David Gill (astronomer)
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Sir David Gill KCB FRS |
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|---|---|
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| Born |
12 June 1843 Aberdeen, Scotland |
| Died | 24 January 1914 (aged 70) London, England |
| Resting place | Aberdeen |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Occupation | Astronomer |
| Title |
FRS LL.D. CB KCB |
| Awards |
Bruce Medal Valz Prize Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society James Craig Watson Medal (1899) Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur Pour le Mérite |
Sir David Gill KCB FRS FRSE (12 June 1843 – 24 January 1914) was a Scottish astronomer who is known for measuring astronomical distances, for astrophotography, and for geodesy. He spent much of his career in South Africa.
David Gill was born at 48 Skene Terrace in Aberdeen the son of David Gill, watchmaker and his wife Margaret Mitchell. He was educated first at Bellevue Academy in Aberdeen then at Dollar Academy. He spent two years at Aberdeen University, where he was taught by James Clerk Maxwell, and then joined his father's clock-making business. It would seem that Gill's interests lay elsewhere since after a few years he sold the business, and then spent time equipping Lord Lindsay's private observatory at Dun Echt, Aberdeenshire. In 1874, Gill joined the expedition to Mauritius to observe the transit of Venus. Three years later he went to Ascension Island to observe a near approach of Mars and to calculate its distance. While carrying out these laborious calculations, he was notified of his appointment to the Cape Observatory, which, over the following 27 years he was to refurbish completely, turning it into a first-rate institution. Gill was a meticulous observer and had a flair for getting the best out of his instruments. His solar parallax observations with a heliometer and his calculations of distances to the nearer stars, are testimony to his outstanding work. He recruited Robert Innes to the Cape Observatory.
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