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James Bradley
Astronomer

James Bradley

Famoose for

Discovering stellar aberration and the nutation of Earth’s axis.

Stellar aberration · Nutation

Born
1692
Birthplace
Sherborne
Died
13 July 1762

More people

Marie CurieDiscovering polonium and radium.Albert EinsteinDeveloping the theory of relativity.Charles DarwinExplaining evolution through natural selection.

James Bradley

James Bradley was an English astronomer who became Astronomer Royal in 1742.

Early life

Education

Studied at Balliol College, Oxford, and learned observation with his uncle James Pound at Wanstead.

Career

  1. 1721

    Oxford chair

    Became Savilian professor of astronomy.

  2. 1742

    Astronomer Royal

    Succeeded Edmond Halley.

  3. 1750s

    Greenwich observations

    Used improved instruments to refine measurements.

Contributions

Stellar aberration

Explained annual shifts in apparent star positions through Earth’s motion and the finite speed of light.

Nutation

Published evidence of a periodic change in Earth’s axial orientation.

Beyond research

Family

His wife died in 1757; he was survived by a daughter.

Sources & photo creditBiography and career ↗Biographical references ↗Additional biographical source ↗

Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.

Photo: Artistic portrait; After Thomas Hudson. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.