1.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
2.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
3.
Astronomy
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Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It applies mathematics, physics, and chemistry, in an effort to explain the origin of those objects and phenomena and their evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, galaxies, and comets, while the phenomena include supernovae explosions, gamma ray bursts, more generally, all astronomical phenomena that originate outside Earths atmosphere are within the purview of astronomy. A related but distinct subject, physical cosmology, is concerned with the study of the Universe as a whole, Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences. The early civilizations in recorded history, such as the Babylonians, Greeks, Indians, Egyptians, Nubians, Iranians, Chinese, during the 20th century, the field of professional astronomy split into observational and theoretical branches. Observational astronomy is focused on acquiring data from observations of astronomical objects, theoretical astronomy is oriented toward the development of computer or analytical models to describe astronomical objects and phenomena. The two fields complement each other, with theoretical astronomy seeking to explain the results and observations being used to confirm theoretical results. Astronomy is one of the few sciences where amateurs can play an active role, especially in the discovery. Amateur astronomers have made and contributed to many important astronomical discoveries, Astronomy means law of the stars. Astronomy should not be confused with astrology, the system which claims that human affairs are correlated with the positions of celestial objects. Although the two share a common origin, they are now entirely distinct. Generally, either the term astronomy or astrophysics may be used to refer to this subject, however, since most modern astronomical research deals with subjects related to physics, modern astronomy could actually be called astrophysics. Few fields, such as astrometry, are purely astronomy rather than also astrophysics, some titles of the leading scientific journals in this field includeThe Astronomical Journal, The Astrophysical Journal and Astronomy and Astrophysics. In early times, astronomy only comprised the observation and predictions of the motions of objects visible to the naked eye, in some locations, early cultures assembled massive artifacts that possibly had some astronomical purpose. Before tools such as the telescope were invented, early study of the stars was conducted using the naked eye, most of early astronomy actually consisted of mapping the positions of the stars and planets, a science now referred to as astrometry. From these observations, early ideas about the motions of the planets were formed, and the nature of the Sun, Moon, the Earth was believed to be the center of the Universe with the Sun, the Moon and the stars rotating around it. This is known as the model of the Universe, or the Ptolemaic system. The Babylonians discovered that lunar eclipses recurred in a cycle known as a saros
4.
University of Edinburgh
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The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1582, is the sixth oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotlands ancient universities. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city of Edinburgh, the University of Edinburgh was ranked 17th and 21st in the world by the 2014–15 and 2015-16 QS rankings. It is now ranked 19th in the according to 2016-17 QS Rankings. It is ranked 16th in the world in arts and humanities by the 2015–16 Times Higher Education Ranking and it is ranked the 23rd most employable university in the world by the 2015 Global Employability University Ranking. It is ranked as the 6th best university in Europe by the U. S. News Best Global Universities Ranking and it is a member of both the Russell Group, and the League of European Research Universities, a consortium of 21 research universities in Europe. It has the third largest endowment of any university in the United Kingdom, after the universities of Cambridge and it continues to have links to the British Royal Family, having had the Duke of Edinburgh as its Chancellor from 1953 to 2010 and Princess Anne since 2011. Edinburgh receives approximately 50,000 applications every year, making it the fourth most popular university in the UK by volume of applicants, after St Andrews, it is the most difficult university to gain admission into in Scotland, and 9th overall in the UK. This was a move at the time, as most universities were established through Papal bulls. Established as the Tounis College, it opened its doors to students in October 1583, instruction began under the charge of another St Andrews graduate Robert Rollock. It was the fourth Scottish university in a period when the more populous. It was renamed King Jamess College in 1617, by the 18th century, the university was a leading centre of the Scottish Enlightenment. The universitys first custom-built building was the Old College, now Edinburgh Law School and its first forte in teaching was anatomy and the developing science of surgery, from which it expanded into many other subjects. From the basement of a nearby house ran the anatomy tunnel corridor and it went under what was then North College Street, and under the university buildings until it reached the universitys anatomy lecture theatre, delivering bodies for dissection. It was from this tunnel the body of William Burke was taken after he had been hanged, towards the end of the 19th century, Old College was becoming overcrowded and Robert Rowand Anderson was commissioned to design new Medical School premises in 1875. The medical school was more or less built to his design and was completed by the addition of the McEwan Hall in the 1880s. The building now known as New College was originally built as a Free Church college in the 1840s and has been the home of divinity at the university since the 1920s. The two oldest schools – law and divinity – are both well-esteemed, with law being based in Old College and divinity in New College on the Mound and they are also represented by the Edinburgh University Sports Union which was founded in 1866. The medical school is renowned throughout the world and it was widely considered the best medical school in the English-speaking world throughout the 18th century and first half of the 19th century
5.
