James McKerrow

FRAS FRAS may refer to: * Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, post-nominal letters * Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland are individuals who have bee ...

(7 July 1834 – 29 June 1919) was an astronomer,

Surveyor-General of New Zealand Surveyor-General A surveyor general is an official responsible for government surveying in a specific country or territory. Historically, this would often have been a military appointment, but it is now more likely to be a civilian post. The foll ...

, and Chief Commissioner of Railways in New Zealand. McKerrow was the son of Andrew McKerrow and Margaret (''née'' Steven) his wife, and was born at

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire ( sco, Aest Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquart ...

, Scotland. McKerrow emigrated to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, N.Z., in November 1859, and was District and Geodetical Surveyor of

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

from that year till 1873, Chief Surveyor of Otago from 1873 to 1877, Assistant Surveyor-General of New Zealand from January 1877 to October 1879, also Secretary of Crown Lands and Mines from February 1878 to January 1889. From October 1878 he held the latter office in conjunction with that of

, being appointed in January 1889 to the office of Chief Commissioner of New Zealand Railways. In 1861 to 1863 McKerrow made the reconnaissance survey of the Otago Lake districts, an area of eight thousand square miles. The reports of these surveys were read before the

Royal Geographical Society of London The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, and received the special commendation of the President, Sir

Roderick Murchison Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st Baronet, (19 February 1792 – 22 October 1871) was a Scotland, Scottish geologist who served as director-general of the British Geological Survey from 1855 until his death in 1871. He is noted for investigat ...

, in his annual address. In 1874 and 1882 McKerrow was associated with the British expeditions for the observation of the

Transit of Venus, 1882 The 1882 transit of Venus, which took place on 6 December 1882 (13:57 to 20:15 UTC), was the second and last transit of Venus of the 19th century, the first having taken place eight years earlier in 1874. Many an expedition was sent by European ...

in New Zealand. In 1884 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society of London. He was married on 5 August 1859, at Fenwick, Ayrshire, Scotland, to Miss Martha Dunlop.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKerrow, James 1834 births 1919 deaths Scottish emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand surveyors 19th-century New Zealand astronomers