Aspects of astronomy in the County of Leicestershire.
People who were born or lived in Leicestershire
- John Bainbridge (1582–1643)
- Born in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire. became the first Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford in 1619.
- William Whiston (1667–1752)
- Born at Norton-juxta-Twycross, Leicestershire. Lucasian Professor, Cambridge, 1702-10.
- A New Theory of the Earth, 1696
- Roger Cotes (1682–1716)
- Born in Burbage, Leicestershire. First Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy, Cambridge, 1707.
- Samuel Rouse (c1705–1775)
- Draper. Amateur astronomer in Market Harborough.
- Samuel Rouse's family
- William Ludlam (c1717–1788)
- Born in Leicester. Astronomical observations include the 1769 transit of Venus from Leicester.
- Family, activities other than astronomy
- Leicester in William Ludlam's time
- Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913)
- Taught at the Collegiate School near the Railway Station. Naturalist, essay on Theory of Evolution first published with that of Charles Darwin in 1858. Wrote Man's Place In The Universe.
- William Pearson (1767–1847)
- Lived at South Kilworth, Leicestershire. One of the founders of the Royal Astronomical Society.
- John William Durrad (1854–1939)
- Born and lived in Leicester. Amateur astronomer who made drawings of the Moon.
- Walter Goodacre (1856–1938)
- Born in Loughborough. Founder member of the British Astronomical Association, 1890, President from 1922-24 and Director of the Lunar Section from 1896 to 1938.
- Frank Watson Dyson (1868–1939)
- Born at Measham, near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire. Astronomer Royal for Scotland (1905-1910), and Astronomer Royal and director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory from (1910-1933).
- Charles Gorrie Wynne (1911–1999)
- Born in Leicester. Lens designer. Worked for Taylor, Taylor and Hobson. Worked on optics for major telescopes.
- Patents
- Publications
Science and Education
British Association Meetings in Leicester, 1907 and 1933
Industry
- Cooke Lenses - formerly Taylor Taylor & Hobson. Their lenses are best known for cinematography, but some have been manufactured for astronomical uses.
- Taylor, Taylor & Hobson
- Taylor Hobson in museums.
- Taylor family
- Hobson family
Meteorite
Barwell Meteorite, 1965
Miscellaneous
Sources
Sources of information.
Background Information
There are supplementary pages with some background information, eg with biographical information where it is not readily available. These are listed under the main page for each subject.
Note: in the title image, the background is one of William Pearson's orreries. The lettering is made from an image of M31: Swift Makes Best-ever Ultraviolet Portrait of Andromeda Galaxy.
