John Flamsteed 1646-1719
| Born in Derbyshire in 1646, John Flamsteed showed an early talent for practical astronomy, and his work in this field became known among scholars. The founder of the Greenwich Observatory and the first astronomer royal of England, Flamsteed taught himself astronomy after poor health forced him to leave school. He pushed the Royal Society on the need for a new observatory; the Royal Greenwich Observatory was established in 1675 and the following year he was appointed its director, with the title of ’Astronomer Royal’. Flamsteed had to supply all the instruments at Greenwich himself, and was forced to take private pupils to augment his income. He built a mural arc - a wall-mounted instrument measuring the altitudes of stars as they passed the meridian - only after receiving an inheritance on the death of his father. He conducted a series of detailed stellar observations but wished publication to be delayed until he had completed his work. However, the observations were needed urgently by other scientists, including Isaac Newton and Edmond Halley. He fell into a running dispute with Newton when, annoyed when he could not get all the necessary information fast enough, Newton used his influence as President of the Royal Society to force the immediate publication of Flamsteed’s catalogue of stars.
In 1704 Prince George of Denmark undertook the cost of publication and, despite the prince’s death in 1708 and Flamsteed’s objections, 400 copies were printed in 1712, prepared for the press by Edmond Halley. Flamsteed finally won his point and by court order had the printed catalogue returned to him before it was generally distributed. He burned the printed sheets and the authorized version was published by his assistants in 1725, after his death.
On the 300th anniversary of Flamsteed’s birth, it was said in tribute to him 'that he realised better than any of his contemporaries what was needed in his day for the promotion of astronomy and that he worked unflaggingly to achieve it'.
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| ‘John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal and member of the Royal Society, became Rector of Burstow in 1685. He had been appointed by Charles II in 1674 and put in charge of the newly built Greenwhich Observatory. He is famed for his work in determining the position of almost 3,000 stars and lengthy rivalry with other Fellows of the Royal Society, Issac Newton and Edmond Halley. The Historic Coelestis Britannica, published in 1725, containing Flamsteed’s observations and great catalogue, was the first important scientific contribution given by Greenwich Observatory to the world.
One of John Flamsteed’s other major achievements however, was to establish the first Meridian Line in Greenwich, defining ‘0’ degrees of longitude, where East meets West.
It was Flamsteed who taught us the use of the telescope to study the heavens, discovered for sailors the longitude at sea, gave us the position of the sun, moon and stars and showed how to foretell the weather’. |
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