Astronomer. Born in London. He became Astronomer Royal in 1811, and during his tenure, he substantially modernised the Greenwich Observatory. In 1833 he oversaw the installation of the time ball on the roof (probably, the first public time signal in the UK). The ball dropped daily at 1:00 p.m., and was intended to aid mariners on the Thames to synchronise their marine chronometers.
Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
John Pond
2014: Via Facebook Martin Evans suggests this man for the name panel at IC. He was the first Professor of Metallurgy at the School of Mines so we agree, he must be our man. Born Nottingham. Trai...
'A tonic for the Nation', The Festival was intended to cheer us all up after WW2, and incidentally to celebrate the centenary of the 1851 Great Exhibition. The symbol for the Festival was designed ...
Astronomer. Born Sherborne, Gloucestershire. Elected as the Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford 1721-62, his death. In 1742 he was appointed Astronomer Royal. He is best known for two fundame...
Born Ashton under Lyme, Lancashire. Maker of watches and chronometers. Lived and worked mainly in London and Greenwich. He seems to have been a bitter man with whom it was unpleasant to do business...
Astronomer. Most famous for his observations of "Baily's beads" during a total eclipse of the Sun. Baily was also a major figure in the early history of the Royal Astronomical Society, as one of th...
Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in to see them