Michael William Ovenden

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

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 ...

(1926 – 1987) was a 20th-century British

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 ...

who was President of the Astronomical Society of Glasgow and Professor of Astronomy at University of British Columbia.

Life

He was born on 21 May 1926 in the

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Finchl ...

district of north London. His first degree was from

Queen Mary College, London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

in 1947. He then went to

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

where he received an MA. In 1953 he began lecturing in Astronomy at

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

being promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1964. In 1964 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were

Peter Alan Sweet Peter Alan Sweet (1921–2005) was an English astronomer. He was Regius Professor of Astronomy at the University of Glasgow from 1959 until his retirement in 1982. He was also Dean of the Faculty of Science 1973–1975. Under Sweet's stewardsh ...

, Hermann Bruck, Hugh Butler, and Peter Fellgett. In 1966 he emigrated to Canada to take the role as Professor of Astronomy at the University of British Columbia. He retired in 1985 due to ill-health and died of a heart attack on 15 March 1987 in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Publications

*''Recent Advances in Science'' (1952) *''The Deflection of Light by the Solar Gravitational Field'' (1952) *''Looking at the Stars'' (1957) *''Artificial Satellites'' (1960) *''Life in the Universe'' (1962) *''On the Satellite Capture Problem'' (1975) with John Byl

References

1926 births 1987 deaths People from Muswell Hill 20th-century British astronomers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Glasgow {{UK-astronomer-stub