Lewis Morris Rutherfurd (November 25, 1816 – May 30, 1892) was an American lawyer and astronomer, and a pioneering astrophotographer.
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Early life and work
Rutherfurd was born in Morrisania, New York, to Robert Walter Rutherfurd (1788–1852) and Sabina Morris (1789–1857) of Morrisania. He was the grandson of John Rutherfurd, U.S. Senator from 1791 to 1798, and great-grandson of Lewis Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Major General William Alexander, the Earl of Stirling, was the uncle of his grandfather.
He graduated from Williams College, Massachusetts, in 1834.
Career
Soon after graduating from Williams, he began practicing law after being admitted to the bar in 1837 with William H. Seward, who eventually served as the United States Secretary of State, in Auburn, New York. In practicing, he associated with Peter A. Jay, the eldest son of the first United States Chief Justice, John Jay, until his death in 1843. At that point, he began working with Hamilton Fish, who also became a U.S. Senator and the U.S. Secretary of State.