Christiaan Sterken obtained an MSc degree in Mathematics at the University of Ghent (Belgium), his PhD in Astronomy at the University of Brussels, and his Habilitation degree at the University of Liège. He is Emeritus Research Director at the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research, and Emeritus Guest Professor at the University of Brussels. His principal field of research is the photometry of variable stars (luminous blue variables, massive binaries, pulsating main sequence stars, and cataclysmic variables), and comets. He also taught courses in observational astronomy, and on the history of natural sciences at the Universities of Brussels and Ghent. Christiaan Sterken is Vice-President of Commission C3 History of Astronomy, of the International Astronomical Union. 

Amy Abercrombie King has a Bachelor of Arts degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Arts degree in French from The University of Texas at San Antonio. She holds a lifetime certification as a secondary school teacher in Texas, with certifications in French, English, English as Second Language (ESL), Social Studies and  Information Technology. She was awarded Fulbright-Hays and American Association of Teachers of French scholarships to study the French language and culture, completing postgraduate programs at Université  Laval and Université  de Montréal. She also studied French language, culture, and teaching methods in Cameroon, Africa. A fifth-generation Texan, she was born in Victoria, Texas and grew up in Uvalde, near Fort Clark. She currently resides in San Antonio, and has recently retired from teaching French at Douglas MacArthur High School.

Part I Jean-Charles Houzeau: His work, his travels and his letters.- Part II The White Terror in Texas.- Foreword.- Jean-Charles Houzeau's Letter 1.- Jean-Charles Houzeau's Letter II.- Jean-Charles Houzeau's Letter III.- Part III Appendix.- Glossary.