Daguet, Théodore (1795 - )
Daguin, Pierre Adolphe (1814 -
1884)
Daraha-Mihira ( - 587)
d’Arrest, Heinrich L. (1822 - 1875)
Damoiseau, Marie Charles Theodor de
(1768 - 1846)
Danjon, André ()
Dantes [Dante, Danti], Ignatius
[Egnacio] (1537 - 1586)
Darney, Maurice (1882 - 1958)
Darquier de Pellepoix, Augustin
(1718 - 1802)
Darwin, George Howard (1845 - )
Dasypodius [Rauhfuss, Hasenfuss],
Conrad (1532 - 1600)
Dauvillier, Alexandre ()
David, Aloys (1757 - 1836)
Davidson, Charles Rundle (1875
- 1970)
Davidson, George (1825 - )
Davis, Charles Henry (1807 - 1877)
Dawes, William R. (1799 - 1868)
de la Rue, Warren (1815 - 1889)
de Morgan, Augustus (1806 - 1871)
de Sitter, Willem (1872 - 1934)
Dean, George Washington (1825 -
1897)
Deichmüller, Friedrich H.
C. (1855 - 1903)
Delambre, Jean Baptist Joseph
(1749 - 1822)
Delaunay, Charles
Eugène (1816 - 1872)
Delfino [Delphius],
Frederigo (1477 - 1547)
Delisle, Joseph Nicolas (1688 -
1768)
Dellinger, J. Howard ()
Delmotte, Gabriel (1876 - 1950)
Delporte, Eugéne Joseph
(1882 - 1955)
Dembowski, Baron Ercole (1812 -
1881)
Denning, William, ()
de Phares, Simon ()
Derfflinger, Thaddäus (1748
- 1824)
Derham, William (1657 - 1735)
Descartes, René (1596 - 1650)
Deseilligny, Jules A. P. (1868 - 1918)
Desplaces, Philippe (1659 - 1736)
Detre, Lászlo ( - 1974)
Develey, Isaac Emmanuel
Louis (1764 - 1839)
Dirichlet, Peter Gustav Lejeune
(1805 - 1859)
Divini [De Divinis], Eustachio (2. Half of the
17. Century)
Dixon, Jeremiah ( - 1777)
Döllen, Johann Heinrich Wilhelm
(1820 - 1879)
Dollond, John (1706 - 1761)
Dollond, Peter (1730 - 1820)
Dollond [Huggins], George (1774
- 1852)
Dominicus, Maria, de Ferrara (16.
Century)
Donati, G. B. [Johann Baptist] (1826 - 1873)
Dondi, Giovanni de (14. Century)
Donkin, William Fishburn (1814 - )
Doppelmayr [Doppelmaier], Johann
Gabriel (1671 - 1750)
Doppler, Christian J. (1803 - 1853)
Dörffel, Georg Samuel (1643
- 1688)
Dorta [D’ Orta], Bento Sanches
(1739 - 1795)
Draper, Henry (1837 - 1882)
Drechsler, A. (1815 - )
Dschelaleddin Melek (11. Century)
Dubiago, Alexander D. (1903 - 1959)
Dubiago, Dimitrij (1849 - 1919)
Dubois, Godefroi (1700 - 1747)
Duc-de-la-Chapelle, Anne Jean Pascal
Chrysostome (1765 - 1814)
Dudith, Andreas ()
Dugan, R. S. ( - 1940)
Dumouchel, Étienne [Stefano]
(1773 - 1840)
Duncan, John ()
Dunér, Nils Christoffer
(1839 - )
Dunham ()
Dunlop, James ( - 1848)
Dunn, Samuel ( - 1792)
Dunthorne, Richard (1711 - 1775)
Duvanchel, Charles ()
Dyson, Sir Frank Watson (1868 - 1939)
Daguet, Théodore (1795 - )
T. Daguet was born on the 22. June 1795 in Vuippens, Switzerland. He
was a glassmaker in Solothurn and was able to supply disks of Crown and
Flintglass with diameters up to 14 inch. For his products he received
first
prices at the industrial shows in Bern 1848 and in London 1851. Daguet
died in Freiburg in 1870.
