Edmond Halley

Book excerpt: Edmond Halley (1656-1742), MA, LLD, FRS, Capt. RN, Savillian Professor of Geometry and Astronomer Royal, stands pre-eminent among Oxford, English, and European scientists. A contemporary of Wren, Pepys, Hooke, Handel, Purcell, and Dryden, he was a schoolboy in London while the Great Fireraged, and was an active participant in the Enlightenment, an age of profound developments in all the arts and sciences. As a younger contemporary of Isaac Newton, he had a crucial part in the Newtonian revolution in the natural sciences. It was Halley who set the question that led Newton to writethe Principia, and who edited, paid for, and reviewed it. In later years he applied the methods of the Principia widely in astronomy and geophysics. Now more widely known for his prediction of the return of "his" comet, Halley discovered the proper motion of stars, made important studies of themoon's motion, and his investigations of the Earth's magnetic field and of tides were unrialled for centuries. His prediction of the transit of Venus led to Cook's voyage to Tahiti. He was far more than an cloistered academic; his exploits as a naval captain led to perilous adventures, and he wasalso a notable servant of the State. Much material about his eventful career has come to light in recent years, making this a timely new account of the life, scientific interests, and continuing influence of this engaging and adventurous scholar. Sir Alan Cook has written a fascinating andilluminating account of Halley's life and science, making this a unique and highly readable biography of one of the key figures of his time.