The Astronomer Royal

The Astronomer Royal is the best-known and most prestigious post in astronomy, with illustrious names holding the title such as John Flamsteed and Edmond Halley.

What is the Astronomer Royal?

The title Astronomer Royal is an honour awarded to an eminent astronomer, who is expected to advise the monarch on astronomical matters.

It was a position created by King Charles II at the same time he established the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

Today the post is largely an honorary one.

List of Astronomers Royal

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John Flamsteed (1675-1719)

John Flamsteed was appointed as the first Astronomer Royal by King Charles II in 1675, a position he held for 44 years.

Flamsteed's task as ‘astronomical observator’, the position that would become Astronomer Royal, was to create an accurate map of the night sky which could be used to help determine longitude and improve navigation at sea. The Royal Observatory in Greenwich was founded in the same year to aid him in this task.

During his appointment, Flamsteed played an integral role in establishing the Observatory’s reputation as a pioneering centre of astronomy and timekeeping.

His key works were a catalogue of 3,000 stars, Historia Coelestis Britannica, and the largest and most accurate star atlas that had ever been published, Atlas Coelestis.

However, his later years were mired in controversy over his hesitancy to share his work before perfecting it, which lead to Isaac Newton and Edmond Halley publishing a mistake-riddled version against his will in 1712. His works were finally published in full posthumously by his widow Margaret.

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Edmond Halley (1720-1742)

Best known for the comet bearing his name, Edmond Halley worked on a wide range of scientific problems before becoming Astronomer Royal in 1720, at the age of 64.

Halley was responsible for re-equipping the Royal Observatory Greenwich, using a grant from the Board of Ordnance, a government body that acted as custodian of British lands. He was forced to do this after Flamsteed's widow removed all the equipment and furniture there, regarding it as her late husband's property.

Halley saw his main task as improving the accuracy of the lunar tables, mathematical tables that charted the position of the moon. However, despite his efforts these measurements were still lacking in accuracy. Although they were eventually published, their limitations soon became obvious.

Learn more about Edmond Halley

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James Bradley (1742-1762)

A priest and astronomer, Bradley made star observations that are the oldest still of use to astronomers today.

He also established 'Bradley’s Meridian', which defined zero degrees longitude in the early editions of the mariner’s bible, the Nautical Almanac, and in the first Ordnance Survey or OS map of Britain in 1801.

This meridian is still used for most British Ordnance Survey maps today.

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Nathaniel Bliss (1762-1764)

Many of Bliss's observations were to become key in solving the problem of Longitude.

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Nevil Maskelyne (1765-1811)

Nevil Maskelyne also played a key role in solving the problem of longitude, through his advocation of lunar tables.

John Pond (1811-1835)

John Pond was Astronomer Royal for 25 years, during which he reformed practical astronomy in Britain.

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Sir George Biddell Airy (1835-1881)

Airy designed the telescope which determined exactly where the Prime Meridian lies today.

Find out more about Sir George Biddell Airy

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Sir William Henry Mahoney Christie (1881-1910)

Originally chief assistant at the Royal Observatory, Christie was brought in after Airy's death.

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Sir Frank Watson Dyson (1910-1933)

Dyson is remembered best for introducing the Greenwich time pips which played out after the news, as well as working to prove Einstein's theory of relativity.

Photograph of Harold Spencer-Jones wearing a suit

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Sir Harold Spencer Jones (1933-1955)

It was under Spencer Jones that the Observatory was officially moved away from Greenwich.

Photograph of Sir Richard van der Riet Woolley

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Sir Richard van der Riet Woolley (1956-1971)

Woolley was a sceptic when it came to space travel, claiming its expense did not match up to what we could learn from it.

In 1972 Astronomer Royal became an honorary title. The Astronomer Royal still can however advise the monarch on scientific and astronomical matters.

The four Astronomers Royal to hold the title after this change were Sir Martin Ryle (1972-1982), Francis Graham-Smith (1982-1990), Professor Sir Arnold W. Wolfendale (1991-1995) and Martin Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow (1995-present).