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Authorised form of nameGill; Sir; David (1843 - 1914); astronomer
Dates1843 - 1914
NationalityBritish
Place of birth48 Skene Terrace, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Date of birth12 June 1843
Place of deathVere Gardens, Kensington, London, England
Date of death24/01/1914
DatesAndPlacesBurial: Ancient graveyard of St Machar's Cathedral, Aberdeen, Scotland.
OccupationAstronomer
Research fieldGeodesy
Astrophotography
Astronomy
ActivityEducation:
Dollar Academy, Aberdeen; Marischal College, Aberdeen; Aberdeen University; LLD
Career:
Entered his father's business and ran it for some time (1856); interested in astronomy (1863); started an observatory, King's College, Aberdeen; in charge of the private observatory of James 26th Earl of Crawford (FRS 1878), Dunecht, near Aberdeen; observed the Transit of Venus at Mauritius (1874); measured the distance of Mars from the Earth from Ascension Island; Her Majesty's Astronomer, Cape of Good Hope (1879-1906); died of pneumonia.
Honours:
KCB 1900
Memberships:
FRAS
British Association (President 1907)
International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) (1907-1914)
Medals/Awards:
Valz Prize (1891)
Astronomical Society James Craig Watson Medal (1899)
Bruce Medal (1900)
Membership categoryFellow
Date of election07/06/1883
Age at election40
ProposerCharles William Siemens
Robert Stirling Newall
Frederick John Owen Evans
Robert Grant
William Thomson
John Couch Adams
Crawford
George Henry Richard
Henry John Stephen Smith
James Whitbread Lee Glaisher
George Howard Darwin
William Huggins
William de Wiveleslie Abney
Charles Vincent Walker
Arthur Cayley
Warren De La Rue
Edwin Dunkin
John Russell Hind
William Henry Mahoney Christie
George Biddell Airy
John Theophilus Boileau
RSActivityMedals and prizes:
Royal Medal 1903
RelationshipsParents: David Gill, watchmaker, of Aberdeen and Margaret Mitchell.
Spouse: Isobel Sara (1849–1919), the daughter of John Black, a farmer of Linhead, Aberdeenshire.
PublishedWorksRCN 31823
RCN 40930
RCN 40931
RCN 31825
RCN 31822
RCN 31821
RCN 31820
RCN 31826
RCN 31824
RCN 31827
RCN 31830
RCN 40932
RCN 40929
RCN 31828
OtherInfoKnown for measuring astronomical distances.
Made the first photograph of the Great Cornet of 1882.
Early proponent of the Carte du Ciel project.
Related imagesDiscover a selection of related images in our picture library
Image

Gill P0052.jpg

SourceSources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; DSB
Mrs David Gill 'Six months in Ascension; an unscientific account of a scientific expedition' with introduction by David Gill (1878)
Obituaries:
Proc Roy Soc Series A 1914-1915 vol 91 pp xxvi-xlii, plate, signed by F W D
Virtual International Authority Filehttp://viaf.org/viaf/20436366
CodeNA6654
Archives associated with this Fellow
RefNoTitleDate
EC/1883/09Gill, Sir David: certificate of election to the Royal Society
MM/12/109Letter from David Gill, Cape Observatory, to Warren de la Rue6 June 1880
MM/12/96Letter from David Gill, Cape Observatory, to Warren de la Rue2 April 1880
MM/12/99Letter from David Gill, Cape Observatory, to Warren de la Rue22 March 1880
MM/12/122Copy of letter from Warren de la Rue, 73 Portland Place, to David Gill5 July 1880
MM/12/112Letter from David Gill, Cape Observatory, to G B Airy6 June 1880
MM/12/104Copy of a letter from David Gill, Cape Observatory, to G B Airy18 May 1880
MM/12/128Letter from David Gill, Cape Observatory, to William Huggins9 August 1880
MM/12/92Extract from the Cape Observatory estimates for the financial year 1881-2, by David Gill1882
MM/12/107'Notes on proposed Equatorial for the Cape', by David Gill24 May 1880
MM/12/103Copy of a letter from G B Airy, Greenwich, to David Gill19 April 1880
MM/12/129Letter from David Gill, Cape Observatory, to the Admiralty9 August 1880
MM/12/110Letter from David Gill, Cape Observatory, to Warren de la Rue6 June 1880
MM/12/97Letter from David Gill, Cape Observatory, to Warren de la Rue10 February 1880
MM/12/94Fair copy of a Memorandum on the Cape Telescope, by David Gill8 August 1880
MM/12/93Memorandum on the Cape Telescope, by David Gill1880
MM/12/105Letter from David Gill, Cape Observatory, to Warren de la Rue18 May 1880
MM/12/127Letter from David Gill, Cape Observatory, to Warren de la Rue6 August 1880
MM/12/108Letter from AW Ackermann, Cape Town, to David Gill24 May 1880
MM/12/106Letter from David Gill, Cape Observatory, to Warren de la Rue24 May 1880
IM/001655Gill, Sir David2002
MC/28/105Letter from David Gill, 34 De Vere Gardens, Kensington, London, W, to Mr [Robert] Harrison, [Royal Society]31 December 1913
IM/Maull/001656Gill, Sir Davidnd
IM/Maull/001657Gill, Sir Davidnd
NLB/41/23Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society27 September 1909
NLB/1/636Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Dr David Gill17 October 1887
NLB/1/662Copy letter from Michael Foster, to W J Woods, Elmhurst, Holly Park, Crouch Hill, N.27 October 1887
NLB/7/702Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Dr David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society 12 April 1893
NLB/5/1113Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to [William Thomson] President of the Royal Society5 January 1892
