John Drew (1809 – 17 December 1857) was a

self-educated Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individu ...

English

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

Early life and education

Drew was born at Bower Chalke, Wiltshire, in 1809. His father died when Drew was only a year old. Drew was self-educated, and was so successful at this that by the age of fifteen he was prepared to teach professionally. He spent two years as an assistant in a school at

Melksham Melksham () is a town on the River Avon in Wiltshire, England, about northeast of Trowbridge and south of Chippenham. At the 2011 census, the Melksham built-up area had a population of 19,357, making it Wiltshire's fifth-largest settlement af ...

, after which he moved to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, where he taught for another sixteen years. He was a corresponding member of the Philosophical Institute of Basel, and had taken a degree of doctor in philosophy at the

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

of the same place.

Career

Drew's first celestial observations were made with a three and a half foot

refractor A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens (optics), lens as its objective (optics), objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptrics, dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope d ...

. In 1847, he installed a five-foot achromatic telescope by Dollond, mounted equatorially, in a small

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 ...

he built for the purpose in his garden. With the help of a

transit circle The meridian circle is an instrument for timing of the passage of stars across the local meridian, an event known as a culmination, while at the same time measuring their angular distance from the nadir. These are special purpose telescopes mount ...

by Jones and of the Beaufoy clock, lent by the

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

, he very accurately determined the time, and supplied it during many years to the ships leaving Southampton. He published a number of papers on astronomy, geology, and

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

. At the Southampton meeting of the

British Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...

in 1846, Drew was appointed one of the secretaries of the mathematical section, and printed for the use of the association a pamphlet ''‘On the Objects worthy of Attention in an Excursion round the Isle of Wight, including an Account of the Geological Formations as exhibited in the Sections along the Coast’''. On 9 January 1846, he was elected a member of the Royal Astronomical Society. Between 1848 and 1853, he took systematic meteorological observations, and summarised the results in two papers on the ''‘Climate of Southampton’'', read before the

in 1851 and 1854 respectively. Invited to assist in the foundation of the

Meteorological Society The Royal Meteorological Society is a long-established institution that promotes academic and public engagement in weather and climate science. Fellows of the Society must possess relevant qualifications, but Associate Fellows can be lay enthus ...

in 1850, he wrote a series of papers ''‘On the Instruments used in Meteorology, and on the Deductions from the Observations’'' which were extensively circulated among the members of the society, and formed the groundwork of a treatise on ''‘Practical Meteorology’'', published by Drew in 1855, and re-edited by his son in 1860. His last work was a set of astronomical diagrams, published by the Department of Science and Art in 1857, representing the moon, planets, starclusters, nebulæ, and other celestial objects.

Death

Drew died after a long illness at

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it has ...

in Surrey, on 17 December 1857, aged 48.

Publications

*''‘Practical Meteorology’'' (1855) *''‘On the Instruments used in Meteorology, and on the Deductions from the Observations’'' (1850) *''‘Climate of Southampton’'' (1851) and (1854) *''‘Telescopic Appearance of the Planet Venus at the time of her Inferior Conjunction, 28 Feb. 1854’'' (ib. xv. 69) * ''‘Chronological Charts illustrative of Ancient History and Geography’'' (1835) * ''‘A Manual of Astronomy: a Popular Treatise on Descriptive, Physical, and Practical Astronomy, with a familiar Explanation of Astronomical Instruments, and the best methods of using them’'' (1845) * ''‘On the Objects worthy of Attention in an Excursion round the Isle of Wight, including an Account of the Geological Formations as exhibited in the Sections along the Coast’'' (1846)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drew, John 1809 births 1857 deaths 19th-century British astronomers People from Wiltshire