It has been almost 34 years since the excitement of Markarian galaxies determined the course of my astronomical career. Ed Khachikian arrived at McDonald Observatory in the fall of 1967 with Markarian's first list in hand, and we initiated spectroscopic observations with the 82-inch telescope. It was immediately obvious on the first night that the list was a treasure trove - objects 1,3,6,9, and 10 were all Seyfert galaxies! The Markarian galaxies led to the definition of Seyfert 1 and Seyfert 2 galaxies, to the definition of starburst galaxies, to the discovery of the closest ultraluminous infrared galaxy and BAL quasar (Markarian 231), and to the highest known energy sources (Markarian 421 and 501). Even after intensive study at all possible wavelengths for over three decades, we are still exploiting them. Who could have imagined in 1967 that Markarian galaxies would also be crucial as radio sources, infrared sources, X-ray and even gamma ray sources!
Markarian's list was a crucial precedent in another way, in demonstrating for the first time that low resolution objective prism spectroscopy could reveal new populations of objects in the extragalactic sky. Previously, only the stellar astronomers had recognized the value of such surveys. The realization of what could be done led to objective prism surveys with Schmidt telescopes in Australia, Chile, and the U.S. that revealed not only emission line galaxies, but also large numbers of quasars. Stimulated by this technique, larger telescopes on Cerro Tololo, Kitt Peak, Mauna Kea, and Palomar were equipped with grisms to push "objective prism" surveys even fainter. These studies led to the first measures of the evolution of quasars above redshifts of two. All of these results were stimulated initially by the Markarian survey. We can truly credit Markarian and his galaxies with providing the link between AGN and quasars, now such a crucial part of our "unified schemes" for understanding objects throughout the Universe.
I was personally very pleased and honored to have the opportunity to visit in person with Beniamin Markarian. He never traveled to the west, so few astronomers outside Armenia or Russia ever had the privilege of meeting him. His credentials as a brilliant astronomical observer are well known, but I also want to attest that he was a kind and gentle person, with a very broad range of interests outside of astronomy. His orchard was the marvel of Byurakan Observatory (and is still there). One of the most pleasant evenings I ever spent was a dinner with Markarian and his wife in 1970, eating foods he had grown and talking of many things beyond astronomy. It was a great privilege to have known him, and it is a continuing inspiration to realize what an impact can be made by a single astronomer, using diligence and patience to explore the Universe.
Prof. Daniel W. WEEDMAN
Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., USA