John Sheepshanks British

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

 manufacturer and art collector, was born in Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, and became a partner in his father's business as a cloth manufacturer.

His brother Richard

Richard Sheepshanks

Richard Sheepshanks was an English astronomer.He graduated from Trinity College of Cambridge University in 1816...

 (1794-1855) was a distinguished astronomer

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...

 and man of science, whose collection of instruments eventually passed to 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...

.

John Sheepshanks collected pictures, mainly by British artists, and in 1857 presented his magnificent collection to the nation. These are at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, which no longer observes all the conditions which he attached to the gift. He retired from business in 1833 and died a bachelor in 1863.
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