ASTRONOMER

John Michell

1724 - 1793

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John Michell (; 25 December 1724 – 21 April 1793) was an English natural philosopher and clergyman who provided pioneering insights into a wide range of scientific fields including astronomy, geology, optics, and gravitation. Considered "one of the greatest unsung scientists of all time", he is the first person known to have proposed the existence of stellar bodies comparable to black holes, and the first to have suggested that earthquakes travelled in (seismic) waves. Recognizing that double stars were a product of mutual gravitation, he was the first to apply statistics to the study of the cosmos. He invented an apparatus to measure the mass of the Earth, and explained how to manufacture an artificial magnet. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. John Michell is the 50th most popular astronomer (up from 287th in 2019), the 517th most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 2,359th in 2019) and the 7th most popular British Astronomer.

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Among ASTRONOMERS

Among astronomers, John Michell ranks 50 out of 644. Before him are Martin Ryle, Wilhelm Schickard, Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, Michel Mayor, Arthur Eddington, and Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin. After him are Jérôme Lalande, Adolphe Quetelet, Édouard Stephan, William Alfred Fowler, Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, and Karl Ludwig Hencke.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1724, John Michell ranks 3. Before him are Immanuel Kant, and Maria Amalia of Saxony. After him are Cao Xueqin, Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria, Louise of Great Britain, Duchess Maria Antonia of Bavaria, Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken, Countess Palatine Maria Franziska of Sulzbach, Peter von Biron, and Princess Sophie Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Among people deceased in 1793, John Michell ranks 8. Before him are Marie Antoinette, Madame du Barry, Jean-Paul Marat, Carlo Goldoni, Charlotte Corday, and Olympe de Gouges. After him are Yolande de Polastron, Francesco Guardi, Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, Madame Roland, Jean Sylvain Bailly, and Jacques Pierre Brissot.

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, John Michell ranks 517 out of 8,785. Before him are Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (1900), John Wesley (1703), William Pitt the Younger (1759), James I of Scotland (1394), Glenn Hughes (1951), and Christopher Hogwood (1941). After him are Colin Firth (1960), Alan Parker (1944), Frederick Forsyth (1938), Richard Hughes (1975), Richard Owen (1804), and John Donne (1572).

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Among ASTRONOMERS In United Kingdom

Among astronomers born in United Kingdom, John Michell ranks 7. Before him are Edmond Halley (1656), Jocelyn Bell Burnell (1943), William Lassell (1799), Martin Ryle (1918), Arthur Eddington (1882), and Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (1900). After him are James Bradley (1693), John Flamsteed (1646), Fred Hoyle (1915), Antony Hewish (1924), John Russell Hind (1823), and William Huggins (1824).

British born Astronomers

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