| ABBE, CLEVELAND (77, 1838-1916), American |
| 1838-1916 Suggested the Megalithic Clouds were satellite systems independent of the Milky Way |
| 1851-1857 Free City College of New York City (f.1847), Manhattan, Northeast USA* |
| 1859-1860 Michigan University (f.2005), Detroit, Michigan, Midwest USA* |
| 1865-1866 Pulkovo Observatory (f.1839), St. Petersburg, Baltic Russia* |
| 1868-1873 Cincinnati Observatory (f.1843), Mount Lookout, Ohio, Midwest, USA* |
| ADAMS, JOHN COUCH (72, 1819-1892), English |
| 1836-1843 St John’s College (f.1511), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England* |
| 1845 Mathematically predicted the presence of Neptune |
| ADELARD OF BATH (c.72; c.1080-c.1152), English |
| 1126 Translated Khwarizmi’s revision of the Zij al-Sindhind into Latin |
| al: see under family name |
Al-ZARQALI, ABU ISHAQ IBRAHIM ibn YAHYA (Arzachel; 71/70; 1029-1100), Spanish Muslim
1087 Toledan Tables |
| ALBATEGNIUS: see BATTANI, Abu ABDALLAH MOHAMMAD ibn JABIR al- |
| ALBERT, DUKE OF PRUSSIA (77; r.1510-1525) |
| Sponsored Erasmus Reinhold (41; 1511-1553) |
| Prussian Empire (1701-1918): located in Northern and Central Europe |
| ALEXANDER III THE GREAT OF MACEDONIA (32; r. 336-323 BC) |
| Tutored by Aristotle |
| Macedonian Kingdom (c.808-146 BC): at its peak extended from Greece to India |
| ALFONSO X (62, r.1252-1284), King of Castile and Leon, Northwest Spain |
| Sponsored the translation of many Arabic works into Castilian |
| 1262-1272 Engaged Muslim and Jewish astronomers to prepare the Alfonsine Tables of planetary movements |
| ALHAZEN: see Haytham, Abu Ali al-HASAN ibn al- |
| ALPHER, RALPH ASHER (86, 1921-2007), American |
| 1943-1948 George Washington University (f.1821), Foggy Bottom, Washington, D.C., Northeast USA* |
| 1944-1955 Johns Hopkins University (f.1876), Baltimore, Maryland, Northeast USA* |
| 1948.04 Alpher/(Bethe)/Gamow (αβγ!): The Origin of Chemical Elements (Big Bang Nucleosynthesis) |
| 1948.11 Alpher/Herman/Gamow: Evolution of the Universe in which they predicted the existence of cosmic background radiation |
| 1955-86 General Electric Research Centre, Schenectady-Niskayuna, New York City, Northeast USA* |
| 1986 American Academy of Arts and Science (f.1780), Cambridge, Massachusetts, Northeast USA* |
| 1987-2004 Union College (f.1795), Schenectady, New York City State, Northeast USA* |
| 1987-2004 Dudley Observatory (f.1852), Albany-Loudonville, New York City State, Northeast USA* |
| AMYNTAS III (c.73; r.c.393-c.370 BC), King of Macedonia |
| Court physician and friend was Nicomachus (fl.c.375 BC), father of Aristotle |
| Macedonian Kingdom (c.808-146 BC): at its peak extended from Greece to India |
| AMIR bi AHKAM ALLAH, MANSUR al- (33; r.1101-1130), Islamic Fatimid Caliph |
| 1120 Built Cairo Observatory, Egypt |
| ANAXAGORAS OF CLAZOMENAE (c.72; c.500-c.428 BC), Greek |
| Deduced a correct explanation for eclipses |
| Clazomenae: İzmir Province, West Coast Asian Turkey |
| ANAXIMANDER OF MILETUS (c.54; c.610-c.546 BC), Greek |
| Believed that Earth was cylinder with humanity living on its upper flat surface |
| Miletus: Aydın Province, West Coast Asian Turkey |
| ANGSTROM, ANDERS JONAS (59; 1814-1874), Swedish |
| One of the founders of the science of spectroscopy |
| 1833 Uppsala University (f.1477), Uppsala County, Sweden* |
| 1842 Stockholm Observatory (f.1748), Stockholm County, Sweden* |
| 1843 Uppsala Observatory (f.1741), Uppsala County, Sweden* |
| 1850 Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (f.1749), Stockholm, Sweden* |
| 1868 Recherches sur le spectre solaire (‘Researches on the Solar Spectrum’)* |
| 1870 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| 1873 French Academy of Sciences (f.1666), Paris, Île-de-France* |
| APOLLONIUS OF PERGA (c.50; c.240-c.190 BC), Greek, South Coast Asian Turkey |
| Known for his work on conic sections (circle, ellipse, parabola and hyperbola) |
| Perga: Antalya Province, South Coast Asian Turkey |
| APOLLONIUS OF RHODES (c.50; 295-246 BC), Greek |
| . . . Argonautica, epic retelling of the older myth of Jason’s quest for the Golden Fleece |
| Rhodes: Greece’s Dodecanese islands, Southeast Aegean |
| ARCHYTAS OF TARENTUM (c.83; c.428-c.345 BC), Greek |
| Regarded as the founderof mathematical mechanics |
| Tarantum, Magna Graecia: now Taranto, Apulia region, Southeast Coast Italy |
| Magna Graecia: Extensively Greek-settled coastal regions of southern Italy and Sicily |
| ARGELANDER, FRIEDRICH WILHELM AUGUST (75; 1799-1875), German |
| 1799-1875 Known for his determinations of stellar brightnesses, positions, and distances |
| 1920 Königsberg Observatory (f.1810), Kaliningrad Oblast, Baltic Russia* |
| 1822 Königsberg University (f.1544), Kaliningrad Oblast, BalticRussia* |
| 1823-1837 Finnish Observatory (f.1834), Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland* |
| 1837 Bonn Observatory (f.1839), North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany* |
| 1859-1882 Bonn Survey, astrometric star catalog* |
| ARISTARCHUS OF SAMOS (c.80; c.310-c.230), Greek |
| . . . On the Sizes and Distances of the Sun and Moon |
| Samos (Greek): Northeast Aegean Islands |
| ARISTOTLE OF ATHENS (62; 384-322 BC), Greek |
| 350 BC: On the Heavens |
| 343 Tutored Alexander III the Great at Pella, Macedonia, Central Balkans |
| 335 Returned to Athens, Attica, Central Greece |
| ARISTYLLUS (fl.c.261 BC)* |
| Among the earliest meridian-astronomy observers |
| ARYABHATA-I (73/74; 476-550), Indian |
| 499 Aryabhatiya (‘Treatise written by Aryabhata’) |
| ARZACHEL: see Al-Zarqali |
| AUGUSTUS (76; r.31-00-14), Roman |
| The Julian Calendar was established during his rule |
| AVERROES: see Rushd |
| AVERROES: see Rushd, Muhammad ibn |
| AZOPHI, Al-: see Sufi, Abd al-Rahman al- |
| |
| BAADE, WILHELM HEINRICH WALTER (67; 1893-1960), German-American |
| 1913-19 Gottingen University (f.1737), Lower Saxony, Germany* |
| 1919-1931 Hamburg Observatory (f.1802), Hamburg Metropolitan Region, Germany* |
| 1931-1958 Mount Wilson Observatory (f.1904), near Pasadena, LA County, California, West Coast USA* |
| 1943 Identified two separate populations of Cepheids |
| 1952 Measuredthe distance to Andromeda as 2 million light-years (2.5 million light-years) |
| BARBERINI, MAFFEO: see Urban VIII |
| BARNARD, EDWARD EMERSON (65; 1857-1923), American |
| 1883-1887 Vanderbilt University (f.1873), Nashville, Tennessee, USA* |
| 1887-1895 Lick Observatory (f.1876), Santa Clara, California, West Coast USA* |
| 1892 found Amalthea, the 5th Jupiter moon* |
| 1895-1923 Yerkes Observatory (f.1897), Walworth County, Wisconsin, Midwest USA* |
| 1895-1923 Chicago University (f.1890), Cook County, Illinois, Midwest USA* |
| 1916 Discovered the high proper motion of Barnard’s Star |
| BATTANI, Abu ABDALLAH MOHAMMAD ibn JABIR al- (Albategnius; c.71; c.858-929), Arab Muslim |
| 880 Kitab al-Zij (‘Book of Astronomical Tables’) |
| BEDE, THE VENERABLE (61/62; c.673-735), English |
| Wearmouth (f.674 AD) and Jarrow (f.681 AD) monasteries |
| 731 Adopted the Anno Domini dating system |
| BESSARION, CARDINAL JOHANNES (68; r.1439-1472), Turkish |
| Persuaded Peurbach and Regiomontanus to provide an abridgment of the Almagest |
| BESSEL, FRIEDRICH WILHELM (61; 1784-1846), German |
| 1806-1810 Lilienthal Observatory (f.1772), Lower Saxony, Germany* |
| 1810-1846 Königsberg Observatory (f.1810), Kaliningrad Oblast, Baltic Russia* |
| 1812 French Academy of Sciences (f.1666), Paris, Île-de-France* |
| 1818 Fundamenta Astronomiae (‘Foundations of Astronomy’) |
| 1825 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| BHĀSKARA II (70/ 71; c.1114-1185), Indian |
| 1150 Siddhānta Shiromani (‘Crown of Treatises’) |
| 1185 Ujjain Observatory (f.1725), Madhya Pradesh, India |
| BHASKARACHARYA: see Bhaskara II |
| BIRUNI, Al- (c.77; c.973-c.1048), Muslim |
| Believed that Earth rotated on its axis |
| BODE, JOHANN ELERT (79; 1747-1826), German |
| Popularised Bode’s Law (noted by others before him) |
| BOETHIUS: see Severinus Boethius, Anicius Manlius (Roman) |
| BONDI, HERMANN (85; 2005-1940), Austrian-British |
| 1940 Trinity College, Cambridge (f.1546), Cambridgeshire, England* |
| 1948.06 Bondi/Gold/Hoyle: The Steady-State Theory of the Expanding Universe |
| BRADLEY, JAMES (69; 1692-1762), English |
| 1711-1717 Balliol College (f.1263), Oxford University (f.1096), Oxfordshire, Southeast England* |
| 1718 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| 1721 Chair of Astronomy at Oxford University (f.1096), Oxfordshire, Southeast England* |
| 1725-1728 Discovered aberration of light |
| 1728-1748 Discovered nutation of Earth’s axis |
| 1742 Astronomer Royal (f.1675), England* |
| BRAHE, TYCHO OTTESEN (54; 1546-1601); Danish |
| 1549-1562 Copenhagen University (f.1479), Capital Region, Denmark |
| 1560.08.21 Observed a partial eclipse of the Sun |
| 1562-65 Leipzig University (f.1409), Saxony, Germany |
| 1566 Wittenberg University (f.1817), Saxony-Anhalt, Germany |
| 1566 Rostock University (f.1419), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany |
| 1568 Basel University (f.1460), Basel-Stadt Canton, Switzerland |
| 1569-71 Augsburg quadrant, Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany |
| 1571 Built an observatory at Herrevad Abbey, Skåne County, Denmark |
| 1572 11.11 Observed the Cassiopeia supernova |
| 1573 De nova stella (‘On the new star’) |
| 1576 Built the Uraniborg Observatory, Ven Island, Sweden |
| 1577.11 Observed Halley’s Comet |
| 1581-1584 Built the Stjerneborg Observatory, Ven Island, Sweden |
| 1588 De Mundi Aetherei Recentioribus Phaenomenis Liber Secundus (‘On the More Recent Phenomena of the Aetherial World’) |
| 1602 Posthumously, Astronomiae instauratae progymnasmata (‘Introductory Exercises for the Restoration of Astronomy’) |
| BRAHMAGUPTA (Indian) |
| 628 Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta (‘The Opening of the Universe’) |
| BUNSEN, ROBERT WILHELM (German) |
| 1828 Gottingen University (f.1737), Lower Saxony, Germany* |
| 1836 Polytechnic School of Cassel (f.1830s), Kassel, Hesse, Germany* |
| 1839-1850 Marburg University (1527), Hesse, Germany* |
| 1851 Breslau University (f.1702), Wrocław, Wrocław County, Poland* |
| 1852 Heidelberg University (f.1386), Baden-Württemberg, Germany* |
| 1859 Emission spectrum of elements* |
1860 Chemische Analyse durch Spectralbeobachtungen (‘Chemical Analysis by Spectral Observations’)*
1860 Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (f.1739), Stockholm, Stockholm County, Sweden, with KIRCHHOFF* |
| 1883 French Academy of Sciences (f.1666), Paris, Île-de-France* |
| BURIDAN, JEAN (c.61; c.1301-c. 1359/62), French |
| Challenged the then dominant Aristotelian worldview |
| |
| CAESAR: see Julius Caesar |
| CALLIPPUS OF CYZICUS (c.70; c.370-c.300 BC), Greek |
| 370-310 Callippic Cycle: 940 synodic lunar months |
| Cyzicus: Balıkesir Province, Northwest Coast Asian Turkey |
| CARRINGTON, RICHARD CHRISTOPHER (49; 1826-1875), English |
| 1844 Trinity College, (f.1546), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England* |
| 1849 Durham University (f.1832), County Durham, England* |
| 1853 Redhill Observatory (f.1852), Surrey, England* |
| 1859 Co-observed a powerful solar flare |
| CASSINI, GIOVANNI DOMENICO (87; 1625-1712), Italian-French |
| 1645 Jesuit College in Genoa (f.1634), Liguria, Italy |
| 1648-1650 Panzano Observatory (f.1640s), Emilia-Romagna, Italy |
| 1650-1669 Chair of Astronomy at Bologna (f.1650), Emilia-Romagna, Italy |
| 1661 Discovered Iapetus (Saturn moon) |
| 1662 Discovered Rhea (Saturn moon) |
| 1671-1712 Director of Paris Observatory (f.1667), Paris, Île-de-France* |
| 1673 Became a French citizen |
| 1673 Measured distance to the Sun as140 million km (150 million km) |
| 1675 Discovered gap in Saturn’s rings |
| 1684 Discovered Tethys (Saturn moon) |
| 1684 Discovered Dione (Saturn moon) |
| CASSINI, JEAN-DOMINIQUE: see Cassini, Geovanni Domenico |
| CHARLEMAGNE (c.67; r.768-814), Frank |
| 800-814 Holy Roman Emperor |
| 801 Adopted Anno Domini dating system |
| CHARLES II (54, r.1660-1685), Stuart, England |
| 1660-1685 King of England: told the Royal Society (f.1660) to determine whether the Moon could serve as a universal clock |
| CHEN ZHUO (Chinese), Three Kingdoms Period (220-280) |
| Recorded 283 constellations and over 1400 stars |
| CHIA KMUEI (Chinese), Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220) |
| With Fu An, added the ecliptic ring to the first permanently fixed equatorial ring |
| CHRISTIAN IV (70; r.1588-1648), Denmark |
| 1597 Forced Tycho to leave Ven, Sweden |
| CICERO: see Tullius Cicero, Marcus |
| CLAIRAUT, ALEXIS-CLAUDE (52; 1713-1765), French |
| 1731 French Academy of Sciences (f.1666), Paris, Île-de-France* |
| 1737 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| 1758 Predicted Halley’s Comet would arrive in 1758/9 |
| 1760 Theorie du mouvement des cometes (‘Theory of the Movement of Comets’)* |
| COLBERT, JEAN BAPTISTE (64; 1619-1683), French |
| 1661-1683 First Minister of France |
| 1619 Invited Cassini to Paris to oversee the construction of the Paris Observatory (f.1667), Paris, Île-de-France |
| COPERNICUS, NICOLAUS (70; 1473-1543), Polish |
| 1491-1495 Cracow University (f.1364), Kraków, Lesser Poland, Poland |
| 1496-1500 Bologna University (f.1088), Emilia-Romagna, Italy |
| 1501-1503 Padua University (f.1222), Veneto, Italy |
| 1503 Ferrara University (f.1391), Emilia-Romagna, Italy |
| 1514 Commentariolus (‘Brief Commentary’) outlining his heliocentric theory |
| 1543 De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (‘On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres’) |
| CORVINUS, MATTHIAS I (47; r.1458-1490), Hungarian |
| 1467 Royal Library at Buda (f.mid-15th Century), Budapest County, Hungary |
| COSIMO II DE MEDICI (30; r.1609-1621), Grand Duke of Tuscany, Italy |
| Patron of Galileo Galilei |
| CURTIS, HEBER DOUST (69; 1872-1942), American |
| 1889-1893 Michigan University, (f.2005), Detroit, Michigan, Midwest USA * |
| 1894-1897 Napa College (f.1942), California, West Coast USA* |
| 1897-1900 University of the Pacific (f.1851), Santa Clara-Stockton, California , West USA* |
| 1900-1902 Virginia University (f.1819), Charlottesville, Virginia, USA* |
| 1902-1920 Lick Observatory (f.1876), Santa Clara, California, West Coast USA* |
| 1918 Found that spiral nebulae edge-on to us had a peripheral band of obscuring matter |
| 1920 Great Debate with Shapley |
| 1920-1930 Allegheny Observatory (f.1859), Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Midwest USA* |
| 1930 Director of Michigan Observatories, Midwest USA* |
| CYLON OF CROTON (c.509 BC), Greek |
| . . . Pythagoras fled from Croton following a political conflict incited by a noble named Cylon |
| Croton: now Crotone, Calabria region, South Coast Italy |
| |
| DESCARTES, RENÉ (53; 1596-1650), French |
| 1607-14 College Royal Henri-Le-Grand (f.1603), La Flèche, Pays de la Loire, France* |
| 1615-16 Poitiers University (f.1431), Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France* |
| 1618-20 Served in the army* |
| 1629 Franeker University (f.1585), Friesland Province, Netherlands* |
| 1630 Leiden University (f.1575), South Holland Province, Netherlands* |
| 1633 The World (Cartesian universe)* |
| 1635 Utrecht University (f.1636), Utrecht Province, Netherlands* |
| DICKE, ROBERT HENRY (80; 1916-1997), American |
| 1939 Princeton University (f.1746), New Jersey, Mid-Atlantic USA* |
| 1941 Rochester University (f.1850), New York City State, Northeast USA* |
| 1941-1946 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (f.1861), Cambridge, Massachusetts, Northeast USA* |
| 1946-1984 Princeton University (f.1746), New Jersey, Northeast USA* |
| 1965 Cosmic Black-Body Radiation (Cosmic background radiation)* |
| DIGGES, LEONARD (44; c.1515-c.1559), English |
| Credited with the invention of the theodolite* |
| DIGGES, THOMAS (c.49; c.1546-c.1595), English |
| DIN, TAQI AL- (59; 1526-1585), Ottoman Muslim |
| 1575-1577 Built the Constantinople Observatory |
| Constantinople: now Istanbul, Marmara region, Istanbul province, Northwest Asian Turkey |
| DION OF SYRACUSE (c.54; r.357-355 BC, 355-354 BC), Greek, Greek |
| Developed a friendship with Plato (c.81; c.428-c.347BC) |
| Syracuse: Southeast Sicily, Magna Graecia |
| Magna Graecia: Extensively Greek-settled coastal regions of southern Italy and Sicily |
| DIONYSIUS-I (c.69; r. 405-367 BC), Syracusan |
| Plato tried to educate Dionysius, hoping to transform him into a philosopher-king, but failed |
| Syracuse: Southeast Sicily, Magna Graecia |
| Magna Graecia: Extensively Greek-settled coastal regions of southern Italy and Sicily |
| DIONYSIUS II (c.53; r.367-357, 346-344 BC) Syracusan |
| Held Plato captive, forcing him to appeal to his friend Archytas of Tarentum (c.83; c.428-c.345 BC)to secure his release |
| Syracuse: Southeast Sicily, Magna Graecia |
| Magna Graecia: Extensively Greek-settled coastal regions of southern Italy and Sicily |
| DIONYSIUS EXIGUUS (c.74; c.470-c.554), Roman, Scythia Minor |
| 525 invented the Anno Domini period |
| Scythia Minor: South Romania plus North Bulgaria |
| DOPPLER, CHRISTIAN JOHANN (49; 1803-1853), Austrian |
| 1822 Imperial-Royal Polytechnic (f.1815), Vienna, Lower Austria Region, Austria* |
| 1835 Prague Polytechnic (f.1806), Bohemian Region, Czech Republic |
| 1842 Postulated the Doppler Effect |
| 1847 Academy of Mines and Forests (f.1762), Banská Štiavnica, Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia* |
| 1850-1853 Vienna University (f.1365), Vienna Region, Austria* |
| DRAPER, HENRY (45; 1837-1882), American) |
| 1857-1873 New York University (f.1831), New York City, Northeast USA* |
| 1872 Photograph: stella spectrum of Vega |
| |
| EINSTEIN, ALBERT (76; 1879-1955), German-Swiss-Australian-American) |
| 1905 Special Theory of Relativity |
| 1909-1911 Swiss Federal Polytechnic (f.1855), Zurich, Zurich Canton, Switzerland* |
| 1908-1911 Bern University (f.1834), Bern Canton, Switzerland* |
| 1911 Predicted the bending of light* |
| 1911-1912 Charles University (f.1348), Prague (f.880), Bohemian Region, Czech Republic* |
| 1912-1914 Swiss Federal Polytechnic (f.1855), Zurich, Zurich Canton, Switzerland* |
| 1913-1933 Prussian Academy of Sciences (f.1700), Berlin City, Northeast Germany* |
| 1914-1933 Humboldt University (f.1810), Berlin City, Northeast Germany* |
| 1915 General Theory of Relativity |
| 1917-1933 Kaiser Wilhelm Institute (f.1911), Berlin City, Northeast Germany* |
| 1932 On the Relation between the Expansion and the Mean Density of the Universe (Einstein-de Sitter model)* |
| 1933-1955 Institute for Advanced Study (f.1930), Princeton, New Jersey, Northeast USA* |
| EMPEDOCLES OF ACRAGAS (c.60; c.494-c.434 BC), Greek; Southwest Sicily, Magna Graecia |
| Magna Graecia: Extensively Greek-settled coastal regions of southern Italy and Sicily |
| 492-432 On Nature, in which he proposes that all matter is composed of four primordial elements: fire, air, water, and earth |
| ERATOSTHENES OF CYRENE (c.82; c.276-c.194), Greek |
| Measured the circumference of Earth as 252,000 stades |
| The stade measurement varied, but the Egyptian stade equates to 157.5 metres or 0.09787 mile |
| Eratosthenes’ measurement could therefore equate to 24,770 miles (24,901 miles) |
| Cyrene: Libya, North Africa |
| EUCLID OF ALEXANDRIA (c.60; c.325-265), Greek |
| . . . The Elements |
| EUDOXUS OF CNIDUS (c.50; c.390-c.340 BC), Greek |
| Developed the first geometric model of the geocentric universe |
| Cnidus: Muğla Province, Southwest Coastal Asian Turkey |
| EWEN, HAROLD IRVING (93; 1922-2015), American |
| 1943 Amherst College (f.1825), Amherst, Massachusetts, New England, Northeast USA* |
| 1948-1951 Harvard University (f.1636), Cambridge, Massachusetts, New England, Northeast USA* |
| 1951 Detected 21-cm hydrogen radiation |
| 1957 American Academy of Arts and Science (f.1780), Cambridge, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, Northeast USA* |
| |
| FABRICIUS, DAVID (53; 1564-1617), German |
Discovered that the Sun rotates
1583 Helmstedt University (f.1576), Lower Saxony, Germany* |
| 1596 Discovered the variable star Mira |
| FABRICIUS, JOHANN (29; 1587-1616), German |
| 1605 Helmstedt University (f.1576), Lower Saxony, Germany* |
| 1606 Wittenberg University (f.1502), Saxony-Anhalt, Germany* |
| 1609 Leiden University (f.1575), South Holland Province, Netherlands* |
| De Maculis in Sole Observatis, et Apparente earum cum Sole Conversione Narratio (‘An Account of the Spots Observed on the Sun and of their Apparent Rotation with the Sun’) |
