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Biographical entry Abbott, Francis (1799 - 1883)

Born
12 August 1799
Derby, England
Died
18 February 1883
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Occupation
Watch maker, Astronomer and Meteorologist

Summary

Francis Abbott, a watchmaker, was transported to Tasmania in 1845 for 'obtaining two watches under false pretences'. He served one year with the Oyster Cove gangs and three years as an assigned servant. Abbott was freed three years early in 1849 and set up his own business in Hobart. He was very successful and many of his public clocks, including one at Government House, were erected. Francis Abbott also had a keen interest in meteorology and astronomy. His reputation in this field soon overshadowed his watch and clock making abilities. He began making observations at the Rossbank Observatory soon after his arrival in Tasmania. After its closure in 1854 he continued his work in his private observatory. Self-taught, Abbott went on to pioneer observations of the southern hemisphere and contributed numerous articles to astronomy and meteorological journals. He also wrote several books. His recordings became the standard reference for the local climate and were published in world charts. He was also the first astronomer to record and announce changes on the variable star Argus (Carinae). Many of his large collection of books (philosophy and science) and instruments are kept by museums, observatories and universities around Australia.

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Details

Events

25 October 1821
Life event - Married Mary Woolley at St Werburgh's Church in Derby, UK
1831
Career position - Honorary member of the Antiquarian and Chronological Society of London
1838
Career position - A Treatise on the Management of Public Clocks published in London
1844
Life event - Sentenced to seven years transportation by the Central Criminal Court in England
June 1845
Arrived in Hobart Town, Tasmania
27 March 1849
Life event - Received a ticket-of-leave and started a watch and clockmaker business in Murray St, Hobart
1850
Life event - Wife and family granted free passage to join him
1854 - 1880
Career position - Began recording meteorological observations which were published in Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania
1855
Career position - Member of the Royal Society of Tasmania
1859
Career position - Clock at Government House erected
1860
Career position - Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, London
1861
Career position - Life member and councillor of the Royal Society of Tasmania
1869
Career position - Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society
1878
Career position - Modern Astronomy published in Hobart
1879
Career position - Résumé on Modern Astronomy published in Hobart
1880
Career position - Siderereal Systems of the Modern Astronomy, Multiple Suns and Far-off Worlds published in Tas

Archival resources

National Herbarium, Melbourne

  • Francis Abbott - Records, 1879 - 1881, MSS M55; National Herbarium, Melbourne. Details

Private hands (Abbott, M.)

  • Francis Abbott - Records, 1860 - 1872; Private hands (Abbott, M.). Details

Royal Society of Tasmania

  • Francis Abbott - Records, 1856 - 1874, RSA/B.10, RSA/A.17(A); Royal Society of Tasmania. Details

Published resources

Book Sections

Journal Articles

  • Abbott, Francis, 'Spectrum analysis', Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, Royal Society of Tasmania, Hobart, 1863, pp. 2-9. Details
  • Abbott, Francis, 'Spectrum analysis and its application to science.', Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania for 1868, Royal Society of Tasmania, Hobart, 1869, pp. 41-48. Details
  • Maiden, J.H., 'Records of Tasmanian Botanists', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, 1909, pp. 9-29. Details
  • Orchiston, Wayne, 'The Contribution of Francis Abbott to Tasmanian and Australian Astronomy', Vistas in Astronomy, vol. 35, 1992, pp. 315-344. Details

Online Resources

See also

McCarthy, G.J.

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 3 February 2010