Anybody but Hubble!

TL;DR

This paper discusses the history of the discovery of the universe's expansion, ultimately attributing Hubble's Law to Hubble, while highlighting lesser-known contributors and historical nuances.

Contribution

It provides a historical analysis clarifying the attribution of the discovery of the universe's expansion and emphasizes overlooked contributors.

Findings

Hubble's Law is correctly attributed to Hubble.

Lesser-known figures like Dose and Zoellner contributed to the discovery.

Historical context reveals complex attribution and earlier ideas from China.

Abstract

The recent literature of astronomy and cosmology has included a good many suggestions for "who first recognized the expansion of the universe?" with cases having been made for Lemaitre, Lundmark, de Sitter, Slipher, Shapley, Friedmann, Wirtz, and perhaps others. I touch on these but also mention others (some of whose names have not come down to us) who might reasonably be credited with some part of the basic idea, but conclude that "Hubble's Law" is the right choice ("because it was discovered by Lundmark" in accordance with Stigler's Law). Of course there are a couple of previously unsung heroes (Dose and Zoellner), and the discussion bears some traces of its origin as an after-dinner talk. The full context goes back to ideas from China and forward to the struggle to correct Hubble's erroneous value of his constant.