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Flamsteed
[ flam-steed ]
noun
- John, 1646–1719, English astronomer.
Flamsteed
/ ˈflæmˌstiːd /
noun
- FlamsteedJohn16461719MEnglishSCIENCE: astronomer John . 1646–1719, English astronomer: the first Astronomer Royal and first director of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich (1675). He increased the accuracy of existing stellar catalogues, greatly aiding navigation
Example Sentences
The observatory was founded by Charles II in 1676 with Flamsteed House, named after the first Astronomer Royal John Flamsteed, thought to be the work of Sir Christopher Wren.
The Queen visited the restored Flamsteed House, the oldest building of the old Royal Observatory, in 1960.
Flamsteed was one of the first people to suggest that the phenomenon was really a single object, postulating that it had been repelled from the Sun by some sort of magnetic effect.
As President of the Royal, he was also involved in another unedifying dispute, this time with Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal, who was reluctant to release his new star catalogue until everything had been checked and double-checked, while everyone else was desperate to get their hands on the data.
The choice of phrase caused much mirth when the will became public on the death of Halifax in 1715, not least to Newton’s bitter enemy Flamsteed.
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