| Authorised form of name | Bradley; James (1693 - 1762) |
| Dates | 1693 - 1762 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Sherborne, Gloucestershire, England |
| Date of birth | March 1693 |
| Place of death | His father-in-law's house at Chalford, Gloucestershire |
| Date of death | 13 July 1762 |
| DatesAndPlaces | Burial:
Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire |
| Occupation | Clergyman, Church of England |
| Research field | Astronomy |
| Activity | Discovered the aberration of light while attempting to detect stellar parallax
Education:
Northleach grammar school; Balliol College, Oxford. BA (1714), MA (1717), DD (by diploma 1742)
Career:
Ordained deacon and priest (1719); Vicar of Bridstow, Herefordshire (1719-1721); Sinecure Rector of Llandewi Valfrey, Carmarthenshire (1719-1721), a living procured for him by Samuel Molyneux (FRS 1712); Chaplain to Philip Bisse, Bishop of Hereford (FRS 1706); Savilian Professor of Astronomy, University of Oxford (1721-1762); carried out observations at Kew with Samuel Molyneux (1725); assisted George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield (FRS 1722) with the construction of an observatory at Shirburn Castle (1739) and in the reform of the calendar; Astronomer Royal (1742-death); was offered the Vicarage of Greenwich but declined (1742); Professor of Experimental Philosophy, University of Oxford (1749-1760)
Memberships:
Berlin Academy of Science
|
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 06/11/1718 |
| Proposer | Edmond Halley |
| RSActivity | Royal Society roles:
Council: 1725-1726; 1728; 1730
Medals and prizes:
Copley Medal 1748 |
| Relationships | Son of William Bradley, gent, of Sherborne, Gloucestershire and his wife, Jane Pound of Bishop's Canning, Wiltshire; nephew of James Pound (FRS 1699) who cultivated his talent for astronomy; married Susannah, daughter of Samuel Peach of Chalford, Gloucestershire |
| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; DSB; Foster; Taylor Hanoverian
References:
H E Bell, 'The Savilian Professors' Houses and Halley's Observatory at Oxford' in NR 1961 vol 16 pp 179-186
T E Allibone, 'Edmond Halley and the Clubs of the Royal Society' in NR 1973-4 vol 28 pp 195-205
W H McCrea, 'The Royal Observatory and the Study of Gravitation' in NR 1975-6 vol 30 pp 133-140
Sir Bernard Lovell, 'Herschel's Work on the Structure of the Universe' in NR 1978-9 vol 33 pp 57-75
Mari Williams, 'James Bradley and the Eighteenth Century "Gap" in Attempts to Measure Annual Stellar Parallax' in NR 1982-83 vol 37 pp 83-100
Allan Chapman, 'Pure Research and Practical Teaching: the Astronomical Career of James Bradley, 1693-1762' in NR 1993 vol 47 pp 205-212, plate
I Bernard Cohen, 'Newton's Description of the Reflecting Telescope' in NR 1993 vol 47 pp 1-9
Richard Sorrenson, 'Towards a History of the Royal Society in the Eighteenth Century' in NR 1996 vol 50 pp 29-46
Marta Cavazza, 'The Institute of Science of Bologna and the Royal Society in the eighteenth century' in NR 2002 vol 56 pp 3-25, plate
Obituary, Gentleman's Magazine (1762), p.342.
