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Airy, Sir George Biddell

(Encyclopedia)Airy, Sir George Biddell, 1801–92, English astronomer. The son of a poor farmer, he distinguished himself as Senior Wrangler at Cambridge, where he was elected fellow of Trinity College (1824) and a...

prime meridian

(Encyclopedia)prime meridian, meridian that is designated zero degree (0°) longitude, from which all other longitudes are measured. By international convention, it passes through the site of the Royal Observatory ...

Amici, Giovanni Battista

(Encyclopedia)Amici, Giovanni Battista jōvänˈnē bät-tēsˈtä ämēˈchē [key], 1786–1863, Italian astronomer, mathematician, and naturalist. He became director of the observatory and professor of astronomy...

Donati, Giovanni Battista

(Encyclopedia)Donati, Giovanni Battista jōvänˈnē bät-tēsˈtä dōnäˈtē [key], 1826–73, Italian astronomer, b. Pisa. Serving as director of the Florence Observatory from 1864, he was a pioneer in the spec...

Bradley, James

(Encyclopedia)Bradley, James, 1693–1762, English astronomer. His discovery of the aberration of light, announced in 1728, provided an important line of evidence for the motion of the earth around the sun. In 1742...

Armagh, city, Northern Ireland

(Encyclopedia)Armagh, city, S Northern Ireland. Textiles, chemicals, and processed foods are produced in the city. Armagh (originally Ard Macha) has been the ecclesiastical capital of all Ireland since ...

Glaisher, James

(Encyclopedia)Glaisher, James glāˈshər [key], 1809–1903, English meteorologist and balloonist, b. London. He served as superintendent of the department of meteorology and magnetism at Greenwich Observatory fro...

Puy de Dôme

(Encyclopedia)Puy de Dôme, extinct volcano of the Massif Central and the second highest peak (4,806 ft/1,465 m) of the Auvergne Mts., central France, W of Clermont-Ferrand. Crops are raised on the lower slopes; th...

Ohio State University

(Encyclopedia)Ohio State University, main campus at Columbus; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1870, opened 1873 as Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, renamed 1878. There are also cam...

Flamsteed, John

(Encyclopedia)Flamsteed, John flămˈstēd [key], 1646–1719, English astronomer. He was appointed (1675) astronomer royal by King Charles II and carried on his researches at Greenwich Observatory. Over his protes...