Daguin, Pierre Adolphe (1814
- 1884)
P. A. Daguin was born on the 5. August 1814 in Poitiers. In 1838 he
was professor of physics and natural sciences at the Lycee in Moulins,
from 1841 professor at the Collège in Tours, and from 1847 at
the
faculty in Toulouse. Between 1866 and 1870 he was director of the
observatory
in Toulouse.
Beside several other papers he published his observations on meteorological phenomena made between 1867 and 1870 in Toulouse and also a paper about a Halo around the Sun (1860). He died in Toulouse on the 20. November 1884.
Daraha-Mihira ( - 587)
Daraha-Mihira was an astronomer in India, he was born in Ujjayini.
His main work on astronomy, ‘Panca siddhantatika’ is lost, some other
works
of astrological content are known. He died in 587.
d’Arrest, Heinrich L. (1822 - 1875)
Damoiseau, Marie Charles Theodor de
(1768 - 1846)
Damoiseau was born in Besançon on the 9. April 1768. After his
education as artillery officer he emigrated to Germany in 1792 and went
to Portugal later. In Lissabon he was vice director of the observatory
until 1807. Damoiseau then went back to France and was director of the
Marseille observatory He published calculations on cometary orbits and
tables on the moons of Jupiter. He died in Issy near Paris on the 8.
August
1864.
Dantes [Dante, Danti], Ignatius
[Egnacio] (1537 - 1586)
I. Dantes was born in Perugia in 1537. He was cosmograph at court
of the count of Florence, between 1576 and 1583 professor at the
University
of Bologna and later bishop in Alatri. In one of his papers, the
‘Trattato
del’ Astrolabio’ (Florence 1569) he wrote about the decreasing angle
between
the equator and the ecliptic.
He constructed a gnomon in the church of Sta. Maria Novella and later another one in the church of Petronius in Bologna to demonstrate errors in the calendar. The latter one was improved by J. D. Cassini in 1653.
I. Dantes died in Rome on the 19. October 1586.
Darquier de Pellepoix,
Augustin (1718 - 1802)
A. Darquier de Pellepoix was born on the 23. November 1718 in Toulouse,
where he erected a private Observatory. He published some papers on
astronomy
and translated Simpson's Geometry and Lambert's Cosmological letters.
Darquier
died in his home town on the 18. January 1802.
Darwin, George Howard (1845 - )
G. H. Darwin was born in Down, Kent, on the 9. July 1845. Between 1868
and 1878 he was Fellow at the Trinity College in Cambridge, from 1874
on
'Barrister at law of Lincoln's Inn', from 1883 on Plumian professor of
astronomy and experimental physics. Beside other papers he published a
work on 'Secular effects of tidal Friction in AN 96 (1880).
Dasypodius [Rauhfuss, Hasenfuss], Conrad (1532 - 1600)
C. Dasypodius was born in 1532 in Frauenfeld, Switzerland. He was professor of mathematics at the University in Strassbourg. There he planned the first astronomical clock that was built by Isaac and Josia Habrecht in the years 1572 until 1574. It was replaced in 1842 by a clock constructed by Schwilgué. Dasypodius died on the 26. April 1600 in Strassbourg.
David, Aloys (1757 - 1836)
A. David was born on the 8. December 1757 in Tschewehisch (Drzevohryz),
Bohemia. He was professor of astronomy in Prague and director of the
observatory
there. He published his observations in the 'Monthly Correspondence' of
von Zach and in Bode's yearbook and in the 'Astronomische Nachrichten'.
A. David died on the 22. February 1836 in Tepl.
Davidson, Charles Rundle
(1875 - 1970)
Born 28 February 1875, died 18 June 1970, book on Astrophotography.
Assistant Astronomer Royal between 1896 and 1937.