| FAZARI, MUHAMMAD ibn IBRAHIM al- (died 796/ 806), Muslim |
| Credited to have built the first astrolabe in the Islamic world |
| 770s Translated Brahmagupta’s Brahmasphuṭasiddhānta into Arabic: Zij as-Sindhind (‘Great Astronomical Tables of the Sindhind’) |
| FITZGERALD, GEORGE FRANCIS (49; 1851-1901), Irish |
| 1867-1901 Trinity College (f.1592), Dublin, Leinster Province, Republic of Ireland* |
| 1883 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| 1889 Proposed that a body’s length shortens in its direction of motion (noticeable only near the speed of light) |
| FIZEAU, ARMAND-HIPPOLYTE-LOUIS (76, 1819-1896), French |
| 1848 Described redshift and blueshift |
| FLAMSTEED, JOHN (73; 1646-1719), English |
| 1670-1674 Jesus College (f.1496), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England* |
| 1675-1719 Royal Greenwich Observatory (f.1675), London, Greater London, England* |
| 1725 Posthumously, British Catalogue |
| FRAUNHOFER, JOSEPH VON (30; 1787-1826), German |
| 1814 Catalogued more than 300 absorption lines in the spectrum of visible light |
| FREDERICK II (53; r.1559-88), 1559-1588 King of Denmark |
| 1576 Financed the construction of an observatory Uraniborg (‘Heavenly Castle’) on the island of Ven |
| FRIEDMANN, ALEXANDER (37; 1888-1925), Russian |
| 1906-1910 St. Petersburg State University (f.1724), Leningrad Oblast, European Russia* |
| 1910-1913 Saint Petersburg Mining Institute (f.1773), Leningrad Oblast, European Russia* |
| 1913-1914 Aerological Observatory (f.1912), Saint Petersburg, Leningrad Oblast, European Russia* |
| 1916-1917 Central Aeronautical Station (f.1916), Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine* |
| 1918-1920 Perm State University (f.1816), Perm Krai, European Russia* |
| 1920-1924 St Petersburg State University (f.1724), Leningrad Oblast, European Russia* |
| 1922 On the Curvature of Space* |
| 1920-1925 Main Geophysical Observatory (f.1849), St Petersburg, Leningrad Oblast, European Russia* |
| FU AN (Chinese), Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220) |
| With Chia Kmuei, added the ecliptic ring to the first permanently fixed equatorial ring |
| |
| GALILEO di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de’ GALILEI, (Italian) |
| 1574-1580 Vallombrosa Abbey (f.1038), Tuscany, Italy |
| 1581-1585 Pisa University (f.1343), Tuscany, Italy |
| 1586 Taught at Vallombrosa Abbey (f.1038), Tuscany, Italy* |
| 1589-1592 Chair of mathematics at Pisa University (f.1343), Tuscany, Italy |
| 1592 Professor of Mathematics at Padua University (f.1222), Veneto, Italy |
| 1610.01.07 Discovered Jupiter’s moons |
| 1610.03.13 Sidereus Nuncius (‘Starry Messenger’) |
| 1610.06.10 Chief Mathematician at Pisa University (f. 1343) Tuscany, Italy |
| 1610.07.25 Discovered Saturn’s rings |
| 1612 Determined orbital periods of Jupiter’s moons |
| 1613 Letters on Sunspots |
| 1632.02.21 Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems |
| 1633.06.22 Found guilty of heresy |
| GALLE, JOHANN GOTTFRIED (98; 1812-1910), German |
| 1835-1851 Berlin Observatory (f.1711), Berlin City, Germany* |
| 1846 First to observe Neptune, its presence having been mathematically predicted by Urbain Le Verrier and John Couch Adams working separately in 1845 |
| GALLOWAY, THOMAS (55; 1796-1851), Scotland |
| 1812 Edinburgh University (f.1583), Midlothian, Scotland* |
| 1823 Royal Military College (f.1701), Sandhurst, Berkshire, England* |
| 1847 On the Proper Motion of the Solar System |
| GAMOW, GEORGE (64; 1904-1968), Russian/Ukrainian-American |
| 1922-23 Institute of Physics and Mathematics (f.1920), Odesa, Odesa Oblast, Ukraine* |
| 1923-29 Saint Petersburg State University (f.1724), Leningrad Oblast, European Russia* |
| 1928 Gottingen University (f.1737), Lower Saxony, Germany* |
| 1928-31 Copenhagen University (f.1479), Capital Region, Denmark* |
| 1929 Cavendish Laboratory (f.1874), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England* |
| 1931 Academy of Sciences of the USSR (f.1774), Moscow, Moscow Oblast, European Russia* |
| 1931-1933 Radium Institute (f.1922), Leningrad, Leningrad Oblast, European Russia* |
| 1934-1954 George Washington University (f.1821), Foggy Bottom, Washington, D.C., Northeast USA |
| 1948.04 Alpher/(Bethe)/Gamow (αβγ!): The Origin of Chemical Elements (Big Bang Nucleosynthesis) |
| 1948.11 Alpher/Herman/Gamow: Evolution of the Universe in which they predicted the existence of cosmic background radiation |
| 1954-1956 California University (f.1868), Berkeley, California, West Coast USA |
| 1956-1968 Colorado Boulder University (f.1876), Boulder, Colorado, West USA |
| GAN DE (Chinese), Warring States Period (481-221) |
| One of the earliest Chinese astronomers known by name to compile a star catalogue |
| GASSENDI, PIERRE (63; 1592-1655), French |
| 1631 Observed Mercury crossing the Sun |
| GAUSS, CARL FRIEDRICH (77; 1777-1855), German |
| 1792-1795 Collegium Carolinum (f.1725), Brunswick, Lower Saxony, Germany |
| 1795-1798 Gottingen University (f.1737), Lower Saxony, Germany* |
| 1807 Director of Gottingen University (f.1737), Lower Saxony, Germany* |
| 1808 1809 The Theory of the Motion of Celestial Bodies (least squares method) |
| GENG SHOUCHANG (fl.75-49 BC), Chinese, Western Han Dynasty (206-00-09) |
| 52 BC: Introduced the first permanently fixed equatorial ring |
| GERARD OF CREMONA (c.73; c.1114-1187), Italian |
| Cremona: Lombardy, Northern Italy |
| 1175 Translated the Toledan Tables from Arabic into Latin |
| GOLD, THOMAS (84; 1920-2004), Austrian-American |
| 1939-1940 Trinity College, Cambridge (f.1546), Cambridgeshire, England |
| 1942 Trinity College, Cambridge (f.1546), Cambridgeshire, England* |
| 1942-1947 British Admiralty (f.1795), Whitehall, London, Greater London, England |
| 1947-1949 Trinity College (f.1546), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England |
| 11948.06 Bondi/Gold/Hoyle: The Steady-State Theory of the Expanding Universe |
| 1949-1952 Cavendish Laboratory (f.1874), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England* |
| 1952-1956 Royal Greenwich Observatory (f.1675), London, Greater London, England* |
| 1956-1986 Cornell University (f.1865), Ithaca, New York State, Northeast USA* |
| GOODRICKE, JOHN (21; 1764-1786), English |
| 1782 Observed the variation of Beta Persei (Algol) |
| 1784 Observed the variation of Beta Lyrae |
| 1784 Observed the variation of Delta Cephei |
| 1786 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| GREGORY XIII, POPE (83; r.1572-1585), Bishop of Rome, Italy |
| 1582 Introduced the Gregorian Calendar |
| GREGORY, DAVID (49; 1659-1708), Scottish (Nephew of James) |
| 1671 Aberdeen Grammar School (f.1256), Aberdeenshire, Scotland* |
| 1675 Marischal College (f.1593), Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland* |
| 1683 Chair of Mathematics at Edinburgh University (f.1583), Midlothian, Scotland* |
| 1691 Professor of Astronomy at Oxford University (f.1096), Oxfordshire, England* |
| 1692 Fellow of Balliol College (f.1263), Oxford University (f.1096), Oxfordshire, England* |
| 1692 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| 1702 The Elements of Astronomy, Physical and Geometrical |
| GREGORY, JAMES (36; 1638-1675), Scottish (Uncle of David) |
| 1650-1653 Aberdeen Grammar School (f.1256), Aberdeenshire, Scotland |
| 1653-1657 Marischal College (f.1593), Aberdeen University (f.1495), Aberdeenshire, Scotland* |
| 1663 The Advance of Optics |
| 1664-1668 Padua University (f.1222), Veneto, Italy* |
| 1668 Measured distance to Sirius as1.32 light-years (8.611 light-years) |
| 1668 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| 1668-1674 Chair of Mathematics at St Andrews University (f.1423), Mid Scotland and Fife, Scotland* |
| 1674-1675 Chair of Mathematics at Edinburgh (f.1634), Midlothian, Southeast Scotland* |
| GUO SHOUJING (81/33; 1231-1314/1316), Chinese, Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) |
| 1276 Oversaw the construction of Gaocheng Astronomical Observatory, Henan Province, China |
| |
| HALLEY, EDMOND (85; 1656-1742), English |
| 1671-1673 St Paul’s School (f.1509), London, Greater London, England |
| 1673-76 Queen’s College (f.1341), Oxford University (f.1096), Oxfordshire, England |
| 1676-79 St Helena, island the South Atlantic, discovered by the Portuguese in 1502 |
| 1679 Catalogus stellarum australium (‘Catalogue of Southern Hemisphere Stars’) |
| 1716 Identified six nebulae |
| Queen’s College: named in honour of Queen Philippa |
| HARRANI, Al-SABI THABIT ibn QURRA al- (Thabit; 65; 836-901), Syrian Arab |
| Drew attention to inconsistencies in Ptolemy’s Almagest |
| HARRIOT, THOMAS (c.61; c.1560-1621), English |
| 1610.12.08 Observed sunspots |
| HARRISON, JOHN (82; 1693-1776), English |
| 1735 First marine timepiece (H1) |
| 1764 Fourth marine timepiece (H4) |
| HARRISON, WILLIAM (86; 1728-1815), English |
| 1764 Trialled his father’s timepiece |
| HARUN al-RASHID: see Rashid, Harun al- |
| HAWKING, STEPHEN WILLIAM (76; 1942-2018), English |
| 1959-62 University College (f.1249), Oxford, Oxfordshire, England* |
| 1962-2009 Trinity Hall College (f.1350), Cambridge University (f.1209), Cambridgeshire, England* |
| 1974 Black Hole Explosions? (Hawking Radiation)* |
| 1974 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| 1974-5 California Institute of Technology (f.1891), Pasadena, California, West Coast USA* |
| HAYTHAM, Abu Ali al-HASAN ibn al-(Alhazen, c.75; c.965-c.1040), Arab Muslim |
| . . . On the Configuration of the World |
| HENDERSON, THOMAS (45; 1798-1844), Scottish |
| 1831-1833 Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope (f.1820), Western Cape Province, South Africa* |
| 1838 Measured distance to Alpha Centauri AB as 3.3 light-years(4.3-4.37 light-years) |
| HERACLIDES OF PONTUS(c.80; c.390-c.310 BC), Greek; Northeast Asian Turkey |
| Proposed that Earth rotates on its axis, from west to east, once every 24 hours |
| 387-312 Student of Aristotle |
| Heraclea Pontica: now Karadeniz Ereğli, Zonguldak Province, North Coast Turkey |
| HERACLITUS OF EPHESUS (c.60: c.540 to c.480 BC), Greek, West Coast Turkey |
| May have been the first to suggest the Sun as easily as Earth may be the centre of planetary motion |
