John Grigg (4 June 1838 – 20 June 1920) was a New Zealand astronomer. He was born in London and married Emma Mitchell in 1858. In 1863 they emigrated to New Zealand and settled in Auckland, however Emma died in 1867. Grigg then moved to the town of Thames. During this time he was seller of musical instruments, piano tuner, music teacher, and conductor. He married his second wife Sarah Allaway in 1871 but she died in 1874. He later married his third wife, Jane Henderson, in 1887. In all, he had six sons and three daughters by his three wives. The 1874 transit of Venus awakened his interest in astronomy, which he pursued full-time starting in 1894. He began systematic searches for comets in that year. He is best known for his co-discovery of the periodic comet

26P/Grigg–Skjellerup Comet Grigg–Skjellerup (formally designated 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup) is a periodic comet. It was visited by the Giotto probe in July 1992. The spacecraft came as close as 200 km, but could not take pictures because some instruments were dam ...

in 1902, which was his first discovery of a new comet.

References

Wayne Orchiston, ''John Grigg, and the genesis of cometary astronomy in New Zealand'', JBAA 103 (1993), 6

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grigg, John 1838 births 1920 deaths 19th-century New Zealand astronomers English emigrants to New Zealand People from Thames, New Zealand Scientists from Auckland 20th-century New Zealand astronomers