Voting Station

Edmond Halley

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Astronomer

The Resume

    (November 8, 1656-January 14, 1742)
    Born in Haggerston, England, United Kingdom
    Astronomer Royal (1720-42)
    Catalogued 341 stars in the Southern Hemisphere
    Published 'Synopsis Astronomia Cometicae' (1705)
    Concluded that comets sighted in 1456, 1531, 1607 and 1682 were a single comet
    Correctly predicted its return in 1758
    Comet named Halley's Comet in his honor

Why he might be annoying:

    He believed the Earth was hollow, containing two inner shells with their own atmospheres and possibly inhabitants.
    He suggested the aurora borealis (Northern lights) were caused by gas escaping from the atmosphere of these inner regions.
    He and Isaac Newton grabbed the unpublished data of John Flamsteed (Halley's predecessor as Astronomer Royal) and used it to publish a pirated star catalogue (1712).
    Adding insult to injury, he wrote a preface to the catalogue attacking Flamsteed for sluggishness and secretiveness.
    The feud between the two men became so bitter that when Flamsteed died and Halley succeeded him as Astronomer Royal, Flamsteed's widow sold all his astronomical instruments so Halley could not use them.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He identified solar heating as the cause of atmospheric motion and determined the relationship between barometric pressure and elevation above sea level.
    He published the first meteorological map (1686).
    His analysis for the government of mortality rates at different ages strongly influenced the development of actuarial science.
    He suffered middle ear barotrauma (damage from changes in pressure) while inventing a diving bell.
    Despite his own discoveries, he probably made his greatest contribution to science after he learned that Isaac Newton had developed the law of gravitation; he convinced Newton to publish his results in the 'Principia' (1687) and paid for the printing costs.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 118 Votes: 54.24% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 7 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 7 Votes: 14.29% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 18 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 17 Votes: 47.06% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 26 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 139 Votes: 51.08% Annoying