Alexander MacFarlane FRS ( – 23 August 1755) was a Scottish polymath who was active as an astronomer, merchant, judge, politician and planter. Born in Scotland, MacFarlane graduated from the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

in 1728 and immigrated to the British

colony of Jamaica The Crown Colony of Jamaica and Dependencies was a British colony from 1655, when it was captured by the English Protectorate from the Spanish Empire. Jamaica became a British colony from 1707 and a Crown colony in 1866. The Colony was pri ...

, where he settled down to a career as a merchant and acquired several

slave plantation A slave plantation was an agricultural farm that used enslaved people for labour. The practice was abolished in most places during the 19th century. Slavery Planters embraced the use of slaves mainly because indentured labor became expensive ...

s. In addition to working as a judge and politician, MacFarlane also pursued an amateur career in

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

Port Royal Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...

and Kingston, using equipment purchased from fellow astronomer

Colin Campbell Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...

. After his death in 1755, MacFarlane bequethed his plantations to his brothers and his astronomical equipment to the University of Glasgow, which used it to establish an

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...

, which was named

Macfarlane Observatory The Macfarlane Observatory was established at the University of Glasgow in 1757. It was the first purpose-built university observatory in Britain. History The Observatory was named after Alexander MacFarlane, a merchant and slave-owner in Kin ...

in his honour.

Early life

Alexander MacFarlane was born in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. His parents were John MacFarlane and Lady Helen Arbuthnot, the daughter of Robert Arbuthnot, 2nd Viscount of Arbuthnott; the family's motto was ''Astra castra, Numen lumen'' (the stars my camp, the Lord my light). The youngest of four sons, MacFarlane entered the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, graduating from the university with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1728. After he graduated, MacFarlane immigrated to the British

Career in Jamaica and death

After arriving in Jamaica, MacFarlane settled down to a career as a merchant and gradually acquired several landholdings in the colony. In November 1735, having established himself as a prosperous trader and judge who owned several

s, he was appointed as the first Postmaster General of Jamaica. MacFarlane also entered into a career in politics, being repeatedly elected to the

House of Assembly of Jamaica The House of Assembly was the legislature of the British colony of Jamaica. It held its first meeting on 20 January 1664 at Spanish Town. Cundall, Frank. (1915''Historic Jamaica''.London: Institute of Jamaica. p. 15. As a result of the Morant Ba ...

. In addition to his professional career, MacFarlane also developed an interest in

as well. At a house he acquired in

, MacFarlane ordered the construction of an

, purchasing astronomy equipment from

, a fellow merchant and astronomer who was an acquaintance of Sir Edmond Halley. Campbell, a

fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

, had constructed an astronomy in Jamaica in 1731 to observe and catalogue the

southern celestial hemisphere The southern celestial hemisphere, also called the Southern Sky, is the southern half of the celestial sphere; that is, it lies south of the celestial equator. This arbitrary sphere, on which seemingly fixed stars form constellations, appears ...

. MacFarlane subsequently constructed an observatory at

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

, having purchased all of Campbell's astronomy equipment by 1743 for the purpose of establishing an independent observatory. This observatory included a 4-foot mural arch, a 5-foot

transit telescope In astronomy, a transit instrument is a small telescope with extremely precisely graduated telescope mount, mount used for the precise observation of star positions. They were previously widely used in astronomical observatory, astronomical obse ...

, a 1-month

regulator clock A pendulum clock is a clock that uses a pendulum, a swinging weight, as its timekeeping element. The advantage of a pendulum for timekeeping is that it is a harmonic oscillator: It swings back and forth in a precise time interval dependent on it ...

and a 5-foot

zenith sector A zenith telescope is a type of telescope that is designed to point straight up at or near the zenith. They are used for precision measurement of star positions, to simplify telescope construction, or both. A classic zenith telescope, also known ...

. However, MacFarlane found the zenith sector difficult to use, and so designed a new horizontal reflecting sector and in 1755 contracted Swiss instrument maker Pierre Martel, who regularly took care of MacFarlane's equipment, to build it for him. In November 1743, MacFarlane wrote a letter to Scottish telescope designer James Short, reporting on astronomical observations he had made in Jamaica. After receiving the letter, Short went to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and read it to his fellow members of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and moved to nominate him as a fellow of the Royal Society. Though as noted by historian David Clarke, MacFarlane's astronomical work was "fairly minimal in modern terms", he was made a fellow by the Royal Society on 20 November 1746. MacFarlane continued to send reports of his observations to the Royal Society until his death on 23 August 1755.

Legacy

After his death, MacFarlane's astronomy in Kingston was converted by the colonial authorities into the Surrey County jail. As he died unmarried, MacFarlane left the majority of his estate in his

last will and testament A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the property until its final distributio ...

to his two brothers, Walter and William; this included the "Large Island" and "Biscany" slave plantations. His will also stipulated that all of his astronomical instruments would be donated to the University of Glasgow. The equipment was transported from Jamaica to Scotland onboard the merchantman ''Casar'', and was damaged during the voyage due to exposure to the ocean air. After receiving them on 29 October 1756, the university contracted

James Watt James Watt (; 30 January 1736 (19 January 1736 OS) – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776, which was fun ...

to repair them. In the next year, the university established an observatory using MacFarlane's instruments, naming it

in his honour. In the 21st century, MacFarlane's ownership of slaves has come under greater scrutiny. The University of Glasgow published a report titled "Slavery, Abolition and The University of Glasgow" in 2018 as part of its efforts towards a "programme of reparatory justice". In the report, which detailed the university's relationship with

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

and

abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

, the university noted that MacFarlane's slave ownership led to him acquiring a large fortune. It also noted that despite the fact that his donation of the instruments proved vital to the foundation of the observatory in 1757, MacFarlane did not provide any monetary support in his will to the university.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:MacFarlane, Alexander 1702 births 1755 deaths 18th-century Jamaican judges 18th-century Scottish businesspeople 18th-century Scottish judges 18th-century Scottish landowners 18th-century Scottish politicians 18th-century Scottish scientists Alumni of the University of Glasgow British planters Fellows of the Royal Society Jamaican astronomers Jamaican businesspeople Jamaican people of Scottish descent Scottish astronomers Scottish slave owners