Royal Observatory, Greenwich.
Royal Observatory papers of John Pond, 1811-1835.
Contains A. Observation ledgers, clock error notes, computation ledgers, manuscript star catalogues, weather records, and a small amount of correspondence; B. Documentation of important topics and events, such as: responsibility for transfer of the Royal Observatory from the Board of Ordnance to the Admiralty in 1820; the disbanding of the Board of Longitude in 1828; the inauguration of the Greenwich time ball in 1833; establishment (ca. 1832) of a separate office to oversee the work concerned with the 'Nautical Almanac'; and C. The following is a partial list of the names of correspondents and others as they appear in the handlist to this class of papers in RGO Archives. It must be rememberd that this is not necessarily an exhaustive list of names as they appear in the papers themselves. Researchers interested in a particular period are invited to write to the RGO Archivist at the above address if they are interested in particular individuals whose names do not appear below, but who could possibly have been in correspondence with the person or institution responsible for creating the class. Correspondents: Sir G. B. Airy; W. Allen; C. Arnold; S. Barker; W. Barnes; J. Barow; Bessel; J. Booth; Borda; J. Bradley; Capt. R. Campbell; J. Cooke; H. G. Cox; J. Curmin; A. Currie; Mr. Dent; R. S. Dundas; J. Earnshaw; Mr. Ellis; Dr. Franklin; Frodsham; H. Gardener; Dr. Gauss; J. Haighth; Dr. Halley; J. Hardright; Mr. Hardy; R. Hasken; Capt. Hatiers; P. D. Hay; W. Herschel; G. Innes; L. Jones; H. Kater; J. Lepard; N. Maskelyne; C. Mason; S. Molyneux; Sir I. Newton; Parkinson; J. Pond; R. Priesley; Mr. Rogerson; Simms; J. Sinclair; A. Skane; Capt. Smith; Sir J. South; R. Spencer; J. Stone; W. S. Stratford; T. Taylor; E. Theynier; Mr. Troughton; G. Wilson; J. Wright; Baron F. Zach, among others.
Pond (1767-1836) was sixth Astronomer Royal; in office 1811-1835. Though he studied chemistry at Trinity College, Cambridge, ill health forced Pond to leave the university before graduating. He returned to England in 1798 after an extended European tour and set up a Troughton altazimuth telescope in Somerset, an instrument with which he was able to demonstrate the deterioration of the Bird quadrant at Greenwich. Becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1807, he moved to London and became involved in the construction of astronomical instruments. Nevil Maskelyne recommended that Pond should be his successor as Astronomer Royal and Pond was thus appointed after Maskelyne's death in 1811. Pond modernized the instruments of the Greenwich Observatory and introduced more rigorous methods of observation and reduction. Pond was a founder member of the Astronomical Society in 1820 (later to become the Royal Astronomical Society). In 1820 the Admiralty took over control of the Observatory from the Board of Ordnance, the latter body having overseen its work since its foundation in 1675, when Jonas Moore was Surveyor of the Ordanance and John Flamsteed's patron. The change of control, though logical given the nautical reasons for the Observatory's work, lead to a great increase in the amount of work undertaken at Greenwich, this being largely due to the testing of many marine chronometers for the Royal Navy which the Admiralty insisted should be done there. Though the number of assistants grew, for the first time since 1675, Pond was not well served by them, the work of the Observtory generally suffered and the reliability of the 'Nautical Almanac' deteriorated. Pond was the first Astronomer Royal to retire from his office, rather than to die in harness, and his 24 year tenure is sometimes thought to be the least successful of the Astronomers Royal as Directors of the Royal Observatory. John Pond was nevertheless a peerless practical observing astronomer who introduced new instruments, observational and reductional methods to the Observatory; in many ways he laid the foundations for the work of his successor, G. B. Airy.
Airy, George Biddell, 1801-1892
Gauss, Carl Friedrich, 1777-1855.
Herschel, William, 1738-1822
Maskelyne, Nevil, 1732-1811.
Newton, Isaac, 1642-1727
Great Britain. Admiralty
Great Britain. Board of Ordnance.
Royal Greenwich Observatory -- Administration.
Nautical Almanac.
Astronomical observatories -- England.
Stars -- Catalogs.
Time measurements.
Weather -- Observations.
Calculations. aat
Ledgers. aat
Notes. aat
Tables (documents). aat
Allen, W.
Arnold, C.
Barker, S.
Barnes, W.
Barrow, J.
Bessel.
Booth, J.
Borda.
Bradley, J.
Campbell, R. Capt.
Cooke, J.
Cox, H. G.
Curmin, J.
Currie, A.
Dent, Mr.
Dundas, R. S.
Earnshaw, J.
Ellis, Mr.
Franklin, Dr.
Frodsham.
Gardener, H.
Haighth, J.
Halley, Dr.
Hardright, J.
Hardy, Mr.
Hasken, R.
Hatiers, Capt.
Hay, P. D.
Innes, G.
Jones, L.
Kater, H.
Lepard, J.
Mason, C.
Molyneux, S.
Parkinson.
Pond, John, 1767-1836 -- Records and correspondence.
Priesley, R.
Rogerson, Mr.
Simms.
Sinclair, J.
Skane, A.
Smith, Capt.
South, J., Sir.
Spencer, R.
Taylor, T.
Theynier, E.
Troughton, Mr.
Wilson, G.
Zach, F., Baron.
Great Britain. Board of Longitude.
AIP-ICOS
Royal Greenwich Observatory Archives Department of Manuscripts and University Archives. Cambridge University Library, West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DR, England UK