Observatory
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An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed, historically, observatories were as simple as containing an astronomical sextant or Stonehenge. Astronomical observatories are mainly divided into four categories, space based, airborne, ground based, ground-based observatories, located on the surface of Earth, are used to make observations in the radio and visible light portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Most optical telescopes are housed within a dome or similar structure, Telescope domes have a slit or other opening in the roof that can be opened during observing, and closed when the telescope is not in use. In most cases, the upper portion of the telescope dome can be rotated to allow the instrument to observe different sections of the night sky. Radio telescopes usually do not have domes, for optical telescopes, most ground-based observatories are located far from major centers of population, to avoid the effects of light pollution. The ideal locations for modern observatories are sites that have dark skies, a percentage of clear nights per year, dry air. At high elevations, the Earths atmosphere is thinner, thereby minimizing the effects of atmospheric turbulence, sites that meet the above criteria for modern observatories include the southwestern United States, Hawaii, Canary Islands, the Andes, and high mountains in Mexico such as Sierra Negra. Major optical observatories include Mauna Kea Observatory and Kitt Peak National Observatory in the USA, Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in Spain, and Paranal Observatory in Chile. Specific research study performed in 2009 shows that the best possible location for ground-based observatory on Earth is Ridge A — a place in the part of Eastern Antarctica. This location provides the least atmospheric disturbances and best visibility, beginning in 1930s, radio telescopes have been built for use in the field of radio astronomy to observe the Universe in the radio portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Since the mid-20th century, a number of observatories have been constructed at very high altitudes, above 4. The largest and most notable of these is the Mauna Kea Observatory, the Chacaltaya Astrophysical Observatory in Bolivia, at 5,230 m, was the worlds highest permanent astronomical observatory from the time of its construction during the 1940s until 2009. It has now surpassed by the new University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory. As a result, the resolution of space telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope is often much smaller than a ground-based telescope with a similar aperture. However, all these advantages do come with a price, Space telescopes are much more expensive to build than ground-based telescopes. Due to their location, space telescopes are also difficult to maintain. The Hubble Space Telescope was serviced by the Space Shuttle while many other space telescopes cannot be serviced at all, Airborne observatories have the advantage of height over ground installations, putting them above most of the Earths atmosphere
6.
Calton Hill
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Calton Hill, is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the citys UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and from, the hill are used in photographs. In 1456, James II granted land to Edinburgh by charter wherein Calton Hill is referred to as Cragingalt, the name may have derived from Old Welsh or Old English meaning the place of the groves. The name Caldtoun remained general until about 1700, the names Calton and this was part of his policy of military preparedness that saw the Act of 1457 banning golf and football and ordering archery practice every Sunday. This natural amphitheatre was used for open-air theatre and saw performances of the early Scots play Ane Pleasant Satyre of the Thrie Estaitis by Sir David Lyndsay. In May 1518 the Carmelite Friars, were granted lands by charter from the city at Greenside, monasteries were suppressed following the Scottish Reformation of 1560, and this stood empty before conversion in 1591 into a hospital for lepers, founded by John Robertson, a city merchant. The monastery would appear to have located at the north-east end of Greenside Row. Ten skeletons found in July 2009 during roadworks to create a new tramway in Leith Walk are believed to have connected with the hospital. The Calton area was owned by the Logan family of Restalrig, the lands of Restalrig and Calton, otherwise known as Easter and Wester Restalrig, passed to the Elphinstone family. Sir James Elphinstone was made Lord Balmerino in 1604 and in 1673 the lands of Restalrig, in 1725, Calton was disjoined and sold to the royal burgh of Edinburgh. Calton remained a burgh of barony until it was incorporated into Edinburgh by the Municipality Extension Act of 1856. In 1631, the then Lord Balmerino granted a charter to The Society of the Incorporated Trades of Calton forming a society or corporation and this also gave the Society the exclusive right to trade within Calton and the right to tax others who wished to do so. This lack of restrictive practices allowed a thriving trade to develop, in the village, the street was variously known as St. Ninians Row or Low Calton. Many of the old buildings here were demolished at the time of the Waterloo Place and Regent Bridge development, the remaining old village houses of the Low Calton were removed in the 1970s. Calton was in South Leith Parish and Calton people went to church in Leith. The churchyard there was situated for burials from Calton and, in 1718. This became known as Old Calton Burial Ground, permission was granted for an access road, originally known as High Calton and now the street called Calton Hill, up the steep hill from the village to the burial ground. The group of 1760s houses near the top of this street are all that remain of the old village, the Old Calton Burial Ground was the first substantial development on Calton Hill and lies on the south-western side of the hill
7.
