Samuel Molyneux
Samuel Molyneux | |
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Aberration of light | |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
Samuel Molyneux
aberration of light. The aberration was the first definite evidence that the earth moved and that Copernicus and Kepler were correct.[1][2][3] In addition to his astronomical works, Molyneux wrote about the natural history and other features of Ireland.[3]
He died in suspicious circumstances.
Early life
Molyneux was born in
Master of Arts
(MA) in 1710. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1712.
Astronomical work
Molyneux is best known for his work with Bradley in attempting to measure the parallax of
arcsecond from December 1725 until late in 1727. Measurements of this precision had never before been performed with telescopes. Bradley and Molyneux were surprised to find that rather than detect a parallax they detected an unexplained wobble of the star. Moreover, similar wobbles were found by Bradley using another high-precision telescope for some 200 other stars. Molyneux died shortly before Bradley realized that the observed changes they were seeing was in fact due to the aberration of light.[2]
Political career
Molyneux was
Dublin University in the Irish House of Commons.[5]
Death and legacy
Molyneux married Lady Elizabeth Capel, daughter of Algernon Capell, 2nd Earl of Essex, on 5 April 1717. In 1728, he suffered a fit while in the House of Commons. He was treated by court anatomist Nathaniel St André, but the treatment did not prove successful, and Molyneux died in Kew in April. On the night of the death, St André eloped with Molyneux's wife, Elizabeth, the two marrying in 1730. Samuel Madden, a relative of Molyneux's, claimed that St André had poisoned the MP. Although St André won an action for defamation, he found himself unable to secure regular work.[6]
Notes
- ^ Science and Its Times viaWilliam Molyneux Summary. Retrieved 24 July 2007.
- ^ ISBN 0-8050-7133-4.
- ^ a b "Samuel Molyneux". Ricorso). Retrieved 24 July 2007.
- ^ "MOLYNEUX, Samuel (1689–1728), of Dublin and St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
- ^ Clerke, Agnes Mary (1894). . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 38. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/24478. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
External links
- O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Samuel Molyneux", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews
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