Person
Bayly, William (1737 - 1810)
- Born
- 1737
Bishops Canning, Wiltshire, United Kingdom - Died
- 1810
Portsea, Hampshire, United Kingdom - Occupation
- Astronomer
Summary
William Bayly was an astronomer who worked as an assistant at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, where he was involved in testing experimental chronometers designed for the determination of longitude. During this period, on the recommendation of the Astronomer Royal, Nevil Maskelyne, he was sent to North Cape, Norway, to observe the transit of Venus. Bayly was appointed Astronomer in H.M.S. Adventure for James Cook's second voyage of discovery in the Southern and Pacific Oceans. Together with William Wales, astronomer in the accompanying ship H.M.S. Resolution, Bayly made observations to determine longitude using the experimental chronometers. The results of their work were published in 1777. By then Bayly had embarked in H.M.S. Discovery on Cook's third voyage of exploration in the Pacific Ocean. On returning from the expedition Bayly became Headmaster at the Royal Academy, Portsmouth, a position he held for over 20 years.
Details
Chronology
- 1766 - 1771
- Career position - Assistant, Royal Observatory, Greenwich
- April 1769 - August 1769
- Career event - In North Cape, Norway, to observe the transit of Venus
- July 1772 - July 1775
- Career position - Astronomer, H.M.S. Adventure for James Cook's second voyage
- July 1776 - October 1780
- Career position - Astronomer, H.M.S. Discovery for James Cook's third voyage
- 1785 - 1807
- Career position - Headmaster, Royal Academy, Portsmouth, United Kingdom
- 1807
- Life event - Retired
Related entries
Colleague
Published resources
Books
- Cooke [sic], James. King, James and Bayly, william, The original astronomical observations made in the course of a voyage to the Northern Pacific Ocean, for the discovery of a North East or North West passage : wherein the north west coast of America and north east coast of Asia were explored in His Majesty's ships the Resolution and Discovery, in the years MDCCLXXVI, MDCCLXXVII, MDCCLXXVIII, MDCCLXXIX, and MDCCLXXX (London: Printed by William Richardson, 1782), 351 pp. Details
- Wales, William and Bayly, William, The original observations, made in the course of a voyage towards the South Pole, and around the world, in His Majesty's ships Resolution and Adventure, in the years MDCCLLXXII, MDCCLLXXIII, MDCCLLXXIV, and MDCCLLXXV (London: W. and A. Strahan, 1777), 385 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Hunt, William, 'Bayly, William (1737 - 1810), astronomer' in Dictionary of national biography, 1885-1900, volume 3: Baker - Beadon, Stephen Leslie, ed. (New York: Macmillan and Co., 1885), p. 452. Details
Journal Articles
- Orchiston, Wayne and Howse, D., 'From Transit of Venus to Teaching Navigation: the Work of William Wales', Journal of Navigation, 53 (2000), 156-166, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0373463399008553. Details
See also
- Hoare, Michael E. ed., The 'Resolution' Journal of Johann Reinhold Forster, 1772-1775, 4 vols (London: Hakluyt Society, 1982), 873 pp. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 26 May 2026, Last modified: 2 June 2026