Davidson, George (1825 - )
G. Davidson was born on the 9. May 1825 in Nottingham, England. Since
1845 he worked with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey and got the post
of professor of geodetics and astronomy at the university in Berkeley,
California, in 1871. He was head of the expedition to Japan to observe
the transit of Venus across the sun's disk in 1874.
In the Astr. Soc. Monthly Notices he described the Zenith telescope of the U.S. Coast Survey (28, 1868), observations of meteors in the night following the 13. November 1869 (30, 1870)and a report on the observation of the solar eclipse in 1854 at the Humboldt Bay, California.
Davis, Charles Henry (1807 -
1877)
C. H. Davis was born in Boston on the 16. January 1807. He was director
of the naval observatory in Washington and described his observations
on
stars, comets, minor planets and Neptune in the ‘Astronomische
Nachrichten’.
Davis died in Washington on the 18. February 1877.
Dawes, William R. (1799 - 1868)
W. R. Dawes was born on the 19. March 1799 in Christ's Hospital in
London. He studied theology and medicine and worked from 1826 on as a
physicist
in Haddenham and later in Liverpool. Between 1839 and 1844 he was
Astronomer
at Bishop's new observatory in London. From then on he lived in
Cranbrooke,
Kent, until 1850 and then until 1857 in Wateringbury near Maidstone.
Then
he moved to Hopefield near Haddenham. Wherever he stayed he continued
to
observe the sky with his private observatory. He made numerous double
star
and solar spot observations and discovered the innermost ring of planet
Saturn. Dawes died on the 15. February 1868 in Haddenham.
de la Rue, Warren (1815 - 1889)
W. de la Rue was born on the island Guernsey on the 18. January 1815.
He was first apprentice, then partner and later senior partner in the
papermill
of Thomas de la Rue & Co. in London. De la Rue owned a private
observatory
at Cranford, Middlesex, which he sold in 1873 because he suffered from
fading eyesight. The instruments were presented to the University of
Oxford.
De la Rue invented some new instruments: a method to make parabolic mirrors, a micrometer to measure photographic plates and a photoheliograph. He took the first photographs of a solar eclipse in Spain in 1860. With the photoheliograph, which was located at Kew, de la Rue, B. Steward and B. Loewy took over 2700 photos of the suns disk between 1862 and 1872. His method of figuring specula is described in the Astr. Soc. Monthly Notices 13 (1851-52).
De la Rue died in London on the 22. April 1889.
de Morgan, Augustus (1806 - 1871)
de Sitter, Willem (1872 - 1934)
Dean, George Washington
(1825 - 1897)
G. W. Dean was born in Freetown, Mass., on the 4. November 1825. He
was assistant astronomer with the US Geological Survey and collected
trigonometric
data along the coast of New England. between 1850 and 1866. Dean
improved
and developed some astronomical instruments and telegraphic equipment.
He died in Fall River on the 23. January 1897.
Deichmüller, Friedrich
H. C. (1855 - 1903)
F. H. C. Deichmüller was born in Stadtilm near Rudolstadt on the
25. February 1855. From 1876 on he was assistant at the observatory in
Bonn and from 1878 on observer. He was a member of the Venus expedition
to China in 1874-75 and later to Hartford, Connecticut.
Deichmüller published his observations in the AN, including notices on comets and variable stars. He died in Bonn on the 6. May 1903.
Delambre, Jean Baptist Joseph
(1749 - 1822)
J. B. J. Delambre was born in Amiens on the 19. September 1749. He
made trigonometric observations between Dunkirchen and Barcelona
together
with Mechain. He published tables for the sun and the planets, between
1817 and 1823 a history of the astronomy in four volumes and a textbook
‘Traité d’Astronomie’ (1814). He was professor of astronomy at
the
Collége de France from 1807 on, succeeding Lalande on this post.
Delambre died in Paris on the 19. August 1822.
Delaunay, Charles
Eugène (1816 - 1872)
C. E. Delaunay was born in Paris (Lusigny, Dept. Auge) on the
9. April 1816. From 1872 on he was director of the observatory in
Paris.
