Person Maclear; Sir; Thomas (1794 - 1879); Surgeon and astronomer Maclear Thomas Sir Surgeon and astronomer 1794 - 1879 Irish British South African Male Newtownstewart, County Tyrone [now in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom] 17 March 1794 17940317 Mowbray, near Cape Town, South Africa, Africa 14 July 1879 18790714 Burial: The grounds of the Royal Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa

Physician; astronomer Astronomy Education: Medicine at Guy's and St Thomas's Hospitals, London Career: Bedford Infirmary (1815); practised medicine at Biggleswade, Bedfordshire where he set up a small observatory (1823); appointed Her Majesty's Astronomer at the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope (1833-1870); observed alpha and beta Centauri and confirmed the parallax measured by Thomas Henderson; re-measured and extended the meridian arc of Lacaille which laid the foundation for the mapping of Africa; awarded Lalande Prize (1867); helped establish lighthouses and the transmission of time signals to Port Elizabeth and Simon's Town; friend of Livingstone and Stanley; also collected meteorological, magnetic and tide data; retired to Mowbray near Cape Town (1870); lost his sight (1876); a lunar crater bears his name as does a town in South Africa Memberships: FRCS (1815); FRAS Honours: Kt 1860 Eldest son of Rev James Thomas Maclear; married (1825) Mary Pearse of Bedford Medals and prizes: Royal Medal 1869 Fellow 08/12/1831 37 Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB; DSB; Irish Innovators; Wikipedia Obituaries: Proc Roy Soc 1879 vol 29 pp xviii-xix International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa 1996 ISBN 0-9696035-3-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 17 Mar 1794 - 14 Jul 1879 NA7105 21/11/2001 Andyg Pmab 30/11/2025 RS_NET\JonathanB Yes http://viaf.org/viaf/59124200 493643a0-5ad1-4979-b698-5822905baff5