Richard Schmoyer: pioneer designer of sundials

Lancaster New Era [Lancaster, Pa] 07 June 1997: A-10.

Editor, New Era:

I do not know if Lancaster Countians realize the significance of the death last week of Richard L. Schmoyer, 82, formerly of Landisville. He was one of the pioneers in the U.S. interest in sundials.

He designed a very accurate sundial called the “Sunquest.” It was featured in Scientific American magazine in 1959 and mentioned in sundial literature over the years.

A picture of the sundial can be found in the book called “Sundials – Their Theory and Construction” by Albert E. Waugh, 1973, which has been one of the most widely used sundial books in the world.

The interest of sundials has grown over the years with over a dozen sundial societies in the world and Richard L. Schmoyer has contributed to it from Lancaster County.

Ken Clark

Elizabethtown