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Authorised form of nameRobinson; Thomas Romney (1792 - 1882)
Dates1792 - 1882
NationalityBritish
Place of birthParish of St Anne's, Dublin, Ireland
Date of birth23 April 1792
Place of deathThe observatory, Armagh, County Armagh
Date of death28 February 1882
Research fieldMathematics
Astronomy
Meteorology
ActivityEducation:
Belfast Royal Academy; Trinity College, Dublin; BD (1822)
Career:
Scholar. Fellow and Lecturer in natural philosophy, Trinity College, Dublin; published his lectures as 'A System of Mechanics' (1820); involved with Apothecaries Hall, the Royal Dublin Society and the Royal Irish Academy; accepted the Trinity College living at Enniskillen, County Fermanagh (Church of Ireland) (1821); Astronomer, Armagh Observatory (1823-1882); President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (1849); published 'Places of 5,345 Stars Observed from 1838 to 1854 at the Armagh Observatory'; honorary degrees from the Universities of Dublin, Oxford and Cambridge; designed the Robinson anemometer
Memberships:
MRIA President 1851-1856
Membership categoryFellow
Date of election05/06/1856
Royal Society activityMedals and prizes:
Royal Medal 1862
RelationshipsSon of Thomas Robinson and Ruth Buck; married 1. (1821) Elizabeth Isabelle Rambaut 2. Lucy Jane Edgeworth (1843) daughter of Richard Lovell Edgeworth; father-in-law of George Gabriel Stokes, FRS
SourcesSources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; Irish Innovators
References:
G Ferrari and A McConnell, 'Robert Mallet and the 'Great Neapolitan earthquake' of 1857 in NR 2005 vol 59 pp 45-64
Virtual International Authority Filehttp://viaf.org/viaf/47542532
Royal Society codeNA2440
Archives associated with this Fellow
Reference numberTitleDate
MM/12/73Letter from TR Robinson, Armagh, to Lord Rosse30 December 1852
MS/710/87Letter from Thomas Romney Robinson, Observatory, Armagh, to Robert Were Fox, Falmouth2 October 1873
EC/1856/12Robinson, Thomas Romney: certificate of election to the Royal Society
MM/9/50Letter from TR Robinson, Armagh Observatory, to Edward Cooper25 June 1839
MC/5/262Letter from T R [Thomas Romney] Robinson, Observatory Armagh, to G G [George Gabriel] Stokes, Secretary of the Royal Society26 October 1856
MS/743/1/66Report of the Committee on Fog Signals by Thomas Romney RobinsonAugust 1864
MM/9/48Letter from TR Robinson, Armagh Observatory, to Edward Cooper10 August 1838
MM/12/72Letter from TR Robinson, Armagh, to Lord Rosse28 December 1852
MM/9/44Letter from TR Robinson, Armagh Observatory, to Edward Cooper6 January 1838
MM/12/80Letter from TR Robinson, Armagh, to Thomas Bell29 April 1853
MM/11/62Letter from TR Robinson, Armagh, to Lord Rosse23 September 1854
MM/19/115Notes on Huyghensian Telescopesc.1855
MM/12/82Letter from TR Robinson, Armagh, to Lord Rosse6 May 1853
MM/16/46Letter from G B Airy, Greenwich, to TR Robinson28 April 1865
MM/9/47Letter from TR Robinson, Armagh Observatory, to Edward Cooper3 August 1838
MM/19/112Letter from Thomas Romney Robinson to Edward Sabine28 July 1853
MS/710/86Letter from Thomas Romney Robinson, Observatory, Armagh, to Robert Were Fox6 November 1856
IM/003862Robinson, Thomas Romneynd
MM/16/132Letter from John Phillips, Edinburgh, to Sir John Herschel26 July 1850
RR/3/232Referee's report by Thomas Romney Robinson, on a paper 'On the stability of loose earth' by William John Macquorn Rankine4 July 1856
RR/6/250Referee's report by William Lassell, on a paper 'Description of the Great Melbourne telescope' by Thomas Romney Robinson and Thomas Grubb28 November 1868
RR/6/305Referee's report by Thomas Romney Robinson, on a paper 'Experimental researches in magnetism and electricity' by Henry Wilde2 May 1866
RR/7/399Referee's report by Balfour Stewart, on a paper 'Reduction of anemograms taken at the armagh observatory in the years 1857-63' by Thomas Romney Robinson15 July 1875
MS/427/326Copy letter from [Michael] Foster, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Leonard Courtney, Esq. MP30 November 1883
MS/426/482Note of a letter from [the Secretaries of] the Royal Society; to Dr [Thomas Romney] Robinson29 March 1853
MC/6/39Letter from T R [Thomas Romney] Robinson to Major-General [Edward] Sabine, [Treasurer of the Royal Society]17 October 1859
MM/9/49Letter from TR Robinson, Armagh Observatory, to Edward Cooper30 May 1839
MM/9/45Letter from TR Robinson, Armagh Observatory, to Edward Cooper7 June 1838
MM/12/78Letter from TR Robinson, Armagh, to Thomas Bell10 April 1853
RR/4/66Referee's report by Thomas Romney Robinson, on a paper 'On the total solar eclipse of July 18th, 1860, observed at Rivabellosa, near Miranda de Ebro, in Spain' by Warren De La Rue18 July 1860
RR/5/122Referee's report by Thomas Romney Robinson, on a paper 'On the spectra of some of the chemical elements' by William Huggins13 January 1864
RR/6/249Referee's report by John Arthur Phillips, on a paper 'Description of the Great Melbourne telescope' by Thomas Romney Robinson and Thomas Grubb2 November 1868
RR/8/133Referee's report by Balfour Stewart, on a paper 'On the determination of the constants of the cup anemometer by experiments with a whirling machine' by Thomas Romney Robinson2 May 1878
MM/9/46Letter from TR Robinson, Armagh Observatory, to Edward Cooper1 July 1838
RR/6/148Referee's report by Thomas Romney Robinson, on a paper 'Further observations on the spectra of some of the Nebulae, with a mode of determining the brightness of these bodies' by William Huggins19 March 1866
RR/4/167Referee's report by Thomas Romney Robinson on a paper 'Account of experiments made at Holyhead (North Wales) to ascertain the transit-velocity of waves, analogous to earthquake waves, through the local rock formations' by Robert Mallet26 October 1861
MC/1/239Letter from [Thomas Romney] Robinson to the Royal Society17 June 1830
RR/4/169Referee's report by Thomas Romney Robinson, on a paper 'Appendix to the account of the earthquake-wave experiments made at Holyhead' by Robert Mallet20 June 1862
PT/67/5Paper, 'On spectra of electric light as modified by the nature of the electrodes and the media of discharge' by Rev T R [Thomas Romney] Robinson[1862]
RR/5/219Second referee's report by James Clerk Maxwell, on a paper 'On spectra of electric of light, as modified by the nature of the electrodes and the media of discharge' by Thomas Romney Robinson10 September 1862
RR/5/220Referee's report by Charles Wheatstone, on a paper 'On spectra of electric of light, as modified by the nature of the electrodes and the media of discharge' by Thomas Romney Robinson22 October 1