| Authorised form of name | Baily; Francis (1774 - 1844); astronomer |
| Dates | 1774 - 1844 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Newbury, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe |
| Date of birth | 28 April 1774 |
| Place of death | London, England, United Kingdom, Europe |
| Date of death | 30 August 1844 |
| Dates and places | Burial:
St Mary's Church, Thatcham, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe |
| Occupation | Stockbroker; Astronomer |
| Research field | Astronomy |
| Metrology |
| Activity | Education:
Grammar School, Newbury
Career:
Apprenticeship (1788-1795) at a mercantile house based in City of London; travelled to North America (1796); became an active stockbroker (c.1798) and published multiple works on life-contingencies; gave up working in the stock market and became a full-time astronomer (1825); contributed and edited catalogues, including Joseph de Lalande's (FRS 1763) and Nicolas de Lacaille's (FRS 1760) star catalogues, and compiled the British Association's 'Catalogue of 8377 stars' (1845)
Memberships:
Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (founding member; later president); Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
|
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 22/02/1821 |
| Age at election | 46 |
| Royal Society activity | Royal Society roles:
Sworn into Council 1 December 1832 ; Treasurer 1835-1838; VP 1832-1834, 1835-1840, 1842-1843
Committee and panels:
Catalogue Committee (appointed 9 February 1832) ; Telescope Committee (appointed 8th December 1831) ; Meteorological Committee (appointed 22 December 1831) ; Medal Committee (appointed 9 December 1830) ; Excise Committee ; Report of the Hydrometer Committee ; Committee of Mathematics (31 May 1837) ; Committee of Physics (31 May 1837) ; Committee of Astronomy (31 May 1837) |
| Relationships | Parents: Richard Baily (1744-1814); Sarah Head (1745-1823)
Siblings: Elizabeth Baily; |
| Published works | RCN: 26082
RCN: 28381
RCN: 26078
RCN: 26084 |
| General context | Baily's journey to North America stemmed from both commerical and personal interest - he wanted to expand the international interests of the mercantile house in London that he had worked at, and in addition he shared republican views and wanted to initiate the process to obtain American citizenship. This, however, failed. Baily documented his travels in journals which were posthumously published under the title 'Journal of a Tour in Unsettled Parts of North America in 1796 and 1797', edited by Professor De Morgan. In these journals he expresses his views on the value of education and his opposition to slavery. After returning to the UK in early 1798, he volunteered to travel for the African Association [Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa] for an expedition of Niger. However, the funds for this trip could not be raised so he remained in England. |
| Related images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
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| Sources | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; DSB; ODNB
Obituaries:
Proc Roy Soc 1844 No 60 pp 524-525
References:
Craik, A D D. 2002. 'James Ivory's last papers on the 'Figure of the Earth' (with biographical additions)' in Notes and Records, vol. 56, pp. 187-204
Rothman, P. 2000. 'By 'the light of his own mind': the story of James Ferguson, astronomer', in Notes and Records, vol. 54, pp 33-45 |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/37072338 |
| Royal Society code | NA6486 |
| Reference number | Title | Date |
| EC/1820/23 | Baily, Francis: certificate of election to the Royal Society | |
| MM/9/43 | Letter from Francis Baily, 37 Tavistock Place, to Edward Cooper | 16 September 1835 |
| DM/4/102 | Copy of a letter from Davies Gilbert, President, Royal Society, to Francis Baily | 1830 |
| MM/12/35 | Letter from Francis Baily to P M Roget | 6 December 1837 |
| DM/1/19 | Letter from Francis Baily, 37 Tavistock Square, to James Hudson, Assistant Secretary, Royal Society | 9 March 1831 |
| DM/3/143 | Summation of a report of the Pendulum Committee | 11 June 1829 |
| DM/4/101 | Letter from Francis Baily to Davies Gilbert, President, Royal Society | 5 November 1830 |
| DM/4/96 | Letter from Charles Rumker to Davies Gilbert, President, Royal Society | 25 June 1830 |
| DM/2/39 | Report of the Lottery Office Committee | 21 March 1828 |
| CMB/42/2/7 | Minutes, meeting of the Royal Medal Committee | 25 November 1834 |
| CMB/42/2/1 | Minutes from the Medal Committee | 10 December 1832 |
| IM/000187 | Baily, Francis | nd |
| RR/1/56 | Referee's report by Francis Baily and Richard Sheepshanks, on a unnamed paper by Demouville | 25 July 1833 |
| MS/123/2 | Letter from the Duke of Sussex to John George Children, British Museum, London | 30 October 1832 |
| MS/257/1/75 | Letter from Francis Baily, 37 Tavistock Place to [A] Miles | 9 July 1839 |
| MC/2/232 | Letter from William Prout, Sackville Street, to Francis Baily, [Treasurer of the Royal Society] | 25 November 1836 |
| MS/426/215 | Copy letter from [Charles Richard Weld, the Assistant Secretary of] the Royal Society; to Miss Baily | 21 July 1846 |
| MC/2/211 | Letter from [Joseph Barclay] Pentland, 6 Willow Place, London, to Francis Baily, [Treasurer and] Vice-President of the Royal Society | 6 June 1836 |
| DM/2/34 | 'Memorandum about rooms being set aside by the Royal Society for the use of the Royal Astronomical Society' | 20 September 1834 |
