Edmund Halley
- Born:
- November 8, 1656, Haggerston, London, England
- Died:
- January 14, 1742, Greenwich, London, England
- Nationality:
- English
- Profession(s):
- Astronomer, Geologist, Mathematician, Meteorologist, Physicist, Demographer
Early Life and Education
- Early interest in mathematics; tutored privately due to his family's wealth.
- Entered The Queen's College, Oxford, in 1673.
- Published papers on solar system and sunspots while still an undergraduate.
- Left Oxford without a degree in 1676 to travel to St. Helena.
Career and Major Achievements
- Established an observatory on St. Helena to catalogue stars of the Southern Hemisphere.
- Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1678.
- Helped convince Isaac Newton to publish his Principia Mathematica and funded its publication.
- Served as Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford University from 1704.
- Became Astronomer Royal in 1720.
- Calculated the orbit of Halley's Comet and predicted its return.
Notable Works
- Catalogus Stellarum Australium (1679), a catalogue of stars observed from St. Helena.
- Synopsis Astronomia Cometicae (1705), predicted the return of Halley's Comet.
- Significant contributions to the study of tides, terrestrial magnetism, and cartography.
- Created mortality tables providing a basis for actuarial science.
Legacy and Impact
The examination of the life and work, or rather, the history of Edmund Halley, reveals a polymath whose contributions spanned numerous scientific fields, cementing his place as a pivotal figure in the Scientific Revolution. His work significantly advanced our understanding of astronomy, mathematics, and geophysics.