On this day 148 years ago, Edward Emerson Barnard was born. The year was 1857, and he would go on to an astronomical career that labelled him as the greatest visual observer of the 20th Century.
A bio is at:
http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/Bios/barnard.html
He was also a pioneer of astrophotography, and produced the classic "Photographic Atlas of Selected Regions of the Milky Way". Origianl copies of this sell for up to $US20,000, although facismile versions are available for as little as $US80.
http://www.library.gatech.edu/about_us/digital/barnard/
Barnard appears to have the ability to get by with little or no sleep. I wish I could do that.