Kurt Gottlieb was born in Graz, Austria in 1910, was awarded a Diploma in Engineering in Brno, Czechoslovakia and came to Australia as a Jewish refugee in 1939. He worked at the Commonwealth Solar Observatory as a mechanical designer and draftsman doing optical munitions work during World War II. After the war he stayed on at the Observatory, in 1957 renamed Mount Stromlo Observatory as part of the Department of Astronomy at the Australian National University, where his position was Research Engineer (Fellow) and he was placed in charge of the workshops.

The Commonwealth Solar Observatory was established in January 1924, one of its purposes being the study of solar phenomena. By 1950 the Observatory's name had changed, becoming the Commonwealth Observatory. In 1957 the observatory located at Mount Stromlo became part of the Australian National University as the Department of Astronomy in the Research School of Physical Sciences.