City Observatory
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The City Observatory is an astronomical observatory on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is also known as the Calton Hill Observatory, the site is enclosed by a boundary wall with a monument to John Playfair, president of the Edinburgh Astronomical Institution, in the southeast corner. The oldest part is the Gothic Tower in the southwest corner, facing Princes Street and it is also known as Observatory House, the Old Observatory, or after its designer James Craig House. The central building with the appearance of a Greek temple is the Playfair Building and this houses the 6-inch refractor in its dome and the 6. 4-inch transit telescope in its eastern wing. The largest dome of the site is the City Dome in the northeast corner, during the early 20th century this contained a 22-inch refractor. In 1776 Thomas Short returned to Edinburgh, bringing him a 12-foot reflecting telescope made by his late brother James Short. He intended to open a public observatory on Calton Hill as a commercial enterprise, however, in 1736 Colin Maclaurin, professor of mathematics at the University of Edinburgh, had collected funds for a university observatory. Due to the Porteous Riots and the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 the funds were left unused and these were made available to build Shorts observatory, and the City of Edinburgh provided a plot of land on Calton Hill. The observatory was to be open to university students, James Craig designed the observatory, which, under Robert Adams influence, was to look like a fortification with a wall and Gothic towers at its corners. The city controlled the project, but the money ran out after only the first of the towers was built. Short moved into this as residence and ran the observatory until his death in 1788, an actual observatory, smaller than originally planned, was also built where the Playfair Building is now. After Shorts death the observatory was kept going by his family for a while, then leased to opticians, the site reverted to the city. Shorts daughter Maria Theresa Short was to return to Edinburgh in 1827 and she ran a second – a popular and commercial rather than scientific – observatory elsewhere on Calton Hill. In 1850 this was removed and she moved to Castle Hill, in 1812 the observatory was handed over to the Edinburgh Astronomical Institution, which opened its popular observatory in the Gothic Tower. In 1818 work began on the Playfair Building, designed by William Henry Playfair this was to become the scientific observatory of the Institution. Following a loyal address to George IV in 1822 this became the Royal Observatory, again the funds proved insufficient, so that the purchase of instruments and the employment of an observer depended on funding from the Government. After much delay the instrumentation was completed in 1831 with delivery of the transit telescope, fraunhofer had made the lens, but after his death it fell to Repsold - and after his death to Repsolds son - to complete and install the instrument. In 1834 Thomas Henderson took up the position of observer and this was now the post of Astronomer Royal for Scotland and Regius Professor of Astronomy in the University of Edinburgh
8.
George III of the United Kingdom
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He was concurrently Duke and prince-elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire until his promotion to King of Hanover on 12 October 1814. He was the third British monarch of the House of Hanover, early in his reign, Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years War, becoming the dominant European power in North America and India. However, many of Britains American colonies were soon lost in the American War of Independence, further wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France from 1793 concluded in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. In the later part of his life, George III had recurrent, although it has since been suggested that he had the blood disease porphyria, the cause of his illness remains unknown. After a final relapse in 1810, a regency was established, on George IIIs death, the Prince Regent succeeded his father as George IV. Historical analysis of George IIIs life has gone through a kaleidoscope of changing views that have depended heavily on the prejudices of his biographers and the sources available to them. Until it was reassessed in the half of the 20th century, his reputation in the United States was one of a tyrant. George was born in London at Norfolk House and he was the grandson of King George II, and the eldest son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. As Prince George was born two months prematurely and he was unlikely to survive, he was baptised the same day by Thomas Secker. One month later, he was baptised at Norfolk House. His godparents were the King of Sweden, his uncle the Duke of Saxe-Gotha, George grew into a healthy but reserved and shy child. The family moved to Leicester Square, where George and his younger brother Prince Edward, Duke of York, Family letters show that he could read and write in both English and German, as well as comment on political events of the time, by the age of eight. He was the first British monarch to study science systematically and his religious education was wholly Anglican. At age 10 George took part in a production of Joseph Addisons play Cato and said in the new prologue, What. It may with truth be said, A boy in England born, historian Romney Sedgwick argued that these lines appear to be the source of the only historical phrase with which he is associated. Georges grandfather, King George II, disliked the Prince of Wales, however, in 1751 the Prince of Wales died unexpectedly from a lung injury, and George became heir apparent to the throne. He inherited one of his fathers titles and became the Duke of Edinburgh, now more interested in his grandson, three weeks later the King created George Prince of Wales. Georges mother, now the Dowager Princess of Wales, preferred to keep George at home where she could imbue him with her moral values
9.
