Andrew David Thackeray (19 June 1910 – 21 February 1978), was an astronomer trained at Cambridge University. He served as director of the Radcliffe Observatory for 23 years.

Career

Thackeray went to school at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, where he observed meteors for the British Astronomical Association. He went on to study mathematics at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

. He received a PhD on theoretical stellar spectroscopy in 1937 from the Solar Physics Laboratory in Cambridge. During his studies he worked at the Mount Wilson Observatory in California from 1934 to 1936. He was Assistant Director of the Solar Physics Observatory at

Cambridge Observatory Cambridge Observatory is an astronomical observatory at the University of Cambridge in the East of England. It was established in 1823 and is now part of the site of the Institute of Astronomy. The old Observatory building houses the Institute o ...

from 1937 to 1948. He was then director of the

Radcliffe Observatory, Pretoria South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) is the national centre for optical and infrared astronomy in South Africa. It was established in 1972. The observatory is run by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. The facility's funct ...

from 1951 until it was merged with the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope in 1974 to form the

South African Astronomical Observatory South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) is the national centre for optical and infrared astronomy in South Africa. It was established in 1972. The observatory is run by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. The facility's funct ...

. He became an honorary professor of the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

and, a few days before his death, an Associate of the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...

Research

He specialized in stellar spectroscopy. At a conference of the International Astronomical Union in Rome in 1952, he presented results of studies of variable stars in the Magellanic Clouds, indicating that the perceived age and size of the universe had to be doubled. He was the discoverer of

Thackeray's Globules IC 2944, also known as the Running Chicken Nebula, the Lambda Centauri Nebula or the λ Centauri Nebula, is an open cluster with an associated emission nebula found in the constellation Centaurus, near the star λ Centauri. It features Bok globu ...

in 1950.

Personal life

He was born on 19 June 1910 in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...

. His father was the classical scholar

Henry St. John Thackeray Henry St. John Thackeray (1869–30 June 1930) was a British biblical scholar at King's College, Cambridge, an expert on Koine Greek, Josephus and the Septuagint. Henry Thackeray was a scholar of King's College, University of Cambridge, who is ...

. He died in an accident on 21 February 1978. He was a nephew of Mary Acworth Evershed.

Published works

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References

External links

A. David Thackeray
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thackeray, A. David 20th-century British astronomers South African astronomers 1910 births 1978 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of King's College, Cambridge