As an astronomer and mathematician he calculated tables for the Moon
and
other celestial bodies. He died in Cherbourg on the 5. August 1872
while
taking a bath in the Channel.
Delfino [Delphius],
Frederigo (1477 - 1547)
F. Delfino was born in 1477 in Padua, Italy. He was a physician in
Venezia and later professor of astronomy at the University in Padua. He
died there in the year 1547.
Delisle, Joseph Nicolas
(1688 - 1768)
J. N. Delisle was born in Paris on the 4. April 1688. He was invited
by Empress Katharina I. to St. Petersburg in 1726 to found a school for
astronomy and returned to Paris in 1747. He developed a thermometer,
published
works on the history of astronomy and a report on the annular solar
eclipse
of 25. June 1748, including a list of annular eclipses. Delisle died in
Paris on the 11. September 1768.
Delmotte, Gabriel (1876 - 1950)
Delporte, Eugéne
Joseph (1882 - 1955) BEA
The Belgian astronomer E. J. Delporte discovered minor planet (2101)
Adonis on the 12. February 1936 from the Uccle observatory.
Dembowski, Baron Ercole
(1812 - 1881)
Dembowski was astronomer in Milano and published his observations of
double stars in the ‘Astronomische Nachrichten’.
Derfflinger, Thaddäus
(1748 - 1824)
T. Derfflinger was born in Müllwang on the 19. December 1748.
After school he joined the Benedictine convent in Kremsmünster and
was ordained on the 28. October 1773. Derfflinger worked as teacher at
the local high school and was trained as astronomer by P. Fixlmillner,
whom he followed as director of the Kremsmünster observatory in
1791.
He held this post until his death on the 18. April 1824.
The observations he made in the 33 years of his directorship were published in the year books that were printed in Vienna and Berlin. In his last years his eyesight faded and it was difficult for him to observe or calculate.
Derham, William (1657 - 1735)
W. Derham was born in Stoughton in 1657. As a theologican and
astronomer
he wrote an ‘Astrotheology’ which was published in its German
translation
by J. A. Fabricius in Hamburg in 1765.
Deseilligny, Jules A. P. (1868 - 1918)
Desplaces, Philippe (1659 - 1736)
P. Desplaces was born on the 3. June 1659 in Paris. There he worked
as astronomer and published ephemerides between 1716 and 1734. His last
edition included the data until 1744. In addition to this work he
published
a yearbook titled 'Etat du Ciel' between 1720 and 1735. He died in
Paris
in April 1736.
Detre, Lászlo ( - 1974)
Detre was director of the observatory of the Academy of Science of
Hungary in Budapest. He studied in Germany and was a member of the
Astronomische
Gesellschaft.
Lászlo Detre died on the 5. October 1974.
Develey, Isaac Emmanuel
Louis (1764 - 1839)
I. E. L. Develey was born on the 27. May 1764 near Payerue. He was
professor of mathematics and astronomy at the Academy in Lausanne where
he died on 22 May 1839.
Dirichlet, Peter Gustav
Lejeune (1805 - 1859)
P. G. L. Dirichlet was born on the 13. February 1805 in Düren
near Aachen. He died on the 5. May 1859 in Göttingen.
Divini [De Divinis], Eustachio (2. Half of
the 17. Century)
E. Divini worked as an optician and got a reputation through the
construction
of telescopes and microscopes. He also made astronomical observations.
Dixon, Jeremiah ( - 1777) BEA
J. Dixon was born in a coal mine in England. Together with Ch. Mason
he observed at the Cape of Good Hope the transit of Venus across the
sun's
disk in 1761. He died in Durham, England, in 1777.
Döllen, Johann Heinrich Wilhelm
(1820 - 1879)
J. H. W. Döllen was born on the 25. April 1820 in Mitau (13.
April,
old calendar). He worked as observer in Dorpat and later at the
observatory
in Pulkova. He was member with several expeditions, including the one
to
Theben in 1874 for the transit of Venus. Döllen published is
observations
in the 'Astronomische Nachrichten'. He died in Dorpat on the 16.
