Life

Bayly was born at Bishops Cannings

Bishops Cannings

Bishops Cannings is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, England. The parish includes the settlements of Coate, Horton, Bourton and Easton, as well as the village of Bishops Cannings itself.-History:...

, or Carions, in Wiltshire. His father was a small farmer, and Bayly's boyhood was spent at the plough. In spite of the constant manual work he had to do, he took advantage of the kindness of an exciseman living in a neighbouring village, who offered to give him some lessons. From him he learned the elements of arithmetic. A gentleman of Bath, named Kingston, heard of the boy's taste for mathematics, and gave him some help. He became usher in a school at Stoke, near Bristol, and after a while took a similar situation in another school in the neighbourhood. While thus employed, he took every opportunity of increasing his mathematical knowledge.

Nevil Maskelyne

Nevil Maskelyne

The Reverend Dr Nevil Maskelyne FRS was the fifth English Astronomer Royal. He held the office from 1765 to 1811.-Biography:...

, the astronomer-royal, happened to hear of his talents, and engaged him as an assistant at the Royal Observatory

Royal Observatory

Royal Observatory may refer to:* The Royal Observatory, Greenwich * The Royal Observatory, Edinburgh* Before 1997, Hong Kong Observatory* The Royal Observatory of Belgium, Uccle...

. On his recommendation Bayly, in 1769, was sent out by the Royal Society

Royal Society

The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...

 to North Cape, Norway

North Cape, Norway

North Cape is a cape on the island of Magerøya in Northern Norway, in the municipality of Nordkapp. Its 307 m high, steep cliff is often referred to as the northernmost point of Europe, located at , 2102.3 km from the North Pole. However, the neighbouring point Knivskjellodden is actually...

 to observe the 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...

 that occurred in that year, and his observations were printed in the Philosophical Transactions

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society

The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society of London. It was established in 1665, making it the first journal in the world exclusively devoted to science, and it has remained in continuous publication ever since, making it the world's...

of the society. In 1772 he accompanied William Wales

William Wales (astronomer)

William Wales was a British mathematician and astronomer.-Early life:Wales was born around 1734 to John and Sarah Wales and was baptized in Warmfield that year...

 as an astronomer on Cook

James Cook

Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...

's second voyage of discovery to the southern hemisphere. The two ships employed in the expedition, the Resolution and the Adventure

HMS Adventure (1771)

HMS Adventure was a barque of the Royal Navy that sailed with Resolution on James Cook's second expedition to the Pacific in 1772–1775. She was the first ship to circumnavigate the globe from west to east....

, sailed on 13 June. He also sailed in Cook's third and last voyage made with the Resolution and the Discovery

HMS Discovery (1774)

HMS Discovery was the consort ship of James Cook's third expedition to the Pacific Ocean in 1776 - 1780. Like Cook's other ships, Discovery was a Whitby-built collier of 298 tons, originally named Diligence when she was built in 1774. Originally a brig, Cook had her changed to a full rigged ship...

, which cleared the channel on 14 July 1776. This voyage, in which Cook was killed, came to an end in 1780.

In 1785 Bayly was made head-master of the Royal Academy

Royal Naval Academy

The Royal Naval Academy was established at Portsmouth Dockyard as a facility to train officers for the Royal Navy. The founders' intentions were to provide an alternative means to recruit officers and to provide standardised training, education and admission.-Training:In 1773, a shore side...

 at Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

, an office he continued to hold until the establishment of the Royal Naval College

Royal Naval College

Royal Naval College may refer to:* Royal Naval Academy in Portsmouth , renamed the Royal Naval College in 1806* Royal Naval College, Greenwich * Royal Naval College, Osborne...

 in 1807, when he retired on a sufficient pension. The organ in the parish church of his native village is his gift. He died at Portsea

Portsea

Portsea is an area of the English city of Portsmouth, located on Portsea Island, within the ceremonial county of Hampshire.The area was originally known as the Common and lay between the town of Portsmouth and the nearby Dockyard. The Common started to be developed at the end of the seventeenth...

towards the end of 1810.

Works

• ‘Astronomical Observations made at the North Cape for the Royal Society by Mr. Bayley [sic]', Philosophical Transactions, 59, 262.
• The Original Astronomical Observations made in the course of a Voyage towards the South Pole … by W. Wales and W. Bayly … by order of the Board of Longitude, 1777.
• Original Astronomical Observations made in the course of a Voyage to the Northern Pacific Ocean. … in the years 1776–1780, by Capt. J. Cooke, Lieut. J. King, and W. Bayly … by order of the Board of Longitude, 1782.