The Andrews Professor of Astronomy is a

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, that was established in 1783 in conjunction with the establishment of

Dunsink Observatory The Dunsink Observatory is an astronomical observatory established in 1785 in the townland of Dunsink in the outskirts of the city of Dublin, Ireland. Alexander Thom''Irish Almanac and Official Directory''7th ed., 1850 p. 258. Retrieved: 2011-0 ...

. From 1793, under

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

of King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

, the Andrews Professor held the title Royal Astronomer of Ireland. Both titles fell vacant in 1921 but the professorship was revived in 1984. Dunsink Observatory was founded in 1785 following a bequest by

Francis Andrews Francis Andrews (6 August 1718 – 18 June 1774) was an Anglo-Irish politician and academic who served as the 20th Provost of Trinity College Dublin from 1758 to 1774. He was also a member of the Irish House of Commons from 1759 to 1774. Biog ...

, who died in 1774 while Provost of Trinity College. Andrews' bequest also funded the eponymous professorship, which was regulated by a new college statute requiring the professor to "make regular observations of the heavenly bodies ... and of the sun, moon and planets". In 1921

Henry Crozier Keating Plummer Henry Crozier Keating Plummer FRS FRAS (24 October 1875 – 30 September 1946) was an English astronomer. Early years and education Born in Oxford, Plummer was the son of William Edward Plummer (1849–1928) and nephew of the distinguished astr ...

left Trinity for the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

, resigning as Andrews Professor, Royal Astronomer, and Director of Dunsink Observatory. The civil disturbance and political upheaval of the period precluded filling the vacancy quickly. The title Royal Astronomer was never revived; Dunsink and its directorship passed in 1947 from Trinity College to the

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) () is a statutory independent research institute in Dublin, Ireland. It was established, under the Institute For Advanced Studies Act 1940, by the government of the then Taoiseach, Éamon de Vale ...

; the Andrews Professorship was revived in 1984 as an

honorary title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

in Trinity's School of Mathematics.

List of the professors

* 1783–1790:

Henry Ussher Henry Ussher (1550 – 2 April 1613) was an Irish Protestant churchman, a founder of Trinity College Dublin, and Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh. Life The second of five sons of Thomas Ussher by Margaret (d. January 1597), daughter of H ...

(1741–1790) * 1790–1827: John Brinkley (1763–1835) * 1827–1865: William R. Hamilton (1805–1865) * 1865–1874:

Franz Brünnow Franz Friedrich Ernst Brünnow (18 November 1821 – 20 August 1891) was a German astronomer. He was the first foreigner to become director of an American observatory, serving as director of Detroit Observatory (at the University of Michig ...

(1821–1891) * 1874–1892: Robert Ball (1840–1913) * 1892–1897: Arthur Rambaut (1859–923) * 1897–1906: Charles Joly (1864–1906) * 1906–1912: Edmund Whittaker (1873–1956) * 1912–1921:

Henry Plummer Henry Plummer (c. 1832–1864) was a prospector, lawman, and outlaw in the American West in the 1850s and 1860s, who was known to have killed several men. He was elected sheriff of what was then Bannack, Idaho Territory, in 1863 and served ...

(1875–1946) * 1921–1984: suspended * 1984–1996:

Patrick Wayman Patrick Wayman (8 October 1927 – 21 December 1998) was an English astronomer and director of Dunsink Observatory from 1964 to 1992. Early life and education Patrick Arthur Wayman was born in Bromley, Kent, England on 8 October 1927. His p ...

* 1997: vacant * 1998–2019: Luke Drury * 2019–present:

Luciano Rezzolla Luciano Rezzolla (born 1967) is an Italian professor of relativistic astrophysics and numerical relativity at the Goethe University Frankfurt. His main field of study is the physics and astrophysics of compact objects such as black holes and neut ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrews Professor of Astronomy Astronomy in Ireland Professorships at Trinity College Dublin