February
1879 (4. February, old calendar).
Dollond, John (1706 - 1761)
J. Dollond was born on the 10. June 1706 in Spitalfields. As the son
of a French protestant who had fled France he worked until 1752 as a
silk
weaver in his home town. Then he founded an optical workshop where he
worked
with his son Peter. John Dollond died on the 30. November 1761.
The name Dollond is probably originating from D’ Hollande, the country where the family probably had its roots.
Dollond, Peter (1730 - 1820)
P. Dollond was born in London in 1730 (24. February 1731 ?). He
continued
to work in the optical workshop together with his younger brother John.
Later his nephew George Huggins joined the workshop. Peter Dollond died
in Kensington on the 2. July 1820.
Dollond [Huggins], George
(1774 - 1852)
G. Huggins was born in London on the 25. January 1774. He adopted the
name of Dollond when he joined his uncle's optical workshop. George
Dollond
died on the 13. May 1852.
Dominicus, Maria, de Ferrara (16.
Century)
Dominicus was mathematician and astronomer and between 1484 and 1514
Professor in Bologna. He encouraged Copernicus in his observations of
celestial
objects and determined the inclination of the ecliptic based on own
observations.
Donati, G. B. [Johann Baptist] (1826 - 1873)
G. B. Donati was born in Pisa in 1826. He was director of the Florence
observatory and discovered the great comet of 1858 and calculated its
orbit.
Other work included observations of the star spectra, photographies of
the sun and reports on aurorae. He died in Florence in 1873.
Dondi, Giovanni de (14. Century)
G. de Dondi was born around 1318 in Chioggia and worked as a physician
and astronomer in Padua. He constructed a clock that showed the hour,
day,
month, the position of the Moon, the sun and the planets. This machine
was praised by Regiomontanus. Dondi received the name addition ‘Dall’
Orologio’
in respect of his work. He died in Genua in 1389 (1380 ?).
Donkin, William Fishburn (1814 - )
W. F. Donkin was born in Bishop-Burton, Yorkshire, on the 15. February
1814. He was Savillian Professor of astronomy at the University of
Oxford.
Doppelmayr [Doppelmaier], Johann
Gabriel (1671 - 1750)
J. G. Doppelmayr was born in Nürnberg in 1671. He was
mathematician
and astronomer and published an ‘Atlas novus coelestis’ which included,
beside the star charts, charts for the planets and pictures of the Moon
based on observations by Riccioli and Hevelius. Doppelmayr died in
Nürnberg
in 1750.
Doppler, Christian J. (1803 -
1853)
C. J. Doppler was born in Salzburg on the 29. November 1803. He
published
a paper on the colors of double stars in 1843 and an additional comment
on it in 1850 as a response to a critic text of Buys-Ballot. C. J.
Doppler
died in Venezia on the 17. March 1853.
Dörffel, Georg Samuel
(1643 - 1688)
G. S. Dörffel was born on the 21. October 1643 in Plauen. He began
his theological studies in 1658 in Leipzig. In 1662 he went to Jena and
studied philosophy, mathematics and science. In 1672 he followed is
farther
in the post of a Deacon in his home town. Twelve years later he went to
Weida as superintendent. Beside his work he kept on with his scientific
studies, especially astronomy. After observing the comet that appeared
in 1680 Dörffel described the orbit as a parabola with the sun at
one focus. In 1682 Dörffel wrote about the comet that was
discovered
by him and that was later named after Edmund Halley. In 1685 he
published
a booklet describing the determination of altitudes of astronomical
observations.
G. S. Dörffel died in Weida on the 6. August 1688. He is honored by minor planet (4076) Dörffel and a lunar crater.
Dorta [D’ Orta], Bento Sanches
(1739 - 1795)
B. S. Dorta was born in Coimbra, Portugal, in 1739. He was an
astronomer
and geograph and traveled to Brazil in 1781 to make trigonometric
observations.
