Radcliffe Observatory
Encyclopedia
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. It is a grade I listed building.
History
The observatory was founded and named after John Radcliffe by the Radcliffe Trustees. It was built on the suggestion of the astronomer Thomas HornsbyThomas Hornsby
Thomas Hornsby FRS was a British astronomer and mathematician.Hornsby became a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford in 1760....
, who was occupying the Savilian Chair of Astronomy
Savilian Chair of Astronomy
The Savilian Chair of Astronomy at the University of Oxford in England was founded in 1619 and is named after Sir Henry Savile. The Professor is a Fellow of New College....
, following his observation of the notable transit of Venus
Transit of Venus
A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth, becoming visible against the solar disk. During a transit, Venus can be seen from Earth as a small black disk moving across the face of the Sun...
across the sun's disc in 1769 from a room in the nearby Radcliffe Infirmary
Radcliffe Infirmary
The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street. The Radcliffe Infirmary, named after physician John Radcliffe, opened in 1770 and was Oxford's first hospital...
.
The observatory building commenced to designs by Henry Keene
Henry Keene
Henry Keene was an English architect, notable for designing buildings in the Gothic Revival and Neoclassical style.- Life and work :...
in 1772, and was completed in 1794 to the designs of James Wyatt
James Wyatt
James Wyatt RA , was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical style, who far outdid Adam in his work in the neo-Gothic style.-Early classical career:...
, based on the Tower of the Winds
Tower of the Winds
The Tower of the Winds, also called horologion , is an octagonal Pentelic marble clocktower on the Roman agora in Athens. The structure features a combination of sundials, a water clock and a wind vane...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
.
Until 1839, the Savilian Chair of Astronomy
Savilian Chair of Astronomy
The Savilian Chair of Astronomy at the University of Oxford in England was founded in 1619 and is named after Sir Henry Savile. The Professor is a Fellow of New College....
was responsible for the observatory, at this date the appointment of George Henry Sacheverell Johnson an astronomer with no observational experience caused the creation of the new role of Radcliffe Observer.
Because of the viewing conditions, weather, and urban development at Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, the observatory was moved to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in 1939. Eventually that site, in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, also became untenable and the facility was combined with others into the South African Astronomical Observatory
South African Astronomical Observatory
South African Astronomical Observatory is the national center for optical and infrared astronomy in South Africa. It was established in 1972. The observatory is run by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. The facility's function is to conduct research in astronomy and astrophysics...
(SAAO) in the 1970s.
The building is now used by Green Templeton College
Green Templeton College, Oxford
Green Templeton College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is the university's newest college having come into existence on 1 October 2008 from the merger of Green College and Templeton College...
off the Woodstock Road and forms a centrepiece for the college. The original instruments are located in the Museum of the History of Science
Museum of the History of Science, Oxford
The Museum of the History of Science, located in Broad Street, Oxford, is home to an unrivalled collection of scientific instruments from medieval times to the 17th century. Its collection of 18th and 19th-century instruments is also substantial...
in central Oxford.
Radcliffe Observers
The following have been Radcliffe Observers:- 1839 Manuel John JohnsonManuel John JohnsonManuel John Johnson, FRS was a British astronomer.He was born in Macao, China, the son of John William Roberts of the East India Company and was educated at Mr Styles' Classical Academy in Thames Ditton and at the Addiscombe Military Academy for service in the East India Company .In 1823 he was...
- 1860 Robert MainRobert MainThe Reverend Robert Main was an English astronomer.Born in Kent, the eldest son of Thomas Main, Robert Main attended school in Portsea before studying mathematics at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he graduated as sixth wrangler in 1834...
- 1879 Edward James StoneEdward James StoneEdward James Stone was an English astronomer.He was born in Notting Hill, London to Roger and Elizabeth Stone...
- 1897 Arthur Alcock RambautArthur Alcock RambautArthur Alcock Rambaut was an Irish astronomer.-Life:Rambaut was born in County Waterford, Ireland, the third son of Rev. Edmund F. Rambaut, vicar of Christ Church, Blackrock, County Dublin. He was educated at Rathmines School, Dublin, Armagh and Trinity College, Dublin, where he won a...
- 1924 Harold Knox-ShawHarold Knox-ShawHarold Knox-Shaw was an English astronomer.He was born in St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex as the oldest of four siblings. During his youth he earned scholarships to Wellington College in Berkshire and to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, from which he graduated in 1907 ranked as Sixth Wrangler...
- 1950 David Thackeray
See also
- Observatory StreetObservatory StreetObservatory Street links at the eastern end Woodstock Road in central North Oxford and at the western end Walton Street and the Jericho area of Oxford, England....
to the north - Radcliffe Observatory QuarterRadcliffe Observatory QuarterThe Radcliffe Observatory Quarter is a major University of Oxford development project in Oxford, England, in the estate of the old Radcliffe Infirmary hospital.The site, covering 10 acres is in central north Oxford...
, a local development project