ASTRONOMER

Stephen Gray

1666 - 1736

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Stephen Gray (December 1666 – 17 February 1736) was an English dyer and astronomer who was the first to systematically experiment with electrical conduction. Until his work in 1729 the emphasis had been on the simple generation of static charges and investigations of the static phenomena (electric shocks, plasma glows, etc.). Gray showed that electricity can be conducted through metals and that it appeared on the surfaces of insulators. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Stephen Gray is the 110th most popular astronomer (down from 77th in 2019), the 953rd most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 691st in 2019) and the 14th most popular British Astronomer.

Stephen Gray is most famous for his invention of the coherer, which was a device that could detect radio waves.

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Among ASTRONOMERS

Among astronomers, Stephen Gray ranks 110 out of 644. Before him are Edward Charles Pickering, David Fabricius, Johann Elert Bode, William Huggins, Lewis A. Swift, and August Kopff. After him are Robert Luther, John Louis Emil Dreyer, Annie Jump Cannon, James Van Allen, Petrus Plancius, and Maria Margaretha Kirch.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1666, Stephen Gray ranks 6. Before him are Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia, Ivan V of Russia, Guru Gobind Singh, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, and Maria Sophia of Neuburg. After him are Marie Anne de Bourbon, Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma, John William III, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach, Princess Henriëtte Amalia of Anhalt-Dessau, Antonio Maria Valsalva, and Marie Thérèse de Bourbon. Among people deceased in 1736, Stephen Gray ranks 6. Before him are Prince Eugene of Savoy, Ahmed III, Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, and Antonio Caldara. After him are Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine, Filippo Juvarra, Louise Diane d'Orléans, Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann, Theophan Prokopovich, and Caspar van Wittel.

Others Born in 1666

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Stephen Gray ranks 953 out of 8,785. Before him are Damon Hill (1960), G. I. Taylor (1886), Ken Hensley (1945), Stirling Moss (1929), H. H. Asquith (1852), and William Bateson (1861). After him are Peter Cushing (1913), Kevin Keegan (1951), Richard Arkwright (1732), William Holman Hunt (1827), Naomi Campbell (1970), and Thomas Malory (1405).

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Among ASTRONOMERS In United Kingdom

Among astronomers born in United Kingdom, Stephen Gray ranks 14. Before him are James Bradley (1693), John Flamsteed (1646), Fred Hoyle (1915), Antony Hewish (1924), John Russell Hind (1823), and William Huggins (1824). After him are George Biddell Airy (1801), N. R. Pogson (1829), Mary Somerville (1780), George Darwin (1845), Williamina Fleming (1857), and Adelard of Bath (1075).

British born Astronomers

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