William Frederick Denning
William Frederick Denning | |
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 William Denning celebrated inPunch magazineVol. 102, 9 April 1892, on the occasion ofThe Timesnewspaper commenting on Denning's discovery of asmall faintcometon Friday 18 March 1892 atBishopston, Bristol | |
| Born | 25 November 1848 |
| Died | 9 June 1931(aged 82) Bristol, England |
| Occupation | Accountant |
William Frederick Denning(25 November 1848 – 9 June 1931) was a Britishamateurastronomerwho achieved considerable success without formal scientific training.[1][2][3]He is known for his catalogues ofmeteor radiants,observations ofJupiter's red spot,and for the discovery of fivecomets.[4]Outside astronomy, as a young man, Denning showed prowess atcricketto the extentW G Graceinvited him to play forGloucestershire.However Denning's retiring nature made him decline the offer.[1]
Career[edit]
Denning devoted a great deal of time to searching for comets, and discovered five of them, including theperiodic comet72P/Denning–Fujikawaand thelost cometD/1894 F1.The latter was the last comet discovered on British soil until the discoveries ofGeorge Alcock.
Denning also studiedmeteorsandnovae,discoveringNova Cygni 1920(V476 Cyg). From 1869 Denning held the combined post of secretary and treasurer of the short-lived Observing Astronomical Society.[5]Denning was elected to theRoyal Astronomical Societyon 8 June 1877.[6]He was also elected to theBritish Astronomical Associationon 26 October 1898.[7]Subsequently, directed its Comet (1891–1893) and Meteor (1899–1900) Sections.[8]He won thePrix Valzof theFrench Academy of Sciencesfor 1895.[9]
During his life, Denning published 1179 articles[10]in prominent scientific journals includingNature,The Observatory,Astronomische Nachrichten,Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada,Journal des Observateurs,andMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.[11]
Awards and honors[edit]
- In 1898, Denning won theGold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society.[2]
- He also won theDonohoe Comet Medalfor his July 23, 1890 discovery of a comet.[12][13]
- Such was his standing in the astronomical community that following his death a memorial tablet was fixed to his house.[14]
- CraterDenningon the Moon as well as the Martian craterDenningwere named after him in 1970 and 1973, respectively.[15][16]
- Asteroid71885 Denning,discovered by theSpacewatchprogram in 2000, was named in his memory.[4]The officialnaming citationwas published by theMinor Planet Centeron 4 October 2009 (M.P.C.67219).[17]
References[edit]
- ^ab"Obituary Notice: Denning, William Frederick".MNRAS.92:248–250. February 1932.Bibcode:1932MNRAS..92..248..doi:10.1093/mnras/92.4.248.
- ^abAddison, Henry Robert; Oakes, Charles Henry; Lawson, William John; Sladen, Douglas Brooke Wheelton (1907)."DENNING, William F."Who's Who.59:470.
- ^Hockey, Thomas (2009).The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers.Springer Publishing.ISBN978-0-387-31022-0.Retrieved22 August2012.
- ^ab"(71885) Denning = 2000 WD".Minor Planet Center.Retrieved5 February2020.
- ^"1869AReg....7..165. Page 165".Astronomical Register.7:165. 1869.Bibcode:1869AReg....7..165.Retrieved22 October2018.
- ^Dreyer, J. L. E. (1877)."1877MNRAS..37..427D Page 427".Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.37:427.Bibcode:1877MNRAS..37..427D.doi:10.1093/mnras/37.8.427.Retrieved4 September2021.
- ^"1898JBAA....9...28. Page 28".Journal of the British Astronomical Association.9:28. 1898.Bibcode:1898JBAA....9...28.Retrieved4 September2021.
- ^Kelly, Howard L.; Gale, W. F.; Evershed, M. A.; Porthouse, William; Ryves, P. M.; Peek, B. M.; Davidson, M.; Prentice, J. P. M.; Kellaway, G. F.; Housman, W. B.; Porter, J. G.; Reade, Vera (1947)."The British Astronomical Association: The First Fifty Years"(PDF).Memoirs of the British Astronomical Association.36:55.Bibcode:1947MmBAA..36C..55K.
- ^"Prix Valz".Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences.Vol. Tomes XCII à CXXI, 3 Janvier 1881 à 30 Décembre 1895. Paris: Gauthier-Villars. 1900. pp. 1574–1575.
- ^Beech, Martin (February 1998)."W. F. Denning—The Doyen of Amateur Astronomers".WGN: Journal of the International Meteor Organization.26(1): 19–24.Bibcode:1998JIMO...26...19B.Retrieved29 December2016.
- ^Accomazzi, Alberto;Kurtz, Michael J.;Murray, Stephen S. (2016)."SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System".Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.Retrieved29 December2016.
- ^"Awards of the Comet-Medal of the ASP (1890-1896)".Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.9.San Francisco: 99. 1897.JSTOR40671005.
- ^Denning, W. F. (September 1890)."Comet c, 1890".The Observatory.13(166): 295.Bibcode:1890Obs....13..295F.
- ^"1932Obs....55...14. Page 14".The Observatory.55:14. 1932.Bibcode:1932Obs....55...14.Retrieved5 September2021.
- ^"Lunar crater Denning".Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
- ^"Martian crater Denning".Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
- ^"MPC/MPO/MPS Archive".Minor Planet Center.Retrieved6 February2020.
- Phil Williams (July 2015) "William Frederick Denning F.R.A.S." Liverpool Astronomical Society Newsletter (July 2015, pp,4–6)
External links[edit]
Works by or aboutWilliam Frederick DenningatWikisource- Telescopic work for starlight eveningsCornell University Library Historical Monographs Collection.
- W. F. Denning – The Doyen of Amateur AstronomersShort biography by Martin Beech, Campion College, The University of Regina, Canada
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