| Ephesus: İzmir Province, West Coast Asian Turkey |
| HERMAN, ROBERT (82; 1914-1977), American |
| 1930-1936 City College of New York City (f.1847), Northeast USA* |
| 1936-1940 Princeton University (f.1746), New Jersey, Northeast USA* |
| 1940-1941 Philadelphia University (f.1824), Pennsylvania, Northeast USA* |
| 1942 Carnegie Institution (f.1902), Washington, D.C., Northeast USA |
| 1942-1956 John Hopkins University (f.1876), Baltimore, Maryland, Northeast USA* |
| 1948.11 Alpher/Herman/Gamow: Evolution of the Universe in which they predicted the existence of cosmic background radiation |
| HERMANN OF CARINTHIA THE DALMATION (c.55; c.1105-c.1160), Austria |
| Translator of Arabic astronomical works in 12th century |
| Born in Istria, mostly now Croatia, historically part of the Duchy of Carinthia (976-1918) |
| Istria: once part of the ancient Roman province of Dalmatia (32-00-c.640) |
| HERMIAS OF ATARNEUS (died 341/0 BC), West Coast Asian Turkey |
| Aristotle’s father-in-law, close friendship with Aristotle |
| HERMOGENES OF PRIENE (late 3rd-early 2nd century BC), Greek , West Coast Asian Turkey |
| Heavily influenced the later Roman architect Vitruvius Pollio |
| Priene: Aydın Province, Southwest Coastal Asian Turkey |
| HERSCHEL, CAROLINE LUCRETIA (97; 1750-1848), German |
| Discovered several comets |
| HERSCHEL, FREDERICK WILLIAM (83; 1738-1822), German-English |
| 1757 Migrated to England |
| 1781 Discovered the planet Uranus |
| Proposed that the solar system moves towards a point in the constellation Hercules, a direction he called the solar apex |
| 1785 Estimated size of the Galaxy |
| HERSCHEL, JOHN FREDERICK WILLIAM (79; 1792-1871), English |
| 1809 St John’s College (f.1511), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England* |
| 1813 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| 1834-1838 Mapped the southern hemisphere skies |
| HERTZSPRUNG, EJNAR (94; 1873-1967), Danish |
| 1898 Copenhagen Polytechnic Institute (f.1829), Lyngby, Capital Region, Denmark* |
| 1905 Discovered a relationship between the spectral type (colour) and absolute luminosity (true brightness) of stars |
| 1906 Published the first version of the magnitude/temperature diagram |
| 1919-1946 Leiden Observatory (f.1633), South Holland Province, Netherlands* |
| HIPPARCHUS OF NICAEA (c.70, c.190-c.120 BC), Greek, North Coast Asian Turkey |
| Most famous for his incidental discovery of the precession of the equinoxes |
| Nicaea: now Isnik, Bursa Province, Northwest Coast Asian Turkey |
| HODGSON, RICHARD (c.68: c.1804-1872), English) |
| 1859 Co-observed a powerful solar flare |
| HOOKE, ROBERT (67; 1635-1703), English |
| First to make a serious attempt to measure the annual parallax |
| 1649-53 Westminster School (f.1560), London, Greater London, England* |
| 1653-58 Christ Church (f.1546), Oxford University (f.1096), Oxfordshire, England* |
| 1655-58 Wadham experimental group (1650s), Oxford University (f.1096), Oxfordshire, England* |
| 1663 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| 1665-73 Professor of Geometry at Gresham College (f.1597), Holborn, London, Greater London, England* |
| HORROCKS, JEREMIAH (c.23; c.1618-1641), English |
| 1639 Observed Venus crossing the Sun |
| HOYLE, FRED (86; 1915-2001), English |
| 1936-1939 Emmanuel College (f.1584), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England* |
| 1940-1945 British Admiralty (f.1795), Whitehall, London, Greater London, England* |
| 1945-1973 St John’s College, (f.1511), (f.1209), Cambridge University, Cambridgeshire, England* |
| 1948.06 Bondi/Gold/Hoyle: The Steady-State Theory of the Expanding Universe |
| HUBBLE, EDWIN POWELL (63, 1889-1953), American |
| 1906-1910 Chicago University (f.1890), Cook County, Illinois, Midwest USA* |
| 1910-1913 Queen’s College, Oxford University (f.1096), Oxfordshire, England* |
| 1913-1914 New Albany High School (f.1853), Floyd County, Indiana, Midwest USA* |
| 1914-1917 Yerkes Observatory (f.1987), Walworth County, Wisconsin, USA* |
| 1919-1953 Mount Wilson Observatory, near Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California, West Coast USA* |
| 1924 Proved existence of other galaxies |
| 1924 Measured distance to Andromeda as 0.8 million light-years(2.5 million light-years) |
| 1929 Hubble’s Law (v=H0d), i.e. a galaxy’s recessional velocity is directly proportional to its distance from Earth (H0 is the Hubble Constant) |
| Queen’s College: named in honour of Queen Philippa |
| HUGGINS, WILLIAM (86; 1824-1910), English |
| Primarily known for his pioneering work in astronomical spectroscopy |
| 1865 Fellow of the Royal Society of London, (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| HULAGU KHAN (c.48: c.1217-1265), Mongol |
| 1256 Founded the Ilkhanid Dynasty(1256 to 1335): ruled over much of Western Asia |
| 1258 Captured Baghdad, Iraq |
| 1260 Captured Damascus, Syria |
| 1259 Founded Maragha Observatory, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran |
| HULST, HENDRIK CHRISTOFFEL VAN DE (81; 1918-2000), Dutch |
| 1936-1946 Utrecht University (f.1636), Utrecht Province, Netherlands* |
| 1944 Theoretically showed how hydrogen should emit 21-cm radiation |
| 1946-1948 Yerkes Observatory (f.1987), Walworth County, Wisconsin, Midwest USA* |
| 1948-1984 Leiden University (f.1575), South Holland Province, Netherlands* |
| HUMASON, MILTON LA SALLE (80; 1891-1972), American |
| Collaborated closely with Edwin Hubble to prove that the universe is expanding |
| 1919-1954 Mount Wilson Observatory, near Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California, West Coast USA* |
| HUMBOLDT, BARON ALEXANDER VON (89; 1769-1859), German) |
| 1792 Freiberg University (f.1765) of Mining and Technology, Saxony, Germany |
| 1851 Cosmos |
| HUYGENS, CHRISTIAAN (66; 1629-1695), Danish |
| 1645-1647 Leiden University (f.1575), South Holland Province, Netherlands* |
| 1655 Discovered Saturn’s moon Titan* |
| 1659 Identified Saturn’s rings* |
| 1656 Invented the pendulum clock* |
| 1663 Fellow of Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| 1666 French Academy of Sciences (f.1666), Paris, Île-de-France* |
| 1673 Horologium oscillatorium sive de motu pendularium (‘The Pendulum Clock’)* |
| 1698 Measured distance to Sirius as 0.44 light-years (8.611 light-years), posthumously published in Cosmotheros |
| |
| JANSKY, KARL GUTHE (44; 1905-1950), American |
| 1927 Wisconsin University (f.1848), Madison, Wisconsin, Midwest USA* |
| 1928-50 Bell Laboratories (f.1925), Murray Hill, New Jersey, Northeast USA* |
| 1933 Electrical Disturbances apparently of Extraterrestrial Origin* |
| JANSSEN, PIERRE JULES CESAR (83; 1824-1907), French |
| 1868 Discovered Helium in solar spectrum |
| 1875 Meudon Observatory (f.1876), Meudon, Paris, Île-de-France* |
| JOHN OF SEVILLE (fl.1133-53), Spanish, South Spain |
| 1135-53 Translatednumerous Arabic astrological works in Latin |
| JULIUS CAESAR, GAIUS (55; r.46-44), Roman |
| 46 introduced the Julian Calendar |
| |
| KANT, IMMANUEL (79; 1724-1804), German |
| 1732-1740 Collegium Fridericianum (f.1698), Königsberg, Kaliningrad Oblast, Baltic Russia* |
| 1740 Königsberg University (f.1544), Kaliningrad Oblast, Baltic Russia* |
| 1755 Universal History and Theory of the Heavens |
| KAPTEYN, JACOBUS CORNELIUS (71; 1851-1922), Dutch |
| 1868-1875 Utrecht University (f.1636), Utrecht Province, Netherlands* |
| 1875-1877 Leiden Observatory, (f.1633),South Holland, Netherlands* |
| 1877-1921 Groningen University (f.1614), Groningen Province, Netherlands* |
| 1888 Royal Netherlands Academy of and Sciences (f.1808), Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands* |
| 1906 Began to map the size and shape of the Galaxy |
| KEELER, JAMES EDWARD (42; 1857-1900), American |
| 1888-1891 Lick Observatory (f.1876), Santa Clara, California, West Coast USA* |
| 1891-1898 Allegheny Observatory, (f.1859), Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Northeast USA* |
| 1898-1900 Lick Observatory (f.1876), Santa Clara, California, West Coast USA* |
| 1898 Began a systematic photography of nebulae using the refracting telescope at the university |
| KEPLER, JOHANNES (58; 1571-1630), German |
| 1589-1594 Tubingen University (f.1477), Baden-Württemberg, Germany |
| 1594 Instructor of astronomy and mathematics at the University of Graz (f.1585), Styria, Austria |
| 1596 Mysterium Cosmographicum (‘The Secret of the Cosmos’) |
| 1600-1612 Lived in Prague (f.880), Bohemian Region, Czech Republic |
| 1600 Began working with Tycho Brahe |
| 1609 Astronomia Nova (‘The New Astronomy’), introducing the first two laws of planetary motion |
| 1612 Kepler left Prague and moved to Linz, Austria |
| 1612-1626 Professor at the Landschaftsschule (f.c.1574) at Linz, Upper Austria, Austria |
| 1619 De Harmonices Mundi (‘Harmonies of the World’), containing the third law of planetary motion |
| 1627 Rudolphine Tables, the most accurate astronomical tables of the era |
| KHOSRO-I (65/67; r.531-579), Sassanid, Persia |
| 531 Invited Greek philosophers to his court after the Byzantine Emperor Justinian-I closed the neo-Platonist schools in Athens in 529 |
| KHWARIZMI, al- (c.70; c.780-c.850), Persian |
| 830 Zij as-Sindhind (‘Great Astronomical Tables of the Sindhind’) |
| KIRCHHOFF, GUSTAV ROBERT (63; 1824-1887), German |
| 1845 Kirchhoff’s Laws (electric circuits) |
| 1847 Königsberg University (f.1544), Kaliningrad Oblast, Baltic Russia* |
| 1850 Breslau University (f.1702), Wrocław, Wrocław County, Poland* |
| 1854 Heidelberg University (f.1386), Baden-Württemberg, Germany* |
| 1859 Emission spectrum of elements |
| 1860 Chemische Analyse durch Spectralbeobachtungen (‘Chemical Analysis by Spectral Observations’), with BUNSEN* |
| |
| LACAILLE, NICOLAS LOUIS de (49; 1713-1762), French |
| 1739 Mazarin College (f.1661), Paris, Île-de-France* |
| 1741 French Academy of Sciences (f.1666), Paris, Île-de-France* |
| 1750-1754 Temporary observatory at the Cape of Good Hope, Western Cape Province, South Africa |
| Discovered twenty-four new nebulae and clusters and charted the positions of nearly 10,000 stars of the Southern Hemisphere |
| LAGADHA (Indian) |
| 1400-1200 BC: Vedic Astronomy (the astronomical limb of the Vedas) |
| LAMBERT, JOHANN HEINRICH (49; 1728-1777), Swiss-German |