M Croarken, 'Astronomical labourers: Maskelyne's assistants at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, 1765 - 1811' in NR 2003 vol 57 pp 285 - 298
Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 'Freemasons and the Royal Society: Alphabetical List of Fellows of the Royal Society who were Freemasons' 2010 page 10-11
|
| Code | NA8376 |
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| AB/1/2/1/26 | Bill for John Dollond | 19 December 1760 |
| RBO/21/2 | 'Observations upon the Comet' by J Bradley | 1737 |
| RBO/12/34 | 'Longitude of Lisbon and the Fort of New York from Wanstead and London determin'd by Eclipses of the first Satellite of Jupiter' by James Bradley | 1726 |
| P/0012 | Portrait of Bradley, James | |
| IM/000516 | Bradley, James | nd |
| IM/000515 | Bradley, James | nd |
| LBO/24/8 | Copy letter from Monsieur de Maupertius, Paris, to James Bradley | 27 September 1737 |
| L&P/5/279 | Paper, 'Directions for using the common micrometer' by James Bradley | 1772 |
| EL/B3/11 | Letter, from James Bradley to Hans Sloane | 12 February 1728 |
| RBO/13/71 | Observations of the motion of fixed stars from a letter from the Reverend Mr James Bradley Savllian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford to Edmond Halley | 1728 |
| DM/5/102 | A list of benefactors to the Museum, to the value of £5 or upwards at one time | c.1737 |
| MM/10/129 | Letter from Charles Mason, Portsmouth, to the Rev Dr James Bradley | 25 January 1761 |
| RBO/11/116 | 'Observations upon the comet that appear'd in the months of October, November and December 1723' by Reverend Bradley, Professor of Astronomy at Oxford | 1724 |
| IM/000514 | Bradley, James | nd |
| L&P/2/424 | Letter, 'On the refrangibility of the rays of light' from Thomas Melvill to James Bradley | 2 February 1753 |
| EL/B3/12 | Letter, from James Bradley to William Rutty, dated at Wanstead | 9 April 1729 |
| RBO/14/47 | 'Observations in order to determine the Difference of the Meridians of London and Petersburgh [Petersburg]' communicated by the Reverend J Bradley to William Rutty | 1729 |
| L&P/3/188 | Letter, 'Two astronomical essays. I. Precession of equinox and nutation; II. Annual motion of the earth as affected by Jupiter and Saturn' from Charles Walmesley to James Bradley | 3 December 1755 |
| CLP/3ii/36 | Paper, 'An account of some observations made in London by Mr George Graham and at Black River in Jamaica by Colin Campbell concerning the going of a clock in order to determine the difference between the lengths of isochronal pendulums in those places' | 1733 |
| CLP/8i/73 | Paper, 'Observations upon the comet, that appear'd in the months of October, November and December 1723' by [James] Bradley | 1724 |
| CLP/8ii/2 | Paper, 'The longitude of Lisbon and the Fort of New York from Wanstead and London determin'd by eclipses of the first satellite of Jupiter' by James Bradley | 1736 |
| CLP/8ii/70 | Paper, 'Observations upon the comet that appeared in the months of January, February and March 1737, made at Oxford [England]' by J [James] Bradley | 1737 |
| CLP/8i/77 | Paper, 'An account of the appearance of Mercury, peeking over the Sun's diskon 29 October 1723' by Edmond Halley | 1725 |
| L&P/2/480 | Letter, 'Of certain Greenwich and Cape of Good Hope astronomical observations' from Joseph Nicholas de L'Isle to James Bradley | 30 November 1752 |
| RBO/18/54 | Concerning the movement of a clock in order to determine the difference between the lengths of Isochronal Pendulums in London and Jamaica communicated by James Bradley | 1733 |
| EL/M3/60b | Letter, from Pierre Maupertuis to [James] Bradley, dated at Paris | 27 September 1737 |
| L&P/3/280 | Letter, 'Of the comet of Sept and Oct 1757' from D Klinkenberg to James Bradley | 13 December 1757 |
| L&P/3/341 | Letter, 'Of the irregularities in the motion of a satellite arising from the spherical figure of its primary' from Charles Walmesley to James Bradley | 1758 |
| MC/26/73 | Letter from [Frank Watson] Dyson, Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London, S.E, to Mr [Robert] Harrison, [Royal Society] | 15 November 1911 |
| EL/B3/13 | Letter, from James Bradley to Edmond Halley | 1728 |