FLAMSTEED, John (1646-1719), the first astronomerroyal of England, was born at Denby near Derby, August 14, 1646. He was educated at the free school of that town, where his father carried on business as a maltster. Ho began the study of mathematics and astronomy while still very young, and showed considerable ingenuity in the construction of mathematical instruments. At the age of fourteen he caught cold while bathing, and he suffered during the rest of his life from a rheumatic affection of the joints. In 1665 he went to Ireland to consult Greatrakes, a notorious quack of the period, who claimed to be able to cure such diseases by manipulation; but he returned to Derby uncured. He continued his astronomical studies here till 1669. About the year 1667 he wrote an able paper on the equation of time, afterwards appended by Wallis to his edition of Horrocks’s works. In 1669 be communicated a paper to the Royal Society under the assumed name J. Mathesin a sole fundes, an anagram on his own name Johannes Flamsteedius; but Oldenburg, the secretary, addressed a reply to him, showing that he was discovered, and from that time Flamsteed corresponded with many men of science. Sir Jonas Moore, whose acquaintance ho made in 1670 when visiting London, furnished him with several instruments, amongst others with Townly’s micrometer. In 1673 Flamsteed composed his treatise on The true and apparent Places of the Planets when at their greatest and least Distances from the Earth,, a work referred to by Newton in the first edition of his Principiet. In the same year he obtained his Μ. A. degree at Cambridge. He does not appear to have ever studied at Cambridge, though his name was entered at J esus College in 1670, and he resided there for some months in 1674. In this year he ...published his Ephemeris, and drew up a table of the tides. Sir J. Moore at this time proposed to establish Flamsteed in a private observatory at Chelsea; but Charles II., whose attention had been directed to the necessity of improved astronomical tables by a proposal for finding the longitude at sea, determined to establish an observatory, and Flamsteed was appointed “astronomical observator.” His observations were made at the queen’s house in Greenwich Park, till July 1676, when the observatory was ready. Of his work as astronomer-royal an account will be found under Astronomy (vol. ii. p. 756). Baily dates the commencement of modem astronomy from the year 1676, when Flamsteed began his observations.
Flamsteed was ill-paid and overworked in his new office. A salary of £100 a year was paid him, and he was left to provide his own instruments. Until 1684 he had to teach two boys from Christ’s Hospital, as one of the duties of his post; and he taught other boys, to defray the expenses he incurred for instruments. In 1684 his father died, and he was presented by Lord Keeper North to a small living. His means being thus somewhat improved, he resolved to incur the expense of a mural arc, on the assurance of Government that he Would be reimbursed,—a promise which, however, was never fulfilled.
Attention has been drawn since the year 1832 to certain private affairs of Flamsteed’s. In that year Francis Baily discovered a large collection of Flamsteed’s letters in private hands, and other letters afterwards at Greenwich. The Admiralty unfortunately decided to print these at the public expense. For some time it was supposed that the fair fame of Newton and Halley had been darkened by the publication of these documents. But Sir David Brewster discovered among Newton’s papers a series of letters and papers completely exculpating Newton and Halley from charges affecting their honour, and placing Flamsteed’s character in an unfavourable aspect. It must be remembered, however, that the case made out by Brewster against Flamsteed, and the case made out by Baily against Newton and Halley, both rest on ex parte statements. The conclusion to which a careful investigation of both sides of the story appears to point is that both Newton and Flamsteed showed exceeding ill-temper, and that the charges affecting the honour of either (and of Halley as Newton’s friend) had their origin entirely in the ill-feeling thus excited. It is unfortunate that the matter should ever have been opened. Let it be remembered only that, while on the one hand Flamsteed furnished Newton with every lunar observation made before 1685, when the first edition of the Principia appeared, Newton on the other hand based on these observations the noblest theory the world of science has known.
From 1715 to 1719, the year of his death, Flamsteed superintended the publication of the Historia Coelestis, but the publication was not completed till 1723. His valuable Atlas Coelestis was not published till 1753. The well-known British catalogue of 2884 stars appears in the third volume of the Historia Coelestis. Though of feeble constitution, Flamsteed attained the age of seventy-three, his death occurring on the last day of the year 1719. He was succeeded in the office of astronomer-royal by Halley.
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