| Speculated that there were other systems similar to but distant from the Milky Way |
| 1765-1777 Prussian Academy of Sciences (f.1700), Berlin City, Germany* |
| LAMONT, JOHANN von (73; 1805-179), Scottish-German |
| 1835-1879 Bogenhausen Observatory (f.1826), Munich, Bavarian State, Germany* |
| 1852-1879 Munich University (f.1472), Bavarian State, Germany* |
| 1852 Discovered a 10.3-year cycle in the Earth’s magnetic field (Sabine also) |
| LAPLACE, PIERRE SIMON de (77; 1749-1827), French |
| 1756-1765 Beaumont-en-Auge (f.1050), Normandy, France* |
| 1766-1768 Caen University (f.1432), Normandy, France* |
| 1769-1776 Ecole Militaire, Paris (f.1751), Île-de-France* |
| 1785 French Academy of Sciences (f.1666), Paris, Île-de-France |
| 1796 Exposition du Système du Monde (‘The System of the World’) |
| 1798-1825 Traité de mécanique céleste (‘Treatise on Celestial Mechanics’) |
| LAUCHEN, GEORG JOACHIM von: see Rheticus |
| LEAVITT, HENRIETTA SWAN (53; 1868-1921), American |
| 1888-1892 Radcliffe College (f.1879), Cambridge, Massachusetts, Northeast USA* |
| 1893 Harvard College Observatory, (f.1839), Cambridge, Massachusetts, Northeast USA* |
| 1908 Identified 1777 variable stars. |
| 1912 25 of the Cepheid variables in the Small Magellanic Cloud (Period-luminosity relation of cepheids) |
| LEMAITRE, GEORGES HENRI JOSEPH EDOUARD (71; 1894-1966), Belgian |
| 1911-1914 Catholic University (f.1834), Mechelen-Leuven, Flemish Brabant, Belgium* |
| 1918-1920 Catholic University (f.1834), Mechelen-Leuven, Flemish Brabant, Belgium* |
| 1923-1924 St Edmund’s College (f.1896), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England* |
| 1924-1925 Harvard College Observatory (f.1839), Cambridge, Massachusetts, Northeast USA* |
| 1924-1925 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (f.1861), Cambridge, Massachusetts, Northeast USA* |
| 1925-1964 Catholic University (f.1834), Mechelen-Leuven, Flemish Brabant, Belgium* |
| 1927 A Homogeneous Universe with Constant Mass and Increasing Radius (expanding universe)* |
| 1931 The Beginning of the World from the Point of View of Quantum Theory (single quantum, or a “primeval atom)* |
| 1936 Pontifical Academy of Sciences (f.1936), Vatican City (f.1929), enclave within Rome, Lazio, Italy* |
| 1941 Royal Academy of Sciences (f.1772), Brussels (f.979), Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium* |
| LINDBLAD, BERTIL (69; 1895-1965), Swedish |
| 1917 Uppsala University (f.1477), Uppsala County, Svealand (‘Central’) Sweden* |
| 1925 Postulated a remote galactic centre |
| 1927 Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (f.1739), Stockholm, Stockholm County, Svealand (‘Central’), Sweden* |
| 1927 Stockholm Observatory (f.1748), Stockholm County, Svealand (‘Central’), Sweden* |
| LIPPERSHEY, HANS (c.49; c.1570-1619), Herman-Dutch |
| 1608 Patent for first refracting telescope |
| LOBACHEVSKY, NIKOLAI IVANOVICH (63; 1792-1856), Russian |
| Pioneered non-Euclidean geometry |
| 1807-1846 Kazan University (f.1804), Tatarstan Republic, central-southeast European Russia* |
| LOCKYER, JOSEPH NORMAN (84; 1836-1020), English |
| 1858 Discovered the element helium |
| 1885-1913 Imperial College (f.1907), London, Greater London, England* |
| 1890 Meteoritic Hypothesis (origin of cosmic systems) |
| LORENTZ, HENDRIK ANTOON (74; 1853-1928), Dutch |
| 1870-1828 Leiden University (f.1575), South Holland Province, Netherlands* |
| 1892 Proposed that moving objects physically contract in the direction of motion |
| LOUIS XIV (76; r.1643-1715), Bourbon, French) |
| 1669 Invited Cassini to Paris to oversee the construction of the Paris Observatory |
| LOVELL, ALFRED CHARLES BERNARD (98; 1913-2012, English |
| 1931-1934 Bristol University (f.1876), Southwest England* |
| 1934-1936 Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (f.1916), British Government* |
| 1936-1939 Manchester University (f.1903), Greater Manchester, England |
| 1940-1945 Telecoms Research Establishment (f.1940), Malvern, Worcestershire, England* |
| 1945-1980 Manchester University (f.1824), Greater Manchester, England* |
| 1951-1980 Jodrell Bank Observatory (f.1945), Cheshire, England* |
| LOWELL, PERCIVAL (61; 1855-1916), American |
| 1872-1876 Harvard University (f.1636), Cambridge, Massachusetts, Northeast USA* |
| 1894 Lowell Observatory (f.1824), Flagstaff, Arizona, Southwest USA |
| 1905 Mathematically predicted Pluto |
| LUNDMARK, KNUT EMIL (68; 1889-1958), Swedish |
| 1908-1920 Uppsala University, (f.1477), Uppsala County, Sweden* |
| 1919 Measured the distance to the Andromeda Galaxy as 650,000 light-years (2.5 million light-years) |
| 1920-1929 Uppsala Observatory (f.1741), Uppsala County, Sweden* |
| 1921-1922 Lick Observatory (f.1876), Santa Clara, California, West Coast USA* |
| 1921-1923 Mount Wilson Observatory, near Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California, West Coast USA* |
| 1929-1955 Lund Observatory (f.1749), Skåne County, Sweden* |
| LUOXIA HONG (c.130-c.70 BC, Chinese), Western Han Dynasty (206-00-09) |
| Constructed an equatorial armillary sphere |
| |
| MAANEN, ADRIAAN Van (61; 1884-1946), Dutch-American |
| Propounded (wrongly) that the spiral nebulae were relatively small and nearby |
| 1906-1911 Utrecht University, (f.1636), Utrecht Province, Netherlands* |
| 1909-1911 Groningen University, (f.1614), Groningen Province, Netherlands |
| 1911-1912 Yerkes Observatory (f.1987), Walworth County, Wisconsin, Midwest USA* |
| 1912-146 Mount Wilson Observatory (f.1904), near Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California, West Coast USA* |
| MACH, ERNST (78; 1838-1916), Austrian-German |
| Made studies of mechanics and thermodynamics that led to a reassessment of Newtonian concepts |
| 1855-1864 Vienna University (f.1365), Vienna Region, Austria* |
| 1864-1867 Graz University (1585), Austria* |
| 1867-1895 Charles University (1348), Prague, Bohemian Region, Czech Republic* |
| MACROBIUS, AMBROSIUS THEODOSIUS (fl.c.AD 400), Roman |
| 360-435 Commentary on the Dream of Scipio |
| MĀDHAVA OF SANGAMAGRĀMA (c.85; c.1340-c.1425), Indian |
| Founded the Kerala School of Astronomy, India |
| MAESTLIN, MICHAEL (81; 1550-1631), German |
| 1565-1567 Monastic school in Konigsbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany* |
| 1567 transferred to a similar school in Herrenalb, Baden-Württemberg, Germany* |
| 1568-1571 Tubingen University, (f.1477), Baden-Württemberg, Germany* |
| 1576-1580 Deacon at Backnang, Baden-Württemberg, Germany* |
| 1580-1584 Professor of Maths at Heidelberg University (f.1386), Baden-Württemberg, Germany* |
| 1584-1631 Professor of Astronomy at Tübingen University (f.1477), Baden-Württemberg, Germany* |
| 1589-1594 mentor to Johannes Kepler |
| MAGELLAN, FERDINAND (c.41; c.1480-1521), Portuguese |
| 1519-1522 Expedition to the East Indies (Southeast Asia) |
| Described the Magellanic Clouds during his voyage |
| MAJRITI, MASLAMA ibn AHMAD, al- (c.57; c.950-1007), Andalusian Arab |
| Established a school of astronomy and mathematics in Córdoba, the capital of the Caliphate of Córdoba (929-1031), Spain |
| 950-1007 Revised the Zij al-Sindhind of Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi |
| MANSUR, ABU JAFFAR ABDALLAH al- (c.51; r.754-775), Abbasid caliph, Islamic |
| 754-775 Had many Syriac, Persian, Greek and Hindu documents translated into Arabic |
| MARTIANUS MINNEUS FELIX CAPELLA (fl.c.410-420), Africa |
| Native of Madaura in the Roman province of Africa (now Souk Ahras, Algeria) |
| . . . De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii (‘On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury’) |
| MATTHIAS (62; HRE; r.1612-1619), Austria |
| 1612 With his future uncertain, Kepler (58; 1571-1630) left Prague and move to Linz, Austria |
| MATTHIAS CORVINUS (47; r.1458-1490 BC), King of Macedonia |
| . . . Regiomontanus left Rome to accept an invitation to work at Matthias’court |
| Macedonian Kingdom (c.808-146 BC): at its peak extended from Greece to India |
| MAXWELL, JAMES CLERK (48; 1831-1879), Scottish |
| 1841-1847 Edinburgh Academy (f.1824), Midlothian, Scotland* |
| 1847-1860 Edinburgh University (f.1583), Midlothian, Scotland* |
| 1850-1854 Trinity College (f.1546), Cambridge, England* |
| 1856-1860 Marischal College (f.1593), Aberdeen* |
| 1860-1865 King’s College, London (f.1829), Greater London, England* |
| 1865 A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field (Maxwell’s Equations) |
| 1871-1879 Cavendish Laboratory (f.1874), Cambridge, England* |
| 1873 A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism (Maxwell’s Equations) |
| MAYER, TOBIAS (29; 1723-1762), German |
| 1760 Solar apex and solar antapex |
| MEDICI, COSIMO II de’ (30; r.1609-1621), Tuscany, Italy |
| Patron of Galileo |
| MESSIER, CHARLES JOSEPH (86; 1730-1817), French |
| 1758 Observed the Crab Nebula (Taurus) |
| 1764 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| 1769 Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (f.1739), Stockholm, Sweden* |
| 1770 French Academy of Sciences (f.1666), Paris, Île-de-France* |
| 1771 Messier Catalogue |
| 1784 Catalogue of Nebulae |
| METON OF ATHENS (5th Century BC, Greek) |
| Discovered the Metonic Cycle (235 synodic lunar months) |
| 27 June 432 Observed summer solstice |
| MICHELL, JOHN (86; 1724-1793), English |
| 1742-1763 Queens’ College (f.1448), Cambridge, England* |
| 1749 Fellow of Queens’ College, (f.1448), Cambridge, England* |
| 1761 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| 1784 Proposed existence of Black Holes |
| Queen’s College: named in honour of Queen Philippa |
| 1767 Argued that double stars are binary |
| Queen’s College: named in honour of Queen Philippa |
| MICHELSON, ALBERT ABRAHAM (78; 1852-1931), German-American |
| 1869-1873 US Naval Academy (f.1845), Maryland, Northeast USA* |
| 1875-1879 US Naval Academy (f.1845), Maryland, Northeast USA* |
| 1883-1889 Case Institute of Applied Science (f.1880), Ohio, Midwest USA* |
| 1887 Michelson-Morley experiment (attempted to detect the ‘ether wind’ |
| 1890-1893 Clark University (f.1887), Massachusetts, Northeast USA* |
| 1893-1929 Chicago University (f.1890), Cook County, Illinois, Midwest USA* |
| 1923-1927 President of US Academy of Sciences (f.1863)* |