John Playfair
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John Playfair FRSE, FRS was a Scottish scientist and mathematician, and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He is perhaps best known for his book Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth and it was through this book that Huttons principle of uniformitarianism, later taken up by Charles Lyell, first reached a wide audience. Playfairs textbook Elements of Geometry made an expression of Euclids parallel postulate known now as Playfairs axiom. Born at Benvie, near Dundee, where his father, Rev James Playfair, was a kirk minister, Playfair was educated at home until the age of fourteen, when he entered the University of St Andrews. In 1766, when only eighteen, he was a candidate for the chair of mathematics in Marischal College, Playfair continued, however, his mathematical and physical studies, and in 1782 he resigned his charge to become the tutor of Ferguson of Raith. By this arrangement, Playfair was able to be frequently in Edinburgh and to cultivate the literary, in particular, he attended the natural history course of John Walker. Through Nevil Maskelyne, whose acquaintance he had first made in the course of the celebrated Schiehallion experiments in 1774, in 1785 when Dugald Stewart succeeded Ferguson in the Edinburgh chair of moral philosophy, Playfair succeeded the former in that of mathematics. In 1795 Playfair published an alternative, more stringent formulation of Euclids parallel postulate, although the axiom bears Playfairs name, he did not create it, but credited others, in particular William Ludlam, with its prior use. In 1802, Playfair published his celebrated volume entitled Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth, the influence exerted by James Hutton on the development of geology is thought to be largely due to its publication. In 1805 Playfair exchanged the chair of mathematics for that of philosophy in succession to John Robison. Playfair was an opponent of Gottfried Leibnizs vis viva principle, a version of the conservation of energy. In 1808, he launched an attack on John Smeaton and William Hyde Wollastons work championing the theory, in 1808 he also published a review of Laplaces Traité de Mécanique Celeste. Johns brothers were architect James Playfair, solicitor Robert Playfair and engineer William Playfair and his nephew, William Henry Playfair was an eminent architect in Scotland. Although an eminent man, Playfair was buried in a grave in Old Calton Burial Ground. His, and his brother, Jamess graves were marked by a plaque unveiled in 2011 following a local campaign, the monument to his memory by William Henry Playfair, on Calton Hill, is visible from the spot. In later life he admired and proposed to the wealthy widow Jane Apreece and she turned him down and married the younger and more famous Sir Humphry Davy. Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellow of the Royal Society of London,1807 Craters on Mars, the mineral playfairite was named in his honour. A four-volume collected edition of Playfairs works, with a memoir by James G. Playfair and his lives of Matthew Stewart, Hutton, and Robison, many of his reviews, and above all his Dissertation are of the utmost value
10.
William Henry Playfair
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William Henry Playfair FRSE was one of the greatest Scottish architects of the 19th century, designer of many of Edinburghs neo-classical landmarks in the New Town. He was born on 15 July 1790 in Russell Square, London, to James Playfair, Playfairs father was also an architect, and his uncles were John Playfair, the scientist, and William Playfair, an economist and pioneer of information graphics. Two of his finest works are the buildings of the National Gallery of Scotland. The Playfair Project completed in 2004 joined the two buildings with an underground link. In the 1830s Playfair is listed as living at 17 Great Stuart Street on the prestigious Moray Estate in Edinburghs west end, Playfair joined the Free Church following the Disruption of 1843, losing his right to burial in the parish churchyard. Playfair took David Cousin under his wing and was responsible for the part of his training. 1817 Appointed architect to design work on the Old College, University of Edinburgh. The building was completed around 1831,1818 Commissioned by the will of the late Captain John McNabb to design the main building of Dollar Academy, a fitting structure with a Doric facade, which is now named after him. However, due to lack of investment it was never finished, adjacent to The Royal Scottish Academy. 1851 Donaldsons College, Edinburgh 1852 Dunstane House – now a Hotel in west of Edinburgh 1859 National Gallery of Scotland opened to the two years after Playfairs death. Parks & Gardens, UK Playfair, William Henry, Dictionary of Scottish Architects Dictionary of Scottish Architects- William Henry Playfair Gazetteer for Scotland Details William Henry Playfairs buildings in Edinburgh Portrait
11.
