John Smith (astronomer)

John Smith D.D. (baptised 14 October 1711 17 June 1795) was a British academic and astronomer.

John Smith by Joshua Reynolds

His father was an attorney named Henry Smith and his mother was Elizabeth Johnson. He was born in Coltishall, Norfolk and was educated at Norwich School and Eton.[1]

He was admitted to Caius College, Cambridge University in 1732. He received a B.A. in 1735/6 and an M.A. in 1739.

He was successively dean (17441749), bursar (17501753), and president of the college (17541764). He was Master of Caius from 1764 to 1795, and Lowndean Professor of Astronomy from 1771 to 1795.

He was ordained in 1739. He installed a transit telescope above his college ante-chapel.

He did not seem to have left any scientific papers or given any lectures.

Offices Held

Academic offices
Preceded by
Roger Long
Lowndean Professor of Astronomy
1771-1795
Succeeded by
William Lax
Preceded by
Sir James Burrough
Master of Gonville and Caius College,
University of Cambridge

1764-1795
Succeeded by
Richard Fisher
gollark: Seems reasonable then.
gollark: Though if you resummon and kill the dragon you can make a new one from an existing elytra and a dragon scale.
gollark: Elytra: They aren't cheap!
gollark: Endermen are not animals. They are fungi.
gollark: Did you know? Chorus City is in the End and thus does not natively have animals.
  • Venn, John (1898). Biographical history of Gonville and Caius College, 13491897. II (1713 to 1897). Cambridge University Press. p. 35. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
  • Lynn, W. T. (1911). "Lowndes and the Lowndean Professorship". The Observatory. 34: 405–407. Bibcode:1911Obs....34..405L.
  • Stratton, F. J. M. (1911). "Dr John Smith". The Observatory. 34: 449. Bibcode:1911Obs....34..449S.

References

  1. Anita McConnell, ‘Smith, John (bap. 1711, d. 1795)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2009, accessed 2 Oct 2013
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