Benjamin West (astronomer)
| Benjamin West | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 1730 Rehoboth, Massachusetts |
| Died | August 26, 1813 (aged 83) Providence, Rhode Island |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy, Mathematics |
Benjamin West (March 1730 – August 26, 1813) was an American astronomer, mathematician, professor, and author of almanacs.
Born in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, Benjamin West was largely an autodidact. After a school he started in Providence, Rhode Island about 1753 proved unprofitable, he opened a dry-goods store and added what is thought to have been the first bookstore in Providence. He closed his store and made clothes for soldiers during the American Revolutionary War.
Immediately after the war West opened another school in Providence and then taught at Philadelphia's new Protestant Episcopal Academy from 1787-1788. In 1786 he was appointed Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy at Rhode Island College (now known as Brown University), and assumed this position in 1788. He taught mathematics and astronomy at Rhode Island College until 1799.
Upon leaving Rhode Island College West moved to Newport to start a school of navigation in his home. From 1802 until his death in 1813 he was postmaster of Providence.
He was apparently able to read French, as he referred often to a French text on astronomy.
Benjamin West was a member of the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery.
On April 10, 1766, Benjamin West wrote John Winthrop, then the president of Cambridge College (now known as Harvard College) about a comet he had observed the night before. His ensuing communications with Winthrop brought him to the attention of other men of science.
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