Observatories

Abstract

I give a brief history of astronomical observatories as an institution. This includes: 1) observatories in Islam; 2) China and India; 3) early European observatories; 4) the rise of national observatories; 5) private (amateur) observatories; 6) mountaintop observatories and the modern era. Additional references, to material not cited in the version that will be published in the encyclopedia, are also given.