Colin Campbell (astronomer)
Encyclopedia
Colin Campbell FRS was a Scottish astronomer
.
He grew up in Jamaica
. He matriculated at Glasgow University, in 1720. He was invested as a Fellow, Royal Society (F.R.S.) in 1733. He studied Newton's theory of the diminution of gravity away from the equator. He made astronomical observations, in correspondence with Edmund Halley.
He held the office of Member of the Council [Jamaica] in 1742.
After 1742, he sold his astronomical instruments to Alexander Macfarlane
.
He lived in 1748 at St. George Hanover Square, London
.
John Campbell left Jamaica in 1756 "owing to a bad state of health" but returned in 1767 to dispose of the estates in order to clear his debts.
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
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He grew up in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. He matriculated at Glasgow University, in 1720. He was invested as a Fellow, Royal Society (F.R.S.) in 1733. He studied Newton's theory of the diminution of gravity away from the equator. He made astronomical observations, in correspondence with Edmund Halley.
He held the office of Member of the Council [Jamaica] in 1742.
After 1742, he sold his astronomical instruments to Alexander Macfarlane
Macfarlane Observatory
At Glasgow University, the Macfarlane Observatory was established in 1757 with instruments donated by Alexander Macfarlane, a merchant in Jamaica. The instruments arrived to Glasgow in a deteriorated condition, and their suitability for mounting was in question before they were taken in hand by...
.
He lived in 1748 at St. George Hanover Square, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
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Family
He was the son of Colonel John Campbell and Katherine Claiborne. He married Margaret Foster who died in London in 1786; they had children- John Campbell b. 8 January 1735.
John Campbell left Jamaica in 1756 "owing to a bad state of health" but returned in 1767 to dispose of the estates in order to clear his debts.
- Elizabeth Campbell b.15 December 1736.
- Margaret Jane Campbell b. a 6 January 1739. She died in Surrey in September 1771.
- Colin Campbell1 b. a 1747. He was a Lt. Colonel in the 1st Guards and died at Portman Square, London,in 1793 having contracted "the Dunkirk fever" while campaigning against the French in Flanders.
Works
- "An Account of Some Observations Made in London, by Mr. George Graham, F.R.S. and at Black-River in Jamaica, by Colin Campbell, Esq; F.R.S. concerning the Going of a Clock; In Order to Determine the Difference between the Lengths of Isochronal Pendulums in Those Places". Communicated by J. Bradley, M. A. Astr. Prof. Savill. Oxon. F.R.S. Phil. Trans. 1733 38:302-314; doi:10.1098/rstl.1733.0048