NLB/19/691Copy letter from an unknown correspondent to Dr David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society24 November 1899
NLB/13/215Copy letter from Michael Foster, to Dr [David] Gill, [Fellow of the Royal Society] [July 1896]
NLB/13/122Copy letter from Michael Foster, to the Agent General for Cape Colony19 June 1896
NLB/13/240Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr David Gill, [Fellow of the Royal Society], 6 Boulevard du Chateau, Paris 8 July 1896
NLB/13/623Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society20 October 1896
NLB/23/2/391Copy letter from Joseph Larmor, to General The Right Honorable Sir Dighton Probyn5 November 1903
NLB/14/629Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society12 April 1897
NLB/15/493Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society31 October 1897
NLB/20/597Copy letter from Theodore E James, to Messrs Harrison & Sons29 May 1900
NLB/20/562Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr David Gill, William Henry Mahoney Christie, and Sir C Wilson21 May 1900
NLB/20/287Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr David Gill, [Fellow of the Royal Society]13 March 1900
NLB/19/704Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society 27 November 1899
NLB/20/729Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr Thomas Edward Thorpe, Foreign Secretary, Royal Society26 June 1900
NLB/21/316Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society29 October 1900
NLB/23/2/396Copy letter from Joseph Larmor, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society12 November 1903
NLB/23/1/292Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society22 October 1901
NLB/27/541Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society, His Majesty's Astronomer, Cape of Good Hope19 October 1903
NLB/29/92Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society4 July 1904
NLB/29/212Copy letter from Archibald Geikie, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society2 August 1904
NLB/28/542Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society26 March 1904
NLB/30/804Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society25 May 1905
NLB/34/366Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society10 January 1907
NLB/28/713Copy letter from Joseph Larmor, to David Gill, [Fellow of the Royal Society]5 May 1904
NLB/34/144Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society5 December 1906
NLB/32/871Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir George Darwin, Fellow of the Royal Society, Cambridge8 June 1906
NLB/39/558Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Sir D [David] Gill, KCB, Fellow of the Royal Society5 January 1909
NLB/40/807Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Sir David Gill KCB, FRS 30 August 1909
NLB/36/753Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society11 December 1907
MC/23/448Letter from Rayleigh [John William Strutt], Terling Place, Witham, Essex, to Mr David Gill, Royal Society24 December 1907
NLB/34/867Copy letter from Alfred Bray Kempe, to David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society20 March 1907
NLB/39/213Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Sir David Gill, KCB, Fellow of the Royal Society12 December 1908
MC/23/177Letter from David Gill, 34 De Vere Gardens, Kensington, London, to the Secretaries, Royal Society23 October 1908
NLB/39/194Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Sir David Gill, KCB, Fellow of the Royal Society9 December 1908
NLB/39/384Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Sir David Gill, KCB, Fellow of the Royal Society13 January 1909
NLB/44/430Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Sir D [David] Gill KCB, FRS11 July 1911
NLB/39/801Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr R [Richard] T [Tetley] Glazebrook, Fellow of the Royal Society19 March 1909
NLB/38/691Copy letter from Joseph Larmor and Archibald Geikie, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society22 October 1908
NLB/40/437Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Sir David Gill KCB, FRS8 June 1909
NLB/43/558Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society10 February 1911
NLB/41/37Copy letter from Joseph Larmor, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society29 September 1909
NLB/42/502Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Sir David Gill KCB, FRS22 June 1910
NLB/48/22Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society28 April 1913
NLB/42/790Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Sir D [David] Gill KCB, FRS12 October 1910
NLB/44/661Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Sir David Gill KCB, FRS 11 October 1911
NLB/43/44/6Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society27 October 1910
NLB/44/368Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Sir David Gill KCB, FRS29 June 1911
NLB/46/30Copy letter from Joseph Larmor, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society23 May 1912
NLB/44/523Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Sir David Gill KCB, FRS 27 July 1911
NLB/45/561Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Sir David Gill, KCB, FRS26 March 1912
MC/27/130Letter from David Gill, 34 De Vere Gardens, Kensington, London, W, to Robert Harrison, Royal Society25 March 1912