| MINKOWSKI, HERMANN (44; 1864-1909), German |
| Created the concept of a four-dimensional spacetime |
| 1880-1887 Königsberg University, (f.1544), Kaliningrad Oblast, BalticRussia* |
| 1887-1894 Bonn University (f.1818), North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany* |
| 1894-1896 Königsberg University (f.1544), Kaliningrad Oblast, BalticRussia* |
| 1896-1902 Zurich University (f.1833), canton of Zurich, Switzerland* |
| 1902-1909 Gottingen University (f.1737), Lower Saxony, Northwest Germany* |
| 1908 Space and Time |
| MOLYNEUX, SAMUEL (38; 1689-1728), British |
| 1708-1710 Trinity College (f.1592), Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland* |
| 1712 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| 1725 Attempted to measure the parallax of Gamma Draconis |
| MORLEY, EDWARD WILLIAMS (85; 1838-1923), American |
| 1857-63 Williams College (f.1793), Massachusetts, Northeast USA* |
| 1869-06 Western Reserve University (f.1826), Midwest USA* |
| 1887 Michelson-Morley experiment attempted to detect the ‘ether wind'”‘ |
| MULLER, JOHANN: see Regiomontanus |
| MURAD III (48; r.1574-1595, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire |
| 1575 Founded the Istanbul Observatory |
| |
| NANGONG YUE (Chinese), Tang Dynasty (618-907) |
| 725 Attempted to the circumference of Earth |
| NAPIER, JOHN (67; 1550-1617), Scottish |
| 1563 St Andrews University (f.1423), Mid Scotland and Fife, Scotland |
| 1614 A Description of the Wonderful Table of Logarithms* |
| 1617 Rabology, which describes Napier’s Bones (or rods), a mechanical aid for calculations* |
| 1619 Posthumously, The Construction of the Wonderful Canon of Logarithms* |
| NEWTON, ISAAC (84; 1643-1727), English |
| 1655-1660 King’s School (Grantham) |
| 1661-1665 Trinity College (f.1546), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England |
| 1665-1667 Developed his theories |
| 1667 Minor Fellow at Trinity College (f.1546), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England |
| 1668-96 Major Fellow at Trinity College (f.1546), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England |
| 1672 Measured distance to Sirius 12.6 light-years (8.6 light-years) |
| 1672 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England |
| 1684 On the Motion of Bodies in an Orbit |
| 1687 The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy |
| NICHOLAS OF CUSA (63; 1464-1401), German |
| His metaphysical reasoning led him to conclusions that anticipated later astronomical discoveries |
| 1416-1417 Heidelberg University (f.1386), Baden-Württemberg, Germany* |
| 1417-1423 Padua University, Veneto, Italy* |
| 1425 Doctor of Canon Law, Cologne University (f.1388), Rhine-Ruhr, Germany* |
| 1440 De docta ignorantia (‘On Learned Ignorance’) |
| NICOMACHUS (fl.c.375 BC) |
| Father of Aristotle, he was court physician to Amyntas III (c.73; c.393-c.370 BC), King of Macedonia |
| NILAKANTHA SOMAYAJI, KEĻALLUR (Indian) |
| 1501 Tantrasangraha (‘A Compilation of the System’) |
| |
| OLBERS, HEINRICH WILLIAM (81; 1758-1840), German |
| . . . Publicised Olbers’ Paradox (it was considered by others before him) |
| 1802 Discovered Pallas asteroid (second) |
| 1807 Discovered Vesta asteroid (fourth) |
| 1826 Concerning the Transparency of Space |
| OORT, JAN HENDRIK (92; 1900-1992), Dutch |
| 1917-1922 Groningen University, (f.1614), Groningen Province, Netherlands* |
| 1922-1924 Yale Observatory, Connecticut* |
| 1927 Approximated the distance of the Sun from the Galactic Centre and demonstrated the differential rotation of the Galaxy* |
| 1924-1992 Leiden University (f.1575), South Holland Province, Netherlands* |
| 1937 Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (f.1808), Amsterdam, North Holland* |
| OPIK, ERNST JULIUS (91; 1993-1985), Estonian |
| 1916-1919 Moscow State University (f.1755), Moscow European Russia* |
| 1919-1921 Turkistan University (f.1991), Tashkent, Uzbekistan* |
| 1921-1941 Tartu University (f.1632), Tartu County, Estonia* |
| 1922 Measured the distance to Andromeda as 1.4 million light-years (2.5 million light-years)* |
| 1930-1934 Harvard University (f.1636), Cambridge, Massachusetts, New England, Northeast USA* |
| 1947-1981 Armagh Observatory, County Armagh Northern Ireland* |
| ORESME, NICOLE (57; 1325-1382), French) |
| 1348-1356 Collège de Navarre (f.1305), Paris, Île-de-France* |
| 1356-1362 Grand Master of the Collège de Navarre(f.1305), Paris, Île-de-France* |
| 1364-1377 Dean of Rouen Cathedral (f.1030), Normandy, France* |
| 1377 Bishop of Lisieux, Normandy, France* |
| 1377 Le livre du ciel et du monde (‘The Book of Heaven and Earth’): his thoughts were groundbreaking and prefigured later developments by Copernicus and Galileo |
| OSIANDER, ANDREAS (53; 1498-1552), German |
| 1515 Ingolstadt University (f.1752), Bavaria, Germany* |
| 1520 Ordained as a priest in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany* |
| 1543 Ad lectorem (‘To the Reader’): preface to Copernicus’ On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres |
| 1548 Professor of theology at Königsberg (f.1544), Kaliningrad Oblast, BalticRussia* |
| |
| PACHACUTI (c.80; r. 1438-1471), Ruler of the Inca Empire, West Coast South America |
| Associated with the intentional astronomical alignments in the Incan capital Cusco and sites like Machu Picchu |
| PALITZSCH, JOHANN GEORG (64; 1723-1788), German |
| 1758.12.25 observed Halley’s Comet |
| PARMENIDES OF ELEA (c.65; c.515-c.450 BC), Greek |
| Considered to be the founder of ontology, the study of being or things that actually existence |
| . . . On Nature lays the foundation for metaphysics, the study of both possible and actual existence |
| Elea: now Velia, Campania, West Coast Italy |
| PARSONS, WILLIAM: see Rosse, Lord |
| PAUL V, POPE (70, r.1605-1621), Bishop of Rome, Lazio, Italy |
| 1616 Warned Galileo not to hold or defend the Copernican heliocentric theory |
PHILIP JAMES EDWIN PEEBLES (1935- ), Canadian-American
1965 Cosmic Black-Body Radiation (Cosmic background radiation)* |
| PENROSE, ROGER (1931- ), English |
| 1952 University College, London (f.1826), Greater London, England* |
| 1956-1957 Bedford College, London (f.1849), Greater London, England* |
| 1957-1960 St John’s College (f.1511), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England* |
| 1959-61 NATO research fellow at Syracuse University (f.1870, New York City, Northeast USA* |
| 1961-1963 King’s College, London (f.1829), Greater London, England* |
| 1964-1973 Birkbeck College, London (f.1823), Greater London, England* |
| 1965 Gravitational collapse and Space-time Singularities |
| 1972 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| 1973-1998 Oxford University, Oxford University (f.1096), Oxfordshire, Southeast England* |
| PENZIAS, ARNO ALLAN (90; 1933-2024), German-American |
| 1951-1954 City College of New York, (f.1847), New York City, Northeast USA* |
| 1956-1962 Columbia University (f.1754), New York City, Northeast USA* |
| 1961-1998 Bell Laboratories (f.1925), Murray Hill, New Jersey, Northeast USA* |
| 1965 A Measurement of Excess Antenna Temperature at 4080 Mc/s (Cosmic background radiation) |
| 1975 American Academy of Arts and Science (f.1780), Cambridge, Massachusetts, Northeast USA* |
| PEUERBACH, GEORG VON (37; 1423-1461), Austrian |
| 1454 Theoricae novae planetarum (‘New Theory of the Planets’) |
| PHILIP II OF MACEDONIA (46; r.359-336 BC), King of Macedonia |
| 343/2 BC: Invited Aristotle to Pella as to tutor his son, the future Alexander III the Great |
| Macedonian Kingdom (c.808-146 BC): at its peak extended from Greece to India |
| PHILISTION OF LOCRI (c.80; c.427-c.347 BC), Greek, Magna Graecia (Italy) |
| Medicine, one of the tutors of Eudoxus of Cnidus |
| Locri: Calabria Region, Southwest Italy |
| Magna Graecia: Extensively Greek-settled coastal regions of southern Italy and Sicily |
| PHILOLAUS OF CROTON (Greek, Italy) |
| Thought to have originated the heliocentric theory of the Solar System |
| Croton: now Crotone, Calabria region, South Coast Italy |
| PIAZZI, GIUSEPPE (Italian) |
| 1770 Chair of Mathematics at the University of Malta (f.1592), Msida, Port region, South of Sicily* |
| 1781 Accademia de’ Regj Studi (f.1779), University of Palermo, Sicily* |
| 1791 Director of Palermo Observatory (f.1790, Sicily* |
| 1801 Discovered Ceres asteroid (the first) |
| 1814 Palermo Catalogue of Stars (star catalogue) |
| 1817 Director of Naples Observatory (f.1812), Campania, Italy* |
| PICCOLOMINI, ASCANIO (Italian) |
| 1629-1671 Archbishop of Siena, Tuscany, Italy |
| Hosted the disgraced Galileo for a while |
| PICKERING, EDWARD CHARLES (American) |
| 1865 Harvard University (f.1636), Cambridge, Massachusetts, Northeast USA* |
| 1877-1919 Harvard College Observatory, (f.1839), Cambridge, Massachusetts, Northeast USA* |
| Pioneered astronomical photography and stellar spectroscopy |
| PIGOTT, EDWARD (English) |
| 1784 Observed the variation of Eta Aquilae |
| PLATO OF ATHENS (c.81; c.428-c.347 BC), Greek |
| Believed Earth to be stationary at the centre of the Universe |
| 398-388 Travelled to Italy, Sicily |
| 388 Established Academy in Athens |
| 367-361 Taught in Sicily |
| PLATO TIBURTINUS or PLATO TIVOLI (fl.12th century), Italian |
| 1116Translated Battani’s Kitab al-Zij into Latin: De Motu Stellarum (‘On the Motion of Stars’) |
| PLINIUS SECUNDUS, GAIUS (79; c.23/24-79), Roman |
| 23-79 Natural History |
| PLINY THE ELDER: see Plinius Secundus |
| PLUCKER, JULIUS (66; 1801-1869), German |
| Made fundamental contributions to the field of analytical geometry |
| 1820 Bonn University (f.1818), North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany* |
| 1823 Paris University (f.1200), Île-de-France* |
| 1828 Bonn University (f.1818), North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany* |
| 1832 Berlin University (f.1810), Berlin State, Germany* |
| 1834 Halle University (f.1694), Saxony-Anhalt, Germany* |
| 1836 Bonn University (f.1818), North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany* |
| POE, EDGAR ALLAN (American) |
| 1848 Solution to Olbers’ Paradox |
| POGSON, NORMAN ROBERT (40; 1809-1849), English |
| 1851 George Bishop’s Observatory (f.1836), London, Greater London, England* |
