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Rev. Nevil Maskelyne (1732—1811)
Fifth Astronomer Royal (1765—1811)
Born: 1732, London, England
Died: 1811
Buried: St Mary the Virgin, Purton, Wiltshire
Astronomer Royal: 1765 - 1811
A graduate of Trinity College Cambridge, Nevil Maskelyne became assistant to
the then Astronomer Royal, Bradley in 1757. He was
ordained in 1755 but never took a post in the Church. In 1761 he was sent by the
Royal Society to the island of St Helena to observe the transit of Venus, with
the aim of using this information to calculate the distance of the Earth from
the Sun. Bad weather prevented any useful observations being made, however
Maskelyne used his journey to develop a method of calculating longitude called
the lunar distance method. A vested interest in an astronomical solution to the
longitude problem could have been seen as a conflict of interests, but this did
not stop the Board of Longitude sending Maskelyne to Barbados in 1763 to test Harrison's No. 4 timekeeper.
In 1767 Maskelyne produced the first Nautical Almanac in which he presented
results of his studies of the Sun, Moon, the planets and the stars. His time as
Astronomer Royal was spent making improvements to existing apparatus and
installing new equipment. In 1769 he used this improved apparatus along with his
improved method of observation to observe the transit of Venus at Greenwich. He
was also involved in 'weighing the Earth'.
The Monumental Inscription dedicated to Nevil Maskelyne which is to be found
inside Purton parish church: www.oodwooc.f9.co.uk/ph_purton_mem.htm
