James Bradley
1693 – 1762 · aged 69
English astronomer; Astronomer Royal
- Born
- 1693 · Sherborne
- Died
- 13 Jul 1762 · Chalford
Life timeline
Their life from birth to death. On the timeline, world events of the time are shown faintly.
- 1693BornBorn in Sherborne
- 1718AwardFellow of the Royal Society
- 1721 – 1762RoleSavilian Professor of Astronomy
- 1742 – 1762RoleAstronomer Royal
- 1748AwardCopley Medal
- 13 Jul 1762DiedDied in Chalford
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Meanwhile in the world
Major world events during their lifetime (1693 – 1762).
- 1756 – 1763Seven Years' War
- c. 1760 – 1840Industrial Revolution
Biography
James Bradley (September 1692 – 13 July 1762) was an English astronomer and priest who served as the third Astronomer Royal from 1742. He is best known for two fundamental discoveries in astronomy, the aberration of light (1725–1728), and the nutation of the Earth's axis (1728–1748).
These two discoveries were called "the most brilliant and useful of the century" by Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre, historian of astronomy, mathematical astronomer and director of the Paris Observatory. In his History of astronomy in the 18th century (1821), Delambre stated:"It is to these two discoveries by Bradley that we owe the exactness of modern astronomy. ... This double service assures to their discoverer the most distinguished place (after Hipparchus and Kepler) above the greatest astronomers of all ages and all countries."
Text from the Wikipedia article James Bradley, CC BY-SA 4.0
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