| 1853 Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford University (f.1096), Oxfordshire, Southeast England* |
| 1856 Pogson’s Ratio: Constant factor that defines a star of one magnitude as 100 (=2.5125) times brighter (or dimmer) than the star of the next magnitude |
| 1859 Hartwell Observatory (f.1831), Buckinghamshire, England* |
| 1861-91 Madras Observatory (f.1792), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, SE India* |
| PTOLEMAEUS, CLAUDIUS: see Ptolemy of Alexandria |
| PTOLEMY III EUERGETES-I (r.246-221 BC), King of Egypt |
| 246 BC: Appointed Eratosthenes of Cyrene as the third chief librarian of the Library of Alexandria |
| PTOLEMY OF ALEXANDRIA (c.69, c.99-c.168, Greek |
| . . . Almagest, Guide to Geography, Handy Tables, Planetary Hypotheses |
| PURCELL, EDWARD MILLS (84; 1912-1997), American |
| 1929-1933 Purdue University (f.1869), Indiana, Midwest USA* |
| 1933-1934 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (f.1825), Baden-Württemberg, Germany* |
| 1934-1941 Harvard University (f.1636), Cambridge, Massachusetts, Northeast USA* |
| 1941-1946 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (f.1861), Cambridge, Massachusetts, Northeast USA* |
| 1951 Detected 21-cm hydrogen radiation |
| 1946-1997 Harvard University (f.1636), Cambridge, Massachusetts, Northeast USA* |
| PYTHAGORAS OF SAMOS (c.75; c.570-c.495 BC), Greek |
| 531 BC moved to Croton, now Crotone, Calabria region, South Coast Italy |
| Founded a Philosophical School (c.550 BC), its core belief being that ‘all things are numbers’ |
| Samos (Greek): Northeast Aegean Islands |
| |
| QIAN LUOZHI (4th Century), Chinese |
| Western Jin Dynasty (266-316) |
| 310 built a bronze celestial globe |
| |
| RAMSAY, WILLIAM (63; 1852-1916), Scottish |
| 1866-1869 Glasgow University (f.1451), Scotland* |
| 1870-1872 Tubingen University, (f.1477), Baden-Württemberg, Germany* |
| 1874-1880 Glasgow University (f.1451), Scotland, Glasgow County, Scotland* |
| 1880-1887 University College (f1876), Bristol, Avon, England* |
| 1887-1913 University College, London (f.1826), Greater London, England* |
| 1895 discovered Helium on Earth |
| RASHID, HARUN al- (46/43; r.786-809), Islamic Abbasid Caliph |
| Facilitated by the use of paper which was introduced from China around 750 |
| RAYMOND DE SAUVETAT (r.1125- 1152), Archbishop of Toledo, French |
| Created a group of translators Arabic into Latin), later known as the Toledo School of Translators |
| Toledo: Castile-La Mancha, Spain |
| REBER, GROTE (90; 1911-2002), American |
| 1933 Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois, Midwest USA* |
| 1937 built the first dedicated radio telescope |
| 1954 Tasmania University (f.1890), Australia* |
| REGIOMONTANUS (40; 1436-1476), German |
| 1447-1450 Leipzig University (f.1409), Saxony, Germany |
| 1452-1457 Vienna University (f.1365), Vienna Region, Austria |
| 1463 Epitome of the Almagest |
| 1367-1471 Royal Library at Buda, Budapest County, Hungary |
| Founded during the reign of Matthias Corvinus (47; r.1458-1490, King of Hungary |
| 1473 Published Peuerbach’s Theoricae novae planetarum (‘New Theory of the Planets’) |
| 1474 Calendarium (astronomical data) |
| 1474 Ephemerides (astronomical tables) |
| REINHOLD, ERASMUS (41; 1511-1553), German |
| 1551 Prutenic Tables (astronomical tables) |
| REINMUTH, KARL WILHELM (German) |
| 1937 discovered the Hermes asteroid |
| RHETICUS (Austrian) |
| 1533 Wittenberg University |
| 1540 Narratio prima (‘First Account’), earliest printed publication of Copernicus’s heliocentric theory |
| RICHER, JEAN (French) |
| Measured the parallaxes of the Moon, Sun, Venus and Mars |
| RIEMANN, GEORG FRIEDRICH (39; 1836-1866), German |
| 1846-1847 Gottingen University (f.1737), Lower Saxony, Northwest Germany* |
| 1847-1849 Berlin University (f.1810), Berlin State, Germany* |
| 1849-1851 Gottingen University (f.1737), Lower Saxony, Northwest Germany* |
| 1854 Über die Hypothesen, welche der Geometrie zu Grunde liegen (‘On the Hypotheses which lie at the Foundations of Geometry’), non-Euclidean geometry |
| 1859 Gottingen University (f.1737), Lower Saxony, Northwest Germany* |
| ROBERT OF CHESTER (fl.1140-1150), English |
| Translated Arabic texts into Latin |
| ROMER, OLE CHRISTENSEN (65; 1614-1710), Danish |
| 1662-1671 Copenhagen University (f.1479), Capital Region, Denmark* |
| 1672-1681 Worked at Paris Observatory (f.1667), Paris, Île-de-France* |
| 1676 Demonstrated that the speed of light is finite (300,000 km/sec) |
| 1681 Professor of Astronomy at Copenhagen University (f.1479), Capital Region, Denmark* |
| ROSSE, LORD WILLIAM PARSONS (67; 1800-1867), Anglo-Irish |
| 1818 Trinity College (f.1592), Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland* |
| 1819-1822 Magdalen College, Oxford University (f.1096), Oxfordshire, Southeast England* |
| 1821-1834 MP for King’s County, later known as Parsonstown (=Birr), County Offaly, Ireland)* |
| 1845 Built his 72-inch telescope* |
| 1845 Identified the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) structure as spiral |
| 1844 Named the Crab Nebula (M1)* |
| RUDOLF II (59; r.1576-1612), Holy Roman Emperor, Austrian |
| 1599 1601 Patron and employer of Tycho Brahe |
| RUDOLF OF BRUGES (Mid-12th century), Belgian |
| Flemish translator of Arabic into Latin |
| RUDRADAMAN-I (r.130-150), Saka ruler of the Western Satraps, India |
| Patronized Yavanesvara, who played a key role in the transmission of Greek astrological text to Sansrit |
| RUSHD, MUHAMMAD ibn (Averroes; 72; 1126-1198), Spanish Muslim |
| Challenged the then dominant Ptolemaic model of astronomy |
| RUSSELL, HENRY NORRIS (79; 1877-1957), American |
| 1893-1899 Princeton University (f.1746), New Jersey, Northeast USA* |
| 1903-1905 Cambridge Observatory (f.1823), Cambridgeshire, England* |
| 1905-1947 Princeton University (f.1746), New Jersey, Northeast USA* |
| 1910 Published his magnitude/temperature diagrams |
|
| SABINE, EDWARD (94; 1788-1883), Irish |
| 1818 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| 1852 Discovered a 10.3-year cycle in the Earth’s magnetic field (also Lamont also ) |
| SALPETER, EDWIN ERNEST (83; 1924-2008), Australian-Austrian-American |
| 1939-1945 Sydney University (f.1850), New South Wales, Australia* |
| 1945-1948 Birmingham University (f.1900), West Midlands County, England* |
| 1949-1997 Cornell University (f.1865), Ithaca, New York State, Northeast USA* |
| 1951 Explained the Salpeter Process (triple-alpha process) |
| SANDAGE, ALLAN REX (84; 1926-2010), American |
| 1945-1948 Illinois University (1867), Midwest USA* |
| 1948-1853 California Institute of Technology, (f.1891), Pasadena, California, West Coast USA* |
| 1952-1997 Mount Wilson (f.1904) and Palomar Observatory (f.1928)* |
| 1956 Revised value of Hubble’s Law* |
| SCHEINER, CHRISTOPH (77/75; 1573/1575-1650), German |
| Believed sunspots were satellites of the Sun |
| 1591-95 St Salvator School (f.1582), Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany* |
| 1595-97 Jesuit seminary at Landsberg am Lech (f.1575), Bavaria, Germany |
| 1598-1601 Ingolstadt University (f.1752), Bavaria, Germany* |
| 1603-1605 Jesuit grammar school in Dillingen (f.1564), Bavaria, Germany* |
| 1605-1609 Ingolstadt University (f.1752), Bavaria, Germany* |
| 1610 Professor of mathematic at Ingolstadt University (f.1752), Bavaria, Germany* |
| SCHWABE, SAMUEL HEINRICH (85; 1789-1875), German |
| 1843 Solar observations during 1843 |
| SCHWARZSCHILD, KARL (42; 1873-1916), German |
| 1891-1893 Strasbourg University (f.1538), Grand Est, France |
| 1893-1896 Munich University (f.1472), Bavarian State, Germany* |
| 1897-1899 Kuffner Observatory (f.1886), Vienna, Vienna State, Austria* |
| 1901-1909 Gottingen Observatory (f.1816), Lower Saxony, Germany* |
| 1909-1914 Potsdam Observatory (f.1874), Brandenburg, Germany* |
| 1912 Prussian Academy of Sciences, (f.1700), Berlin City, Northeast Germany* |
| 1914-1916 served in the German army* |
| 11916 Published solutions to Einstein field equations* |
| SECCHI, PIETRO ANGELO (59; 1818-1878), Italian |
| 1850-78 Pontifical Gregorian University (f.1551), Rome, Lazio, Italy* |
| 1868 Published a document detailing his spectral classification of the stars |
| SELIM II (50; r.1566-1574), Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (c.1299-1922) |
| 1566-74 Sultan of the Ottoman Empire |
| 1571 Appointed Taqi al-Din as Chief Imperial Astronomer |
| SENECA THE YOUNGER, LUCIUS ANNAEUS (c.69; c.04-00-65), Roman |
| 60? Naturales Quaestiones (‘Natural Questions’) |
| SEVERINUS BOETHIUS, ANICIUS MANLIUS (c.44; c.480-524), Roman |
| 524 De consolatione philosophiae (‘Consolation of Philosophy’)* |
| SHAPLEY, HARLOW (86; 1885-1972), American |
| 1907-1911 Missouri University (f.1839), Columbia, Midwest USA* |
| 1911-1913 Princeton University (f.1746), New Jersey, Northeast USA* |
| 1914-1921 Mount Wilson Observatory, near Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California, West Coast USA* |
| 1918 Estimated the diameter of the Galaxy as 300,000 light-years (100,000 light-years) and distance from the Galactic Centre as 50,000 light-years (26, light-years) |
| 1920 Great Debate with Curtis |
| 1921-1952 Harvard College Observatory, (f.1839), Cambridge, Massachusetts, New England, Northeast USA* |
| SHATIR, Ibn al- (71; 1304-1375), Muslim |
| Drastically reformed the Ptolemaic models of the Sun, Moon and planets |
| 1367 Nihayat al-sul fi tashih al-usul (‘The Final Quest Concerning the Rectification of Principles’) |
| SHI SHEN (Chinese) |
| Warring States period (481-221 BC) |
| One of the earliest Chinese astronomers known by name to compile a star catalogue |
| SITTER, WILLEM DE (62; 1872-1934), Dutch |
| 1891-1897 Groningen University, (f.1614), Groningen Province, Northeast Netherlands* |
| 1891-1897 Groningen Astronomical Laboratory (f.1896), Groningen Province, Northeast Netherlands* |
| 1897-1899 Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope (f.1820), Western Cape Province, South Africa* |
| 1908-1934 Leiden University (f.1575), South Holland Province, West Netherlands* |
| 1917 De Sitter Universe cosmological model |
| 1919-1934 Leiden Observatory, (f.1633), South Holland Province, West Netherlands |
| 1932 Einstein-de Sitter Model* |
| SIXTUS IV, POPE (84; r. 1471-1484) Bishop of Rome |
