Malachy Hitchins (1741–1809) was an English astronomer and cleric.

Life

The son of Thomas Hitchins, he was born at Little Trevince,

Gwennap Gwennap ( kw, Lannwenep (village), Pluw Wenep (parish)) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is about five miles (8 km) southeast of Redruth. Hamlets of Burncoose, Comford, Coombe, Crofthandy, Cusgarne, Fernsplatt, Fr ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, and was baptised on 18 May 1741; Thomas Martyn, compiler of a map of Cornwall, was an uncle, and

Henry Martyn Henry Martyn (18 February 1781 – 16 October 1812) was an Anglican priest and missionary to the peoples of India and Persia. Born in Truro, Cornwall, he was educated at Truro Grammar School and St John's College, Cambridge. A chance encount ...

a cousin. According to his friend

Richard Polwhele Richard Polwhele (6 January 1760 – 12 March 1838) was a Cornish clergyman, poet and historian of Cornwall and Devon. Biography Richard Polwhele's ancestors long held the manor of Treworgan, 4 3/4 miles south-east of Truro in Cornwall, whi ...

, Hitchins when young worked as a miner, then went to Exeter to assist

Benjamin Donn Benjamin Donn or Donne (1729–1798) was an English mathematician. Life Donn was born at Bideford, Devon, where his father and brother Abraham (1718–1746) kept a school. Until 1768 he was a ‘teacher of the mathematics and natural philosophy on ...

with his map (1765) of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

; by 1761 he had contributed mathematical replies to '' The Ladies' Diary''. In December 1762 he was living at

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ''By ...

. On 10 October 1763 Hitchins matriculated at

Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...

; Polwhele says that the expenses of his university education were met by his wife. Hitchins did not, however, graduate B.A. till 27 February 1781; in 1785 he was incorporated at St John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated M.A. in the same year. In 1767 Hitchins obtained an introduction to

Nevil Maskelyne Nevil Maskelyne (; 6 October 1732 – 9 February 1811) was the fifth British Astronomer Royal. He held the office from 1765 to 1811. He was the first person to scientifically measure the mass of the planet Earth. He created the ''British Nau ...

, and became computer at

Greenwich Royal Observatory The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in ...

. For some time he lived there, and during 1769 observed stars, planets, and the

transit of Venus frameless, upright=0.5 A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and a superior planet, becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. During a tr ...

. In 1768 Hitchins became comparer, and in this capacity verified the calculations for the ''Nautical Almanack'', work which he performed for the rest of his life. While at Greenwich he entered holy orders, and moving to Exeter was for a short time vicar of

Hennock Hennock is a village and civil parish about 3 miles west north west of Chudleigh, in the Teignbridge district, in the county of Devon, England. In 2011 the parish had a population of 1747. The parish touches Bovey Tracey, Kingsteignton, Christow ...

. On 6 November 1775 Bishop

Frederick Keppel Frederick Keppel (19 January 1728 – 27 December 1777) was a Church of England clergyman, Bishop of Exeter. Background Keppel was the fifth and fourth surviving son of Willem van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle and his wife Lady Anne Lenno ...

presented him to the vicarage of St Hilary, Cornwall, and on 23 May 1785 to that of Gwinear. Hitchins retained both his livings till his death, which took place on 28 March 1809 at St Hilary. He was buried in the parish church.

Works

Hitchins assisted in Richard Polwhele in his ''History of Cornwall''. His publications consisted of contributions to the ''

Annual Register ''The Annual Register'' (originally subtitled "A View of the History, Politicks and Literature of the Year ...") is a long-established reference work, written and published each year, which records and analyses the year's major events, developmen ...

'', '' Philosophical Transactions'', and '' Archæologia''.

Family

Hitchins married Joanna Hawkins on 10 January 1764 at Buckland Brewer, Devon, and they had four sons. The eldest, Richard Hawkins Hitchins (1764–1827), was a fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, and rector of Baverstock in Wiltshire. The youngest, Fortescue Hitchins (1784–1814), born at St Hilary on 22 February 1784, became a solicitor at St Ives, Cornwall and died at

Marazion Marazion (; kw, Marhasyow) is a civil parish and town, on the shore of Mount's Bay in Cornwall, UK. It is east of Penzance and the tidal island of St Michael's Mount is half-a-mile offshore. At low water a causeway links it to the town and ...

on 1 April 1814. He published: * ''Visions of Memory, and other Poems'', Plymouth, 1803. * ''The Seashore, with other Poems'', Sherborne, 1810. * ''The Tears of Cornubia; a Poem'', Sherborne, 1812. He compiled material for a history of Cornwall, which after his death was edited by

Samuel Drew Samuel Drew (6 March 1765 – 29 March 1833) was a British Methodist theologian. A native of Cornwall, England, he was nicknamed the "Cornish metaphysician" for his works on the human soul, the nature of God, and the deity of Christ. He also wro ...

, and published in 1824.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Hitchins, Malachy 1741 births 1809 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests 18th-century British astronomers People from Gwennap Burials in Cornwall Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge