goal, it was considered, at the time, one of the great technological achievements in human history.

The earth's moon has long been a fascination for many, from astrologers to writers. Attesting to that are the number of books and items in the Fisher collections that deal with the moon - from early Galileo texts, to modern Canadian poetry (pictured at left is the cover from Michael Bullock's 1990 book of poetry, Avatars of the moon). Below are some images from books and manuscripts in the Fisher that deal with the moon. These include (from left to right - click on the image for a larger view) an original 1610 edition of Sidereus Nuncius, the first scientific treatise based on observations made through a telescope and contains the results of Galileo's early observations of the Moon (along with the stars and the moons of Jupiter); a mid-15th century Bavarian manuscript with two leaves of notes for determining the position of the moon; an 1828 French book of lunar tables; and a 1785 pamphlet entitled A treatise on the influence of the moon in fevers.

All of these items can be viewed at the Fisher Library. Click on the titles above for the call numbers.

On this Date: Men on the Moon