| CMB/42/2/4 | Minutes, meeting of the Royal Medal Committee in Astronomy | 13 April 1833 |
| MC/2/148 | Letter from William Whewell, Trinity College Cambridge, to Dr. [Peter Mark] Roget, Secretary of the Royal Society | 26 November 1834 |
| CMP/1/1 | Minutes of a meeting of Council of the Royal Society | 1 December 1832 |
| MM/12/24 | Letter from J G Children, British Museum, to Francis Baily | 18 July 1836 |
| RR/1/252 | Referee's report by Francis Baily, on two papers 'On the span of exchange' and 'On the English standards' by Trevor | 11 January 1833 |
| CMP/1/2 | Minutes of a meeting of Council of the Royal Society | 13 December 1832 |
| NLB/15/177 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to the Government Astronomer, the Observatory, Madras [Chennai] | 8 July 1897 |
| PT/5/13 | Paper, 'On the solar eclipse which is said to have been predicted by Thales' by Francis Baily | November 1810 |
| MC/1/39 | Letter from Francis Baily, Grays Inn, to the Royal Society | 28 March 1811 |
| PT/5/13/1 | Manuscript, 'On the solar eclipse which is said to have been predicted by Thales' by Francis Baily | November 1810 |
| PT/5/13/2 | Plate, 'The path of the moon's umbra in the eclipse which happened September 30 610 BC' by unknown artist | 1810 |
| MC/3/176 | Letter from Henry Raper, Secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society, to Dr. [Peter Mark] Roget, Secretary of the Royal Society | 22 June 1841 |
| MC/1/139 | Letter from Rev. George Fisher, Stansted Vicarage, Essex, to Captain Edward Sabine | 20 February 1826 |
| PT/20/8/5 | Plate, brass or steel rod with sphere at centre of oscillation by unknown artist | [1832] |
| MC/1/155 | Letter from [George Biddell] Airy, Trinity College Cambridge, to Francis Baily, 37 Tavistock Place | 22 January 1828 |
| MC/4/23 | Letter from Francis Baily, 37 Tavistock Place, to Dr [Peter Mark] Roget, Secretary of the Royal Society | 2 May 1844 |
| PT/20/8 | Paper, 'On the correction of a pendulum for the reduction to a vacuum: together with remarks on some anomalies observed in pendulum experiments' by F [Francis] Baily | [1832] |
| PT/26/15 | Paper, 'Contributions to the chemical history of the compounds of palladium and platinum' by Robert Kane | [1842] |
| PT/20/8/2 | Plate, brass tube and iron frame on vacuum apparatus by unknown artist | [1832] |
| PT/20/8/1 | Manuscript, 'On the correction of a pendulum for the reduction to a vacuum: together with remarks on some anomalies observed in pendulum experiments' by F [Francis] Baily | [1832] |
| PT/20/8/4 | Plate, brass or steel rod with sphere at end by unknown artist | [1832] |
| PT/20/8/3 | Plate, knife edges of convertible pendulum by unknown artist | [1832] |
| MC/1/285 | Letter from Francis Baily, 37 Tavistock Place, to Davies Gilbert | 25 February 1831 |
| RR/1/28 | Referee's report by Francis Baily, on a paper 'Proposal for a new method of determining the longitude, by an absolute altitude of the moon' by John Christian Bowring | 31 March 1838 |
| MC/2 | Volume 2 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1832-1838 |
| MC/2/62 | Letter from Francis Baily, 37 Tavistock Place, to John George Children, Secretary of the Royal Society | 26 October 1832 |
| MC/2/147 | Letter from George Peacock, Trinity College Cambridge, to Dr. [Peter Mark] Roget, Secretary of the Royal Society | 26 November 1834 |
| MC/2/196 | Letter from Dr. Peter Mark Roget, [Secretary of the Royal Society], to Francis Baily, [Treasurer of the Royal Society] | 3 March 1836 |
| MC/2/252 | Letter from Charles Few to Francis Baily, [Treasurer of the Royal Society] | 4 May 1837 |
| MC/2/267 | Letter from [Heinrich Christian] Schumacher, Altona, to Francis Baily, Vice-President and Treasurer of the Royal Society | 29 December 1837 |
| MC/3 | Volume 3 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1839-1843 |
| MC/3/146 | Letter from George Biddell Airy, Royal Observatory Greenwich, to Francis Baily, Chairman of the Committee of Astronomy | 12 March 1841 |
| MC/3/169 | Letter from Francis Baily, 37 Tavistock Place, to Samuel Hunter Christie, Secretary of the Royal Society | 10 June 1841 |
| MC/1 | Volume 1 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1800-1831 |
| MC/4 | Volume 4 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1844-1850 |
| AP/8/3 | Unpublished paper, 'On a new method of calculating the value of life-annuities' by Francis Baily | 14 May 1812 |
| RR/1/74 | Referee's report by Francis Baily, on a paper 'Experiments on the vibration of the pendulum' by William James Frodsham | 9 July 1838 |
| RR/1/8 | Referee's report by Francis Baily and Richard Sheepshanks, on a paper 'An account of the construction of a fluid lens refracting telescope of eight inches aperture, and eight feet and three quarters length, made for the Royal Society by George Dollond, Esq. F. R. S' by Peter Barlow | 29 January 1833 |
| AP/23/24 | Unpublished paper, 'Description of a calculating machine, invented by Mr Thomas Fowler, of Torrington in Devonshire [England]' by Augustus de Morgan | June 1840 |
| MS/257/1/74 | Letter from Francis Baily, 37 Tavistock Place to [Francis] Beaufort | 1 June 1833 |
| PT/23/7 | Paper, 'Contributions to the chemical history of archil [orchil] and litmus' by Robert Kane | 21 April 1840 |
| MS/257/1/73 | Letter from Francis Baily, 37 Tavistock Place to Edward Sabine | 21 September 1829 |