Person

Scott, William (1825 - 1917)

Born
8 October 1825
Hartland, Devon, England
Died
29 March 1917
Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation
Astronomer and Minister of religion

Summary

William Scott was Colonial Astronomer, New South Wales 1856-1862 and instituted the collection of meteorological records of New South Wales. He was the first Director of the Sydney Observatory, at Dawes Point, being responsible for its design and construction. Scott tutored in mathematics and twice deputised for the Professor of Mathematics at the University of Sydney. He served in executive roles for the Royal Society of New South Wales.

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Details

Chronology

1848
Education - BA, Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge
1850
Career event - Ordained as priest in the Anglican Church
1851
Education - MA, Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge
1856
Life event - Migrated to New South Wales
1856 - 1862
Career position - Colonial Astronomer, New South Wales
1856 - 1866
Career position - Member, Philosophical Society of New South Wales
1857 - 1861
Career position - Member of Council, Philosophical Society of New South Wales
1862 - 1865
Career position - Headmaster, Cook's River collegiate school
1865 - 1872
Career position - Warden, St Paul's College, University of Sydney
1866 - 1874
Career position - Honorary Secretary, Royal Society of New South Wales
1866 - 1917
Career position - Member, Royal Society of New South Wales
1874 - 1878
Career position - Treasurer, Royal Society of New South Wales
1879 - 1888
Career position - Minister in Goulburn diocese

Related Corporate Bodies

Archival resources

Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales

  • William Scott - Records, 1856 - 1917; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details

St Paul's College Archives, University of Sydney

  • William Scott - Records, 1865 - 1878; St Paul's College Archives, University of Sydney. Details

Published resources

Books

  • Doyle, Gillian E., Reverend William Scott, M.A.: first Government Astronomer and Director of Sydney Observatory (Pymble, N.S.W.: Gillian Doyle, 2008), 160 pp. Details

Book Sections

  • Cable, K. J., 'Scott, William (1825-1917)' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 6: 1851 - 1890 R - Z, Bede Nairn, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1976), pp. 97-98. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A060112b.htm. Details
  • Lomb, Nick, 'Early advances in observing eclipses' in Eclipse chasers, Lomb, Nick; and Stevenson, Toner, eds (Clayton South, Vic.: CSIRO Publishing, 2023), pp. 25-53. Details

Journal Articles

  • Bhathal, Ragbir, '150 Years of Sydney Observatory', Astronomy & Geophysics, 50 (3) (2009), 26-30. Details
  • Lomb, Nick, 'Australian eclipses: three "men of science" and the Sydney eclipse of 1857', Journal of astronomical history and heritage, 24 (3) (2021), 619-28. Details
  • Orchiston, Wayne, 'Mission Impossible: William Scott and the First Sydney Observatory Directorship', Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 1 (1) (1998), 21-43. Details
  • Tyler, Peter J., 'Seeing Stars in the City: a History of Early Astronomy in Sydney', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 142 (3/4) (2009), 1-14. Details
  • Wood, H., 'Sydney Observatory 1858-1983', Proceedings of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 5 (2) (1983), 273-281. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1323358000017094. Details

Resources

See also

McCarthy, G.J. and Helen Cohn

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 1 May 2025

EOAS ID: biogs/P000136b.htm

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