| Authorised form of name | Lassell; William (1799 - 1880); Astronomer |
| Surname | Lassell |
| Forenames | William |
| Dates | 1799 - 1880 |
| Nationality | British |
| Dates and places | Birth:
Bolton, Lancashire, England (18 June 1799)
Death:
Maidenhead, Berkshire (05 October 1880) |
| Activity | Profession:
Merchant
Research Field:
Astronomy
Career:
Apprentice in a merchant's office, Liverpool; began to construct telescopes (1820); set up as a brewer (1825); built an observatory at Starfield, near Liverpool (1840); discovered Neptune's satellite (1846); built a telescope at Valetta, Malta and used it to make observations; returned to England and set up an observatory near Maidenhead
Memberships:
FRAS |
| Royal Society activity | Membership:
Fellow
Election Date:
7/06/1849
Medals/Prizes:
Royal Medal 1858 |
| Sources | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; DSB
Obituaries:
Proc Roy Soc 1880-1881 vol 31 pp vii-x
References:
A A Mills and R Hall, 'The Production of a Plane Surface. As Illustrated by Specula From Some Early Newtonian Telescopes' in NR 1982-83 vol 37 pp 147-166 |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/22923231 |
| Royal Society code | NA7987 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| Reference number | Title | Date |
| IM/002638 | Lassell, Willliam | 1992 |
| IM/002639 | Lassell, Willliam | nd |
| EC/1849/09 | Lassell, William: certificate of election to the Royal Society | |
| MM/19/110 | Letter from William Lassell to Thomas Bell, Secretary, Southern Telescope Committee | 2 July 1853 |
| MM/19/112 | Letter from Thomas Romney Robinson to Edward Sabine | 28 July 1853 |
| RR/6/250 | Referee's report by William Lassell, on a paper 'Description of the Great Melbourne telescope' by Thomas Romney Robinson and Thomas Grubb | 28 November 1868 |
| RR/7/383 | Letter from the Laurence Parsons, Earl of Rosse on a paper 'On polishing the specula of reflecting telescopes' by William Lassell | 15 February 1875 |
| RR/7/382 | Referee's report by Warren De La Rue, on a paper 'On polishing the specula of reflecting telescopes' by William Lassell | 25 January 1875 |
| RR/7/384 | Referee's report by Laurence Parsons, Earl of Rosse on a paper 'On polishing the specula of reflecting telescopes' by William Lassell | 5 February 1875 |
| MM/12/75 | Letter from William Lassell, Valletta, to Thomas Bell | 30 December 1852 |
| IM/Maull/002637 | Lassell, Willliam | nd |