ASTRONOMER

Jeremiah Horrocks

1618 - 1641

Photo of Jeremiah Horrocks

Icon of person Jeremiah Horrocks

Jeremiah Horrocks (1618 – 3 January 1641), sometimes given as Jeremiah Horrox (the Latinised version that he used on the Emmanuel College register and in his Latin manuscripts), was an English astronomer. He was the first person to demonstrate that the Moon moved around the Earth in an elliptical orbit; and he was the only person to predict the transit of Venus of 1639, an event which he and his friend William Crabtree were the only two people to observe and record. Most remarkably, Horrocks correctly asserted that Jupiter was accelerating in its orbit while Saturn was slowing and interpreted this as due to mutual gravitational interaction, thereby demonstrating that gravity's actions were not limited to the Earth, Sun, and Moon. His early death and the chaos of the English Civil War nearly caused the loss to science of his treatise on the transit, Venus in sole visa; but for this and his other work he is acknowledged as one of the founding fathers of British astronomy. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Jeremiah Horrocks is the 155th most popular astronomer (up from 199th in 2019), the 1,249th most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 1,619th in 2019) and the 22nd most popular British Astronomer.

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Jeremiah Horrocks by language

Loading...

Among ASTRONOMERS

Among astronomers, Jeremiah Horrocks ranks 155 out of 644. Before him are Hermann Carl Vogel, Adelard of Bath, James Dunlop, Eugène Joseph Delporte, Maslama al-Majriti, and Jacobus Kapteyn. After him are Bernard Lyot, Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld, Joseph-Nicolas Delisle, William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, Eleanor F. Helin, and Alphonse Borrelly.

Most Popular Astronomers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1618, Jeremiah Horrocks ranks 4. Before him are Aurangzeb, Francesco Maria Grimaldi, and Elisabeth of the Palatinate. After him are Hishikawa Moronobu, Ivan Bohun, François Pierre La Varenne, François Blondel, Vittoria Farnese, Peter Lely, Juraj Križanić, and Jan Dirksz Both. Among people deceased in 1641, Jeremiah Horrocks ranks 8. Before him are George, Duke of Brunswick-Calenberg, Gwanghaegun of Joseon, Domenichino, Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria, Jane Frances de Chantal, and Thomas Mun. After him are Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully, Jan Janszoon, Johan Banér, Pau Claris i Casademunt, Franciscus Gomarus, and Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt.

Others Born in 1618

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 1641

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Jeremiah Horrocks ranks 1,249 out of 8,785. Before him are Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany (1158), Judith of Flanders (844), Roy Hodgson (1947), W. O. Bentley (1888), John Dunstaple (1390), and John Haigh (1909). After him are James Stirling (1926), Louisa Adams (1775), Robert Browning (1812), Stephen Hales (1677), Ann Jones (1938), and John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718).

Others born in United Kingdom

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among ASTRONOMERS In United Kingdom

Among astronomers born in United Kingdom, Jeremiah Horrocks ranks 22. Before him are N. R. Pogson (1829), Mary Somerville (1780), George Darwin (1845), Williamina Fleming (1857), Adelard of Bath (1075), and James Dunlop (1793). After him are William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse (1800), James Ferguson (1797), Margaret Burbidge (1919), Norman Lockyer (1836), George Mary Searle (1839), and Nevil Maskelyne (1732).

British born Astronomers

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous