| Noted for: | Bringing astronomical observation to a new level of precision. His star catalogue and atlas. Falling out with Newton. Often complaining & difficult to get on with. |
| Buried at: | The eastern end of the runway at Gatwick Airport in St. Bartholomew's Church at Burstow. |
| Noted for: | The comet that carries his name (discovered before he came to Greenwich). Not publishing the observations made at Greenwich or organising the manuscript version in a way that could be easily comprehended by others. |
| Buried in: | The old churchyard at St Margaret’s at Lee, London. |
| Noted for: | Two great discoveries: ‘aberration of light’ – the first real evidence that the Earth goes round the Sun (and discovered before he came to Greenwich), and ‘nutation’ – the wobbling of the Earth on its axis. Introducing corrections for refraction that took into account temperature and pressure. Not publishing the observations made at Greenwich – an ownership dispute after his death delayed the publication of the first volume until 1798. |
| Buried in: | The churchyard of Holy Trinity Church, Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire. |
| Noted for: | Dying soon after taking up post. |
| Buried in: | An unmarked grave in the old churchyard at St Margaret’s at Lee, London. |
| Noted for: | ‘Weighing the World’. Creating the Nautical Almanac. Being portrayed as the villain by Dava Sobel in her book Longitude. |
| Buried in: | The churchyard of St Mary the Virgin at Purton Wiltshire. |
| Noted for: | His brilliant analysis of instrumental errors. Introducing the Greenwich time-ball. Bringing the Nautical Almanac into disrepute. Failing to leave even a single picture of himself – the image that often appears is of another John Pond. |
| Buried in: | Halley’s grave in the old churchyard at St Margaret’s at Lee, London. |
| Noted for: | A meticulous attention to detail & documentation. The Airy Transit Circle that defines the Prime Meridian. Said by some to be autocratic. |
| Buried in: | The churchyard of St Mary’s Church, Playford, Suffolk. |
| Obituary: | Click here for obituary |
| Noted for: | Increasing the number of large telescopes at Greenwich. Being the first AR to retire at 65. Lacking the vision to erect the new telescopes on a new site away from the pollution of Greenwich. |
| Buried at: | Sea. |
| Obituary: | Click here for obituary |
| Noted for: | Introducing the ‘six pips’ time signals on the radio. The 1919 eclipse expedition that confirmed Einstein’s theory of General Relativity. |
| Buried at: | Sea. |
| Obituary: | Click here for obituary |
| Noted for: | Orchestrating the move away from light & smoke polluted Greenwich to Herstmonceux in Sussex. Measuring ‘variation of latitude’ – a phenomenon caused by a slight shifting of the Earth’s Poles. |
| Obituary: | Click here for obituary |