| 1475 Regiomontanus called back to Rome to work on calendar reform |
| SLIPHER, VESTO MELVIN (93; 1875-1969), American |
| 1901-1909 Indiana University (f.1820), Corydon-Bloomington, Midwest USA* |
| 1901-1952 Lowell Observatory (f.1824), Flagstaff, Arizona, Southwest USA |
| 1912 Discovered that Andromeda moving towards the Sun at 300 km/s |
| 1913 Discovered reflection nebulae |
| SMOOT III, GEORGE FITZGERALD (80; 1945-2025), American |
| 1966-1970 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (f.1861), Cambridge, Massachusetts, New England, Northeast USA* |
| 1971-1974 California University (f.1868), Berkeley, California, West Coast USA* |
| 1974 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (f.1931), Berkeley, California,West Coast USA* |
| 1992 He and his colleagues found fluctuations, or ‘wrinkles‘ in the background radiation |
| 1994 California University (f.1868), Berkeley, California, West Coast USA* |
| SOCRATES OF ATHENS (c.71; c.470-399 BC), Greek |
| Foundational Greek philosopher |
| Mentored Plato |
| SOSIGENES OF ALEXANDRIA (fl. 1st century BC), Greek |
| 45 BC: Worked closely with Julius Caesar to create the Julian Calendar |
| SPEUSIPPUS (c.69: c.408-339 BC), Greek |
| 347-339 BC: Succeeded Plato as Head of the Academy |
| SPHUJIDHVAJA (3rd Century), Indian |
| 269/270 Yavanajataka (‘Greek Nativity’) |
| STRABO (c.84/87; c.64/63-00-c.24, Greek) |
| 08-23 Geography (‘Geographica’), Book 8: Tells of Julius Caesar finding 7th and 6th Century BC terracotta reliefs and bronze vessels on Corinth |
| STRUVE, WILHELM VON (71; 1793-1864), German-Russian |
| 1813-1839 Tartu Observatory (f.1802), Estonia, Northern Europe* |
| 1827 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| 1833 Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (f.1739), Stockholm, Stockholm County, Sweden* |
| 1837 Measured the stellar parallax of Alpha Lyrae (Vega) as 0.125 arcsecond, fortuitously close to the modern value of 0.129 arcsecond ≈ 1/0.129 parsecs ≈ 7.75 x 3.26 ≈ 25.2 light years |
| 1839 Pulkovo Observatory (f.1839), St Petersburg, Leningrad Oblast, European Russia* |
| STUKELEY, WILLIAM (77; 1687-1765), English |
| 1703-1709 Corpus Christi (f.1352), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England* |
| 1717 Society of Antiquaries of London (f.1707), Greater London, England* |
| 1718 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| 1724 A Curious Itinerary |
| SU SONG (80/81; 1020-1101), Chinese |
| Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) |
| 1020-1101 Invented a water-driven astronomy clock tower |
| SUFI, Abd al-RAHMAN al- (Al Azophi; 82; 903-986), Persian Muslim |
| 964 Kitāb Ṣuwar al-Kawākib al-Thābita (‘Book of Fixed Stars’) |
| |
| TAMERLANE (Timur: 68; r.1389-1405), Mongol ruler of the Timurid Empire (1370-1507)* |
| Grandfather of Ulugh Beg |
| TERENTIUS VARRO, MARCUS (116-27 BC), Roman) |
| . . . De lingua Latina (‘On the Latin Language’) |
| . . . Rerum rusticarum libri tres (‘On Farming’) |
| THALES OF MILETUS (c.78; c.626/623-c.548/455 BC, Greek) |
| Said to have predicted the solar eclipse of 585 BC |
| THABIT: see Harrani, al- |
| TIMOCHARIS OF ALEXANDRIA (c.320-c.260 BC, Greek) |
| Compiled one of the earliest known star catalogues |
| TITIUS, JOHANN DANIEL (67; 1729-1796), German |
| 1749-1752 Leipzig University (f.1409), Saxony, Germany* |
| 1766 Formulated the Titius-Bode law (approximates the average distance of planets from the Sun) |
| TOMBAUGH, CLYDE WILLIAM (90; 1906-1997), American |
| 1929-1943 Lowell Observatory (f.1824), Flagstaff, Arizona, Southwest USA |
| 1930 Discovered Pluto |
| 1932-1939 Kansas University (f.1865), Lawrence, Kansas, Mid-West USA* |
| TRUMPLER, ROBERT JULIUS (69; 1886-1956), Swiss-American) |
| 1906-1908 Zurich University (f.1833), canton of Zurich, Switzerland* |
| 1908-1910 Gottingen University (f.1737), Lower Saxony, Northwest Germany* |
| 1915-1918 Allegheny Observatory Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Northeast USA* |
| 1918-38 Lick Observatory (f.1876), Santa Clara, California, West Coast USA* |
| 1930 Proved that obscuration dims the light from distant objects |
| 1938 Lick Observatory (f.1876), Santa Clara, California, West Coast USA* |
| 1932 US National Academy of Sciences (f.1863), Washington, D.C., Northeast USA* |
| 1938-1951 California University(f.1868), Berkeley, California, West Coast USA* |
| TULLIUS CICERO, MARCUS (63; 106-43 BC), Roman) |
| . . . Somnium Scipionis (‘Dream of Scipio’) |
| TUSI, NASIR al-DIN al- (73; 1201-1274), Persian |
| 1247 Al-Tadhkirah fi’ilm al-hay’a (Tadhkira; ‘Memorandum on Astronomy’), mentions the Tusi couple |
| 1259 Built Maragha Observatory, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran |
| 1272 Al-Tusi’s Zij-i Ilkhani (‘Ilkhanic Tables’) |
| |
| ULUGH BEG (55; 1394-1449), Mongol Sultan of the Timurid Empire (1370-1507) |
| 1420s Built Samarkand Observatory, Samarkand, Uzbekistan |
| 1437 Zij-i Sultani (‘Sultan’s Astronomical Tables’) |
| URBAN VIII, POPE (76; r. 1623-1644), Bishop of Rome |
| 1633 Recalled Galileo to Rome to face the Inquisition after the publication of his Concerning the Two Chief World Systems |
| |
| VARAHAMIHIRA (c.82; 505-c.587), Indian |
| 575 Panchasiddhantika (‘Treatise on the Five Canons’) |
| Canons: five earlier astronomical schools |
| VERRIER, URBAIN JEAN JOSEPH LE (66; 1811-1877), French |
| 1854-1870 Director of Paris Observatory (f.1667), Paris, Île-de-France, Île-de-France* |
| 1846 Mathematically predicted the existence and position of Neptune* |
| 1873-1877 Director of Paris Observatory (f.1667), Paris, Île-de-France* |
| VITRUVIUS POLLIO, MARCUS (80 to 70-after 15 BC), Roman |
| 30-20 BC: De architectura (‘On Architecture’) |
| VOGEL, HERMANN CARL (66; 1841-1907), German |
| 1862 Dresden Polytechnic (f.1828), Saxony, Germany* |
| 1863 Leipzig University (f.1409), Saxony, Germany* |
| 1870-1874 Bothkamp Observatory (f.1869), Schleswig-Holstein, Germany* |
| 1882-1907 Astrophysical Observatory (f.1874), Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany* |
| 1888 Measured radial velocities of stars |
| |
| WALLENSTEIN, ALBRECHT VON (50; 1583-1634), German |
| Employed Kepler as his advisor, casting horoscopes and overseeing a printing press |
| WALTHER, BERNARD (c.74; 1430-1504), German |
| Provided Regiomontanus with an instrument shop, observatory and a printing press at Nuremberg |
| WATZENRODE, LUCAS (64; r.1489-1512), Bishop of Warmia, German |
| Uncle and patron to Nicolaus Copernicus |
| WILSON, ROBERT WOODROW (1936- ), American |
| 1957 Rice University, Houston, Texas, South USA* |
| 1962 California Institute of Technology (f.1891), Pasadena, California, West Coast USA* |
| 1963-1994 Bell Laboratories (f.1925), Murray Hill, New Jersey, Northeast USA* |
| 1965 Cosmic background radiation |
| 1994 Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics (f.1973), Massachusetts, Northeast USA* |
| WOLF, JOHANN RUDOLF (77; 1816-1893), Swiss |
| 1844 Professor of Astronomy at Bern University, Bern Canton, Switzerland* |
| 1848 Wolf sunspot number |
| 1855 Chair of Astronomy at Zurich University (f.1833), canton of Zurich, Switzerland* |
| WOLF, MAXIMILIAN FRANZ JOSEPH CORNELIUS (69; 1863-1932), German |
| 1888 PhD Heidelberg University, (f.1386), Baden-Württemberg, Germany* |
| 1891 Instituted a programme of wide-field photography for the discovery of asteroids |
| 1898 Founded Heidelberg-Konigstuhl State Observatory, Baden-Württemberg, Germany* |
| WOLLASTON, WILLIAM HYDE (62; 1766-1828), English |
| 1774 Charterhouse School, Godalming, Surrey, England* |
| 1779 Gonville and Caius College (f.1838), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England* |
| 1793 Fellow of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| 1802 Remembered for his observation of Fraunhofer (dark) lines of solar spectrum |
| 1813 Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (f.1739), Stockholm, Stockholm County, Sweden* |
| WREN, CHRISTOPHER (90; 1632-1723), English |
| 1650-1653 Wadham College, Oxford University (f.1096), Oxfordshire, Southeast England* |
| 1653-1661 All Souls College, Oxford University (f.1096), Oxfordshire, Southeast England* |
| 1657-1661 Gresham College, London (f.), Greater London, England* |
| 1660 Co-founder of the Royal Society of London (f.1660), Greater London, England* |
| 1661-1673 professor of Astronomy: Oxford University (f.1096), Oxfordshire, Southeast England* |
| 1684 Wren, Halley and Hooke theorized that planets orbit the sun due an inverse-square law |
| WRIGHT OF DURHAM, THOMAS (74; 1711-1786), English |
| 1550 An Original Theory or New Hypothesis of the Universe |
| WU XIAN (Chinese) |
| Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC) |
| Quasi-legendary astronomer |
| Attributed with solar constellations |
| |
| XENOCRATES OF CHALCEDON (c.82; 396/5-314/3 BC), Greek |
| Succeeded Heraclides of Pontus as head of the Academy |
| |
| YAVANESVARA (‘Lord of the Greeks’; c.60;c.120-c.180), Indo-Greek |
| 149/150 AD Yavanajataka (‘The Nativity According to the Greeks’), adaptation of a Greek astrological text into Sanskrit prose |
| YI XING (44/43; 683-727), Chinese |
| YU XI (Chinese) |
| YUNUS, ABD al-RAHMAN Ibn (c.59; c.950-1009), Egyptian Muslim |
| Tang Dynasty (618-690, 705-907) |
| 721-725 Calculated the length of one degree of meridian as 123.7 km ≈ 76.9 miles (111.32 km ≈ 6918 miles) |
| 725 Invented a water-powered astronomical clock with a mechanical escapement* |
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| ZARQALI, Al- (71/70; 1029-1100), Muslim |
| 1087 Toledan Tables |
| ZENO OF ELEA (c.60; c.490-c.430 BC), Greek |
| 490-454 hare and the tortoise paradox |
| ZHANG HENG (61/60; 78-139), Chinese |
| Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) |
| Appears to have been the first to have produced the first complete star chart |
| ZHANG ZIXIN (fl.526-577), Chinese |
| Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577) |
| Found that solar motion was irregular |
| ZU CHONGZHI (81/80; 429-501), Chinese |
| Liu Song (420-479) and Southern Qi (479-502) dynasties |
| First to include precession in calendar calculations |
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| *not included in the posts |
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