“ Fortunate investments in real estate enabled him to become interested in manufacturing enterprises, and he soon acquired wealth. Mr. McKim had always been a lover of astronomical studies, and when he grew rich he purchased for his own use one of the best telescopes in the United States, and mounted it in an observatory that he built adjoining his residence. He also presented to the observatory of De Pauw university a complete astronomical outfit at a cost of over $10,000, and public charities and institutions of learning also benefited by his bequests. ”