|
|
John Pond (1767—1836)
Sixth Astronomer Royal (1811—35)
Born: 1767 London, England
Died: 1836
Buried: St Margaret's Churchyard, Lee (near Greenwich), London, England (in Halley's
tomb)
Astronomer Royal: 1767 -1836
By the age of 15 John Pond had already made observations with sufficient
confidence to suggest Greenwich data contained a number of errors. He went on to
read Chemistry at Trinity College Cambridge, though left before graduating due
to ill health. He travelled in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, making
astronomical observations when and where he could, before returning home in 1798
to establish his own private observatory in Westbury near Bristol. Through
observations made at this observatory by 1806 he was able to demonstrate that
the quadrant at Greenwich had become deformed with age and was no longer
producing accurate data.
In 1811 he became Astronomer Royal. He modernised the Observatory,
updating and replacing old and damaged equipment, and changing working
arrangements by increased staffing and introducing new programmes of work. In
1833 he installed the time ball at Greenwich which to this day falls daily at
1pm and was used by mariners to check their chronometers. During his
period as Astronomer Royal, Pond produced a new, more accurate catalogue of over
1000 stars (1833). In 1835, one year before he died, Pond retired due to
illness.