George IV of the United Kingdom
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George IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover following the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten years later. From 1811 until his accession, he served as Prince Regent during his fathers mental illness. George IV led an extravagant lifestyle that contributed to the fashions of the Regency era and he was a patron of new forms of leisure, style and taste. He commissioned John Nash to build the Royal Pavilion in Brighton and remodel Buckingham Palace and he even forbade Caroline to attend his coronation and asked the government to introduce the unpopular Pains and Penalties Bill in a desperate, unsuccessful attempt to divorce her. For most of Georges regency and reign, Lord Liverpool controlled the government as Prime Minister and his ministers found his behaviour selfish, unreliable and irresponsible. At all times he was much under the influence of favourites, taxpayers were angry at his wasteful spending at a time when Britons were fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. He did not provide leadership in time of crisis, nor act as a role model for his people. Liverpools government presided over Britains ultimate victory, negotiated the peace settlement, after Liverpools retirement, George was forced to accept Catholic emancipation despite opposing it. His only child, Princess Charlotte, died before him in 1817 and so he was succeeded by his younger brother, George was born at St Jamess Palace, London, on 12 August 1762, the first child of King George III of the United Kingdom and Queen Charlotte. As the eldest son of a British sovereign, he automatically became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay at birth, he was created Prince of Wales, on 18 September of the same year, he was baptised by Thomas Secker, Archbishop of Canterbury. His godparents were the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the Duke of Cumberland, George was a talented student, and quickly learned to speak French, German and Italian, in addition to his native English. He was a witty conversationalist, drunk or sober, and showed good, the Prince of Wales turned 21 in 1783, and obtained a grant of £60,000 from Parliament and an annual income of £50,000 from his father. It was far too little for his needs – the stables alone cost £31,000 a year and he then established his residence in Carlton House, where he lived a profligate life. Animosity developed between the prince and his father, who desired more frugal behaviour on the part of the heir apparent, the King, a political conservative, was also alienated by the princes adherence to Charles James Fox and other radically inclined politicians. Soon after he reached the age of 21, the prince became infatuated with Maria Fitzherbert and she was a commoner, six years his elder, twice widowed, and a Roman Catholic. Despite her complete unsuitability, the prince was determined to marry her, nevertheless, the couple went through a marriage ceremony on 15 December 1785 at her house in Park Street, Mayfair. Legally the union was void, as the Kings consent was not granted, however, Fitzherbert believed that she was the princes canonical and true wife, holding the law of the Church to be superior to the law of the State. For political reasons, the union remained secret and Fitzherbert promised not to reveal it, the prince was plunged into debt by his exorbitant lifestyle
12.
Thomas Henderson (astronomer)
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Born in Dundee, he was educated at the High School of Dundee, after which he trained as a lawyer, working his way up through the profession as an assistant to a variety of nobles. Young helped the young Henderson enter the world of astronomical science. Henderson was passed over for that position, but the recommendation was enough to get him a position at the Royal Observatory at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. There he made a number of stellar observations between April 1832 and May 1833, including those for which he is remembered today. The 1830s version of the race was to be the first person to measure the distance to a star using parallax. Henderson was thus in a position to be this person.25 light years. This figure is accurate, being 25. 6% too small. Henderson did not immediately publish his results, however, and eventually he was beaten to the punch by Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel, Henderson published his results in 1839, but was relegated to second place because of his lack of confidence. He later published confirming observations by Thomas Maclear, Alpha Centauri remained the nearest known star until the discovery of Proxima Centauri in 1915 by Robert T. A. Innes. In the meantime, his measurement work at the Cape had led him to be appointed the first Astronomer Royal for Scotland in 1834, the vacant chair of astronomy at the University of Edinburgh was given to him on the advice of Prime Minister Lord Melbourne. From 1834 he worked at the City Observatory in Edinburgh until his death, in April,1840 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. Henderson became a member or fellow of several distinguished societies, including the Royal Astronomical Society and he married Alexander Adies daughter Janet Mary Adie in 1836 and had one daughter, Janet Mary Jane Henderson. He died at home 1 Hillside Crescent in Edinburgh on 23 November 1844 and is buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard in the grave of Alexander Adie, hendersons name is absent from the monument. The grave lies in the south-west of the churchyard, just north-east of the Adam mausoleum, the Parallax of Alpha Centauri, deduced from Mr Maclears observations at the Cape of Goof Hope, in the years 1839 and 1840. Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society, on the Parallax of Alpha Centauri. Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society, Astronomical Society of Edinburgh - journal 38
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