The Plumian chair of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy is one of the major

professorships Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

Astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

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 ...

, alongside the Lowndean Professorship (which is now mainly held by mathematicians). The chair is currently held at the Institute of Astronomy in the University. The Plumian chair was founded in 1704 by

Thomas Plume Thomas Plume (1630 – 20 November 1704) was an English churchman and philanthropist, and founder of a library in Maldon, Essex which still exists. The Plume School in Maldon is named after him. Family life The Plume family settled in the county ...

, a member of Christ's and

Archdeacon of Rochester The Archdeacon of Rochester is a senior office-holder in the Diocese of Rochester (a division of the Church of England Province of Canterbury.) Like other archdeacons, they are administrators in the diocese at large (having oversight of parishes in ...

, to "erect an Observatory and to maintain a studious and learned Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy, and to buy him and his successors utensils and instruments quadrants telescopes etc." Trustees were appointed, and statutes drawn up by

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...

John Flamsteed John Flamsteed (19 August 1646 – 31 December 1719) was an English astronomer and the first Astronomer Royal. His main achievements were the preparation of a 3,000-star catalogue, ''Catalogus Britannicus'', and a star atlas called ''Atlas Coe ...

and

John Ellys John Ellys or Ellis (March 1701 – 14 September 1757) was an English portrait-painter. Life Ellys was born in March 1701. When he was about fifteen years old, he was placed for instruction under Sir James Thornhill. After a short time he too ...

. The first Professorship was awarded in 1706 to

Roger Cotes Roger Cotes (10 July 1682 – 5 June 1716) was an English mathematician, known for working closely with Isaac Newton by proofreading the second edition of his famous book, the '' Principia'', before publication. He also invented the quadratur ...

, a former student of Newton, and the

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...

was increased in 1768 by Dr Robert Smith, the second Plumian Professor.

Plumian Professors

(1706–1716) # Robert Smith (1716–1760) # Anthony Shepherd (1760–1796) #

Samuel Vince Samuel Vince FRS (6 April 1749 – 28 November 1821) was an English clergyman, mathematician and astronomer at the University of Cambridge. Life He was born in Fressingfield. The son of a plasterer, Vince was admitted as a sizar to Caius Colle ...

(1796–1821) #

Robert Woodhouse Robert Woodhouse (28 April 177323 December 1827) was a British mathematician and astronomer. Biography Early life and education Robert Woodhouse was born on 28 April 1773 in Norwich, Norfolk, the son of Robert Woodhouse, linen draper, and Judi ...

(1822–1827) #

George Biddell Airy Sir George Biddell Airy (; 27 July 18012 January 1892) was an English mathematician and astronomer, and the seventh Astronomer Royal from 1835 to 1881. His many achievements include work on planetary orbits, measuring the mean density of the E ...

(1828–1835) #

James Challis James Challis FRS (12 December 1803 – 3 December 1882) was an English clergyman, physicist and astronomer. Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy and the director of the Cambridge Observatory, he investigated a wide ra ...

(1836–1882) #

George Darwin Sir George Howard Darwin, (9 July 1845 – 7 December 1912) was an English barrister and astronomer, the second son and fifth child of Charles Darwin and Emma Darwin. Biography George H. Darwin was born at Down House, Kent, the fifth chi ...

(1883–1912) #

Arthur Eddington Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington (28 December 1882 – 22 November 1944) was an English astronomer, physicist, and mathematician. He was also a philosopher of science and a populariser of science. The Eddington limit, the natural limit to the lumin ...

(1913–1944) #

Harold Jeffreys Sir Harold Jeffreys, FRS (22 April 1891 – 18 March 1989) was a British mathematician, statistician, geophysicist, and astronomer. His book, ''Theory of Probability'', which was first published in 1939, played an important role in the revival ...

(1946–1958) #

Fred Hoyle Sir Fred Hoyle FRS (24 June 1915 – 20 August 2001) was an English astronomer who formulated the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis and was one of the authors of the influential B2FH paper. He also held controversial stances on other sci ...

(1958–1972) #

Martin Rees Martin John Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: (born 23 June 1942) is a British cosmologist and astrophysicist. He is the fifteenth Astronomer Royal, ...

(1973–1991) # Richard Ellis (1993–2000) #

Jeremiah Ostriker Jeremiah Paul "Jerry" Ostriker (born April 13, 1937) is an American astrophysicist and a professor of astronomy at Columbia University and is the Charles A. Young Professor ''Emeritus'' at Princeton where he also continues as a senior research s ...

(2001–2003) #

Robert Kennicutt Robert Charles Kennicutt, Jr. FRS is an American astronomer. He is currently a professor at Texas A&M University. He is a former Plumian Professor of Astronomy at the Institute of Astronomy in the University of Cambridge. He was formerly Edit ...

(2006–2017) # Christopher S. Reynolds (2017–)

Sources

*R. A. Doe & C. C. Thornton, ''Dr Thomas Plume, 1630–1704. His life and legacies in Essex, Kent and Cambridge'', University of Hertfordshire Press, 2020

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy, Plumian, Cambridge Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy, Plumian Faculty of Physics and Chemistry, University of Cambridge Physics education in the United Kingdom 1704 establishments in England Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy, Plumian, Cambridge