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Joseph Brown (astronomer)
Joseph Brown (December 3, 1733 – December 3, 1785) was an early American industrialist, architect, astronomer, and professor at Brown University. Biography Brown was born in Providence, Rhode Island Colony one of the four surviving sons (known in Providence annals as the “Four Brothers”) of James Brown II (1698 – 1739), a merchant, and Hope Power Brown. Like his father, Joseph Brown engaged in business, and in manufacturing, and acquired sufficient wealth to permit him to follow his natural taste for science. He was greatly interested in the science of electricity, and his knowledge of that subject was remarkable for the time. He left an electric machine of his own construction, an outstanding example of this sort of apparatus for that time. He devoted considerable study to mechanics and was proficient in astronomy. His attention having been directed to the arrangements in course of preparation for the proper observation of the transit of Venus in 1769, he sent to En ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of "God's merciful Providence" which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him and his followers. The city developed as a busy port as it is situated at the mouth of the Providence River in Providence County, at the head of Narragansett Bay. Providence was one of the first cities in the country to industrialize and became noted for its textile manufacturing and subsequent machine tool, jewelry, and silverware industries. Today, the city of Providence is home to eight hospitals and List of colleges and universities in Rhode Island#Institutions, eight institutions of higher learning which have shifted the city's economy into service industries, though it still retains some manufacturin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural Philosophy
Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ..., that is, nature and the physical universe. It was dominant before the development of modern science. From the ancient world (at least since Aristotle) until the 19th century, ''natural philosophy'' was the common term for the study of physics (nature), a broad term that included botany, zoology, anthropology, and chemistry as well as what we now call physics. It was in the 19th century that the concept of science received its modern shape, with different subjects within science emerging, such as astronomy, biology, and physics. Institutions and communities devoted to science were founded. Isaac Newton's book ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1785 Deaths
Events January–March * January 1 – The first issue of the ''Daily Universal Register'', later known as ''The Times'', is published in London. * January 7 – Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England to Calais, France in a hydrogen gas balloon, becoming the first to cross the English Channel by air. * January 11 – Richard Henry Lee is elected as President of the U.S. Congress of the Confederation.''Harper's Encyclopaedia of United States History from 458 A. D. to 1909'', ed. by Benson John Lossing and, Woodrow Wilson (Harper & Brothers, 1910) p167 * January 20 – Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút: Invading Siamese forces, attempting to exploit the political chaos in Vietnam, are ambushed and annihilated at the Mekong River, by the Tây Sơn. * January 27 – The University of Georgia in the United States is chartered by the Georgia General Assembly meeting in Savannah. The first students are admi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1733 Births
Events January–March * January 13 – Borommarachathirat V becomes King of Siam (now Thailand) upon the death of King Sanphet IX. * January 27 – George Frideric Handel's classic opera, ''Orlando'' is performed for the first time, making its debut at the King's Theatre in London. * February 12 – British colonist James Oglethorpe founds Savannah, Georgia. * March 21 – The Molasses Act is passed by British House of Commons, which reinforces the negative opinions of the British by American colonists. The Act then goes to the House of Lords, which consents to it on May 4 and it receives royal assent on May 17. * March 25 – English replaces Latin and Law French as the official language of English and Scottish courts following the enforcement of the Proceedings in Courts of Justice Act 1730. April–June * April 6 – **After British Prime Minister Robert Walpole's proposed excise tax bill results in rioting over the impositi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Brown House (Providence, Rhode Island)
The John Brown House is the first mansion built in Providence, Rhode Island, located at 52 Power Street on College Hill where it borders the campus of Brown University. The house is named after the original owner, one of the early benefactors of the university, merchant, statesman, and slave trader John Brown. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1968. and John Quincy Adams considered it "the most magnificent and elegant private mansion that I have ever seen on this continent." History The building was designed by John Brown's brother Joseph, an amateur architect who had also designed the First Baptist Church in America. It was built between 1786 and 1788. Notable guests during this time include George Washington, who is reported to have visited for tea. The house was sold in 1901 to Rhode Island industrialist and banker Marsden J. Perry. Perry renovated the extension to add in modern bathrooms and central heating systems. John Nicholas Brown purchased it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Baptist Church In America
The First Baptist Church in America is the First Baptist Church of Providence, Rhode Island, also known as the First Baptist Meetinghouse. It is the oldest Baptist church congregation in the United States, founded in 1638 by Roger Williams in Providence, Rhode Island. The present church building was erected between 1774 and 75 and held its first meetings in May 1775. It is located at 75 North Main Street in Providence's College Hill neighborhood. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960. History Roger Williams had been holding religious services in his home for nearly a year before he converted his congregation into a Baptist church in 1638. This followed his founding of Providence in 1636. For the next sixty years, the congregation met in congregants' homes, or outdoors in pleasant weather. Baptists in Rhode Island through most of the 17th century declined to erect meetinghouses because they felt such buildings reflected vanity. Eventually, however, they came to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Brown House (Providence, Rhode Island)
