ASTRONOMER

James Bradley

1693 - 1762

Photo of James Bradley

Icon of person James Bradley

James Bradley (September 1692 – 13 July 1762) was an English astronomer and priest who served as the third Astronomer Royal from 1742. He is best known for two fundamental discoveries in astronomy, the aberration of light (1725–1728), and the nutation of the Earth's axis (1728–1748). These two discoveries were called "the most brilliant and useful of the century" by Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre, historian of astronomy, mathematical astronomer and director of the Paris Observatory. In his History of astronomy in the 18th century (1821), Delambre stated:"It is to these two discoveries by Bradley that we owe the exactness of modern astronomy. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. James Bradley is the 59th most popular astronomer (up from 74th in 2019), the 578th most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 673rd in 2019) and the 8th most popular British Astronomer.

James Bradley is most famous for his book The Lost History of Christianity, which is about the history of Christianity.

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of James Bradley by language

Loading...

Among ASTRONOMERS

Among astronomers, James Bradley ranks 59 out of 644Before him are Édouard Stephan, William Alfred Fowler, Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, Karl Ludwig Hencke, Jan Oort, and Abu Maʿshar. After him are Abū Ishāq Ibrāhīm al-Zarqālī, Walter Baade, Jamshīd al-Kāshī, Antonie Pannekoek, John Flamsteed, and Fred Hoyle.

Most Popular Astronomers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1693, James Bradley ranks 3Before him are Pope Clement XIII, and Anna of Russia. After him are John Harrison, Anne Sophie Reventlow, Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, Louise Élisabeth de Bourbon, Countess Palatine Elisabeth Auguste Sofie of Neuburg, Georg Rafael Donner, Abul Khair Khan, Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin, and John Lombe. Among people deceased in 1762, James Bradley ranks 6Before him are Peter III of Russia, Elizabeth of Russia, Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille, Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, and Emperor Momozono. After him are Crown Prince Sado, Archduchess Maria Johanna Gabriela of Austria, Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, Francesco Geminiani, Princess Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.

Others Born in 1693

Go to all Rankings

Others Deceased in 1762

Go to all Rankings

In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, James Bradley ranks 578 out of 8,785Before him are Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington (1919), James Hutton (1726), Thomas Cromwell (1485), John Knox (1514), Christopher Wren (1632), and John Turner (1929). After him are Domnall mac Ailpín (812), Richard Branson (1950), Samuel Johnson (1709), Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772), A. J. Cronin (1896), and William Petty (1623).

Among ASTRONOMERS In United Kingdom

Among astronomers born in United Kingdom, James Bradley ranks 8Before him are Jocelyn Bell Burnell (1943), William Lassell (1799), Martin Ryle (1918), Arthur Eddington (1882), Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (1900), and John Michell (1724). After him are John Flamsteed (1646), Fred Hoyle (1915), Antony Hewish (1924), John Russell Hind (1823), William Huggins (1824), and Stephen Gray (1666).