Born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 7 July 1904
Died Fairfax, Virginia, USA, 14 April 1971
Planetarium entrepreneur Armand Spitz contributed to the design of planetariums that could bring the sky to the public at low cost. The son of Louis and Rose (née Neustadter) Spitz, he was raised in the Quaker faith and maintained an affiliation with the Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, Friends Meeting throughout his life. Spitz graduated from West Philadelphia High School in 1922. He first matriculated at the University of Pennsylvania; 2 years later, he transferred to the University of Cincinnati, but left to pursue a career in journalism without receiving his degree. In 1928, Spitz became editor and later publisher of the Haverford Township News. The great economic depression, however, forced the venture into bankruptcy. Spitz’s former colleague on the newspaper, Vera Golden, edited the revitalized Township News. Spitz and Golden later married and had two children, a daughter Verne and son...
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Selected References
Abbatantuono, Brent P. (1994). “Armand Neustadter Spitz and His Planetaria, with Historical Notes of the Model A at the University of Florida.” Master’s thesis, University of Florida.
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Marché, J.D. (2014). Spitz, Armand Neustadter. In: Hockey, T., et al. Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9917-7_1305
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