Ten fun facts about Edmund Halley
Fact 1
He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed.
Fact 2
As a child, Halley was very interested in mathematics.
Fact 3
While an undergraduate, Halley published papers on the Solar System and sunspots.
Fact 4
Halley became an assistant to John Flamsteed, the Astronomer Royal at the Greenwich Observatory, in 1675, and among other things, had the job of assigning what is now called Flamsteed numbers to stars.
Fact 5
The Royal Society censured Halley for suggesting in 1694 that the story of Noah's flood might be an account of a cometary impact.
Fact 6
Halley entered Queen's College Oxford in 1673, when he was seventeen years old, already an expert astronomer with a fine collection of instruments purchased for him by his father.
Fact 7
The lack of an academic post did not hold Halley back in his scientific work.
Fact 8
He worked for the Royal Society in various roles, being editor of the Philosophical Transactions from 1685 to 1693.
Fact 9
At the Greenwich Royal Observatory Halley used the first transit instrument and devised a method for determining longitude at sea by means of lunar observations.
Fact 10
Halley's other activities included studying archaeology, geophysics, the history of astronomy, and the solution of polynomial equations.
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