John Goldingham
Encyclopedia
Madras Observatory
The Madras Observatory was founded by the British East India Company in 1786 in Chennai . For over a century it was the only astronomical observatory in India that exclusively worked on the stars. Among the astronomers at the observatory were Norman Robert Pogson, Michael Topping and John Goldingham...
, appointed in 1802. Goldingham headed the Madras Survey School later which grew into the Guindy Engineering College and then Anna University
Anna University
Anna University was a premier technical university in Tamil Nadu, India. Anna University was formed on September 4, 1978, as a unitary university that integrated four technical institutions in the city of Chennai , including the College of Engineering, Guindy, Alagappa College of Technology,...
. Born in 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...
in 1767, Goldingham was hired by astronomer-sailor Michael Topping
Michael Topping
thumb|Michael ToppingMichael Topping was the Chief Marine Surveyor of Fort St. George in Chennai responsible for founding the oldest modern technical school outside Europe. The Survey School was completed on May 17, 1794, with an initial intake of eight students...
as his assistant in 1788.
Goldingham was put in charge of building an observatory in 1792, and later appointed as the Presidency Civil Engineer in 1800. Although a mathematician, he managed to learn both astronomy and engineering. In 1796, he married Maria Louisa Popham, niece of Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham
Home Riggs Popham
Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham KCB was a British Royal Naval Commander who saw service during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars...
, in St. Mary's in Fort St. George. In 1802, Goldingham formulated the Madras time
Madras time
Madras Time was a time zone set up in 1802 by John Goldingham, the first official astronomer of the British East India Company in India. It was set to 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time...
which was 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of GMT thus paving the way for it to be adopted a century later as the Indian Standard Time
Indian Standard Time
Indian Standard Time is the time observed throughout India and Sri Lanka, with a time offset of UTC+05:30. India does not observe daylight saving time or other seasonal adjustments, although DST was used briefly during the Sino–Indian War of 1962 and the Indo–Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971...
in 1906.
In 1800 he designed the Banqueting Hall (now Rajaji Hall
Rajaji Hall
Rajaji Hall, previously known as the Banqueting Hall, is a public hall in the city of Chennai, India used for social functions. The hall was built by John Goldingham to commemorate the British victory over Tipu Sultan in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War....
), for which he was granted a commission of 15% on all bills. After the Board of Directors found that Goldingham had drawn 22,500 pagodas¹ as commission on the 180,000 spent on the work till September 1801, the commission was suspended.
He then returned to his work as Government Astronomer, in the course of which he published two volumes of observations: one of them contains his observations on the length of the pendulum, the velocity of sound, of meteorological phenomena, as well as determinations of the longitude of Madras, and a discussion of the longitudes of the three Presidencies.
He retired back to England, where he died at Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
, in July 1849. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
, and the Royal Astronomical Society
Royal Astronomical Society
The Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...
.
Publications
"Observations for Ascertaining the Length of the Pendulum at Madras in the East Indies, Latitude 134'19".1 N. with the Conclusions drawn from the Same." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal SocietyPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society of London. It was established in 1665, making it the first journal in the world exclusively devoted to science, and it has remained in continuous publication ever since, making it the world's...
112 (1822): 127-70.
"Of the Difference of Longitudes found by Chronometer, and by correspondent Eclipses of the Satellites of Jupiter, with some supplementary Information relative to Madras, Bombay, and Canton; as also the Latitude and Longitude of Point de Galle and the Friar's Hood." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society of London. It was established in 1665, making it the first journal in the world exclusively devoted to science, and it has remained in continuous publication ever since, making it the world's...
112 (1822): 431-36.
"Of the Geographical Situation of the Three Presidencies, Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, in the East Indies." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society of London. It was established in 1665, making it the first journal in the world exclusively devoted to science, and it has remained in continuous publication ever since, making it the world's...
112 (1822): 408-30.
Madras Observatory Papers. Madras: College Press, 1827.
"A Method of Rectifying a Route Protraction." Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 1 (1832): 19-20.