THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF OSCAR MONNIG, AMATEUR METEORITICIST

Oscar Monnig (1902-1999) was a prominent Fort Worth businessman, though he is far more well known as a nationally famous amateur astronomer and meteoriticist. After being snubbed by several major museums on a trip to see a solar eclipse, Monnig made it his personal mission to collect as many meteorites as he could find. Monnig was also involved in publishing the Texas Observers bulletin, a nationally recognized astronomical magazine for decades, and was active in leading scientific outreach around the Fort Worth community. Monnig’s meteorite hunts resulted in one of the largest meteorite collections in the world, which he donated entirely to Texas Christian University as he was nearing the end of his life. These specimens and more are now on display to the public in the Monnig Meteorite Gallery. Despite his fame during his lifetime, Monnig’s life has never before been formally researched. As part of the Handbook of Texas Online’s Dallas-Fort Worth Special Project, Monnig’s life has been illuminated using newly available newspaper database resources. This project was supported by a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, courtesy of the AddRann College of Liberal Arts at Texas Christian University.