His astronomical observations included the moons of Jupiter. Dorta died
in Rio de Janeiro in 1795.
Drechsler, A. (1815 - )
Publicized the knowledge of astronomy with texts in several magazines
and
Dschelaleddin Melek (11.
Century)
Inproved the calendar in 1079 and determined the length of the year
to be 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 53 seconds. He was assisted by
the astronomer Omar Cheijam.
Dubiago, Alexander D. (1903 - 1959)
Dubiago, Dimitrij (1849 - 1919)
Dubois, Godefroi (1700 - 1747)
G. Dubois was born around 1700 in Zeeland. He worked as a physician
and later as professor of medicine and astronomy at the University in
Franeker.
He died on the 18. January 1747 in Franeker.
Duc-de-la-Chapelle, Anne Jean
Pascal Chrysostome (1765 - 1814)
A. J. Duc-de-la-Chapelle was born on the 27. January 1765 in Montauban,
north of Toulouse. He was a rich man and build himself an observatory
in
his home town. He made a lot of astronomical observations which he
published
in the 'Connaisance de temps'. Duc-de-la-Chapelle died in Montauban on
the 8. October 1814.
Dugan, R. S. ( - 1940)
Princeton, died 31 August 1940. Source: Himmelswelt 55 (1948).
Dumouchel, Étienne
[Stefano] (1773 - 1840)
É. Dumouchel was born in 1773 in Montfort-l'Amaury. He was a
Jesuit and acted as director of the observatory at the Collegio Romano
in Rome. Before that he was professor of mathematics in La Rochelle. He
published his observations in 'Astronomische Nachrichten', mainly on
the
rings and satellites of Saturn.
E. Dumouchel died in Rome on the 15. January 1840.
Dunér, Nils
Christoffer (1839 - ) BEA
Published in the AN texts on the transit of Mercury in 1868, the solar
eclipse of 1870, observations of minor planets, variable stars and the
companion of Sirius. He worked as observer at Lund observatory.
Sources:
VJS 52 (1917) 2 with portrait
ApJ 41 (1915) 81 with portrait
Sirius 48 (1915) 249
MN 75 (1915) 256
Dunham ()
Observed together with Adams (?) planet Venus in search for water.
Their spectroscopic work near 800 nm did not reveal water, but carbon
dioxide
by absorption lines at 782,0 nm, 788,3 nm and 868,9 nm .
Dunlop, James ( - 1848)
J. Dunlop was born in Scotland. He went to Australia as director of
the observatory in Paramatta. There he observed nebula and star
clusters
and published a catalog in 1828. On the 24. March 1834 he discovered a
comet from Paramatta. He died there around 1848.
Dunn, Samuel ( - 1792)
S. Dunn was born in Crediton, Devon. He worked as a teacher of
astronomy
and published several papers in the 'Philosophical Transactions', for
example
'Certain reasons for an atmosphere about Venus' (1761) and 'Certain
reasons
for a lunar atmosphere' (1762). Dunn died in 1792.
Dunthorne, Richard (1711 - 1775)
R. Dunthorne was born in 1711 in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire. He worked
as head of a university preparation school in Coggeshall, Essex, and
then
had a 'butlership' at Pembroke Hall, Cambridge.
He published some papers in the 'Philosophical Transactions', including one 'On the motion of the Moon' (1747), 'On the acceleration of the Moon' (1749) and a letter 'Concerning comets' in 1751. In addition he published tables on the motion of Jupiter's satellites in 1762. Dunthorne died on the 3. March 1775 in Cambridge.
Duvanchel, Charles ()
C. Duvanchel was Maire of Evreux between 1790 and 1792. As a young
man he worked with Lalande. In 1768 he published a paper on the request
of Louis XV., who wanted to know when the next total solar eclipse
would
be visible in Paris. Duvanchel did not find such an event until 1900.
Later
he continued his work for the years 1901 to 2000. He died in Evreux in
1820.
Dyson, Sir Frank Watson (1868 -
1939)
Astronomer Royal (1910-1933)
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