The Joseph Brown House is a historic Georgian house located at 50 South Main Street Providence, Rhode Island. The building, designed by astronomer and amateur architect Joseph Brown, is the oldest extant house built by an American architect for his own use. Architecture The street-facing portion of the structure measures roughly in both height and width. Its facade, defined by five bays, rises two stories above an elevated, street level basement. The residence's entrance was originally raised above ground and accessed via symmetrical flights of stairs; in the late 18th century, the entrance was moved to street level. The structure's foundation is constructed of brownstone ashlar, while the raised volume of the house is made of Flemish and common bond brick. The structure is noted for its ogee curved gable roof, which is decorated with a white trellised parapet and balustrade. According to Antoinette Downing, "such a baroque scheme for the exterior was rare even in English build ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Hopkins (politician)
Stephen Hopkins (March 7, 1707 – July 13, 1785), a Founding Father of the United States, was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, a List of chief justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, and a signer of the Continental Association and United States Declaration of Independence, Declaration of Independence. He was from a prominent Rhode Island family, the grandson of William Hopkins who was a prominent colonial politician. His great grandfather Thomas Hopkins (settler), Thomas Hopkins was an List of early settlers of Rhode Island#Signers of Providence agreement for a government, 1640, original settler of Providence Plantations, sailing from England in 1635 with his cousin Benedict Arnold (governor), Benedict Arnold who became the first governor of the Rhode Island colony under the Rhode Island Royal Charter, Royal Charter of 1663. As a child, Hopkins was a voracious reader, becoming a serious stu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Market House (Providence, Rhode Island)
The Market House is a historic three-story brick market house in Market Square, in the College Hill, a neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island, USA. The building was constructed between 1773 and 1775 and designed by prominent local architects, Joseph Brown and Declaration of Independence signer Stephen Hopkins. The bottom floor of the house was used as a market, and the upper level was used for holding meetings. Similar buildings existed in other American cities, such as Faneuil Hall in Boston and the Old Brick Market in Newport. The building housed the Providence City Council in the decades before the completion of City Hall. Architecture The primary architect for the Market House was Joseph Brown, then the foremost architect of the city. Brown's previous commissioned work included University Hall at Brown University and the First Baptist Meeting House. Brown was assisted in the design process by Stephen Hopkins. The building was originally two stories in height, topped by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Smith (architect)
Robert Smith (1722February 11, 1777) was a Scottish-born American architect who was based in Philadelphia. Smith's work includes buildings such as Carpenters' Hall, St. Peter's Church, and the steeple on Christ Church. These structures constituted the greater part of the city's early skyline. Other works include Nassau Hall at Princeton University and the Public Hospital in Williamsburg, Virginia. He worked exclusively in the Georgian style. Early life Smith was born in Dalkeith Parish, Midlothian, Scotland into a family that included many masons. As a young man he apprenticed in the building trades, and emigrated to America, either directly from Scotland or via London it is unknown, in late 1748. Philadelphia Smith quickly became a member of the Carpenters' Company of Philadelphia, and is considered by many to be the foremost master-builder, or carpenter-architect, of the Colonial Period. In fact, Robert Smith, has been called "America's most important 18th Century architec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Hall (Brown University)
University Hall is the first and oldest building on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Built in 1770, the building is one of only seven extant college buildings built prior to the American Revolution. According to architectural historian Bryant F. Tolles Jr., the structure is "one of the genuine icons of early American collegiate architecture." The building occupies a central part of the university's front campus and is framed by the Van Wickle Gates. History Construction Built in 1770, University Hall was originally known as the College Edifice. The building was constructed on a piece of land that had belonged to the original Brown family ancestor and co-founder of Providence, Chad Brown (c. 1600–1650). The first reference to the building was made on September 5, 1765, at the second meeting of the Corporation in Newport. Later meetings of the Corporation organized a building committee; among the committee's members were Stephen Hopkins and Jose ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Brown House
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic countries. In Portuguese and Spanish, the name is "José". In Arabic, including in the Quran, the name is spelled ''Yūsuf''. In Persian, the name is "Yousef". The name has enjoyed significant popularity in its many forms in numerous countries, and ''Joseph'' was one of the two names, along with ''Robert'', to have remained in the top 10 boys' names list in the US from 1925 to 1972. It is especially common in contemporary Israel, as either "Yossi" or "Yossef", and in Italy, where the name "Giuseppe" was the most common male name in the 20th century. In the first century CE, Joseph was the second most popular male name for Palestine Jews. In the Book of Genesis Joseph is Jacob's eleventh son and Rachel's first son, and kn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