NLB/47/259Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Sir David Gill, KCB, FRS4 January 1913
NLB/48/268Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society7 June 1913
NLB/47/283 Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Sir David Gill, KCB, FRS9 January 1913
NLB/47/556Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Sir David Gill KCB, FRS22 February 1913
RR/18/165Referee's report by David Gill, on a paper 'Pendulum clocks and their errors' by Henry Reginald Arnulph MallockJuly 1911
NLB/57/372Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to the Secretary, Royal Geographic Society27 October 1919
MS/427/374Copy letter from [Michael] Foster, Secretary of the Royal Society; to the Secretary of the Treasury8 July 1884
MS/427/375Copy letter from [Michael] Foster, Secretary of the Royal Society; to M. le General Banez, Presidient du Comité international des poids et mesures, and to le Prof. [Adolph] Hirsch, Director of the Observatory 24 July 1884
CD/46/10Letter from [Alfred Bray Kempe, Treasurer of the Royal Society], to Sir David Gill20 March 1907
CD/46/25Letter from the Under Secretary of State of the Colonial Office, to Sir David Gill19 January 1909
P/0052Portrait of Gill, Sir David1912
NLB/21/34Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Professor Jean Gaston Darboux, [Foreign Member, Royal Society], Academie des Sciences de l'Institute, Paris18 July 1900
MM/12/111Letter from David Gill, Cape Observatory, to Warren de la Rue6 June 1880
MM/12/132Rough draft of a letter from Warren de la Rue to David Gillc.1880
NLB/1/275Copy letter from Michael Foster, to Dr David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society19 November 1886
NLB/20/569Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to the Secretaries, Königlich Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Universitatsstrasse 8, Berlin21 May 1900
NLB/20/746Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society28 June 1900
NLB/22/673Copy letter from Arthur [William] Rucker, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society [incomplete]24 June 1901
NLB/11/34Copy list of exhibits, photographic exhibition, Imperial [Institute][April 1895]
NLB/20/734Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Lord Kelvin [William Thomson], Fellow of the Royal Society27 June 1900
NLB/36/671Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir David Gill, Fellow of the Royal Society28 November 1907
RR/11/1Referee's report by David Gill, on a paper 'Comparison of simultaneous magnetic disturbances at several observatories' by William Grylls Adams24 June 1891
NLB/57New Letter Book volume 57, copy letters sent from Royal Society administration27 June 1919-27 February 1920
MC/12Volume 12 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1880-1883
MC/14/239Letter from David Gill, Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House, to George Gabriel Stokes27 June 1887
MC/14Volume 14 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1885-1888
MC/19/330Letter from David Gill, Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, to [Robert William Frederick] Harrison1904
MC/19/329Letter from David Gill, Hotel Bristol, to [Robert William Frederick] Harrison6 July 1904
NLB/38/688Copy letter from Joseph Larmor and Archibald Geikie, to Sir Arthur William Rucker, Fellow of the Royal Society22 October 1908
MC/26/89Letter from David Gill, 34 De Vere Gardens, Kensington, London, W, to Mr [Robert] Harrison, [Royal Society]2 July 1911
MC/17Volume 17 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1897-1899
MC/20/45Letter from David Gill, Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, to [Robert William Frederick] Harrison12 January 1905
MC/26/88Letter from David Gill, 34 De Vere Gardens, Kensington, London, W, to Mr [Robert] Harrison, [Royal Society]20 January 1920
MC/26/131Letter from [Edwin] Ray Lankester, 29 Thurloe Place, South Kensington, to Sir David Gill19 January 1911
MC/27/129Letter from David Gill, 34 De Vere Gardens, Kensington, London, W, to [Robert] Harrison, [Royal Society]1 March 1912
NLB/45/443Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Sir David Gill, KCB, FRS5 March 1912
MC/29/103Letter from Harvey Hall [& Company], 222 Union Street, Aberdeen, to The Secretary of The Royal Society of London, London6 February 1914
MC/27/131Letter from David Gill, 34 De Vere Gardens, Kensington, London, W, to [Robert] Harrison, [Royal Society]6 May 1912
MC/29/104Letter from Harvey Hall [& Company], 222 Union Street, Aberdeen, to Robert Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society, Burlington House, London, W18 February 1914
MC/29/105Letter from Harvey Hall [& Company], 222 Union Street, Aberdeen, to Robert Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society, Burlington House, London, W25 February 1914
MC/19Volume 19 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1904
MC/20Volume 20 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1905
MC/23Volume 23 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1908
ACS/1/1/300Letter from Charles [Algernon] Parsons, Brown's Hotel, London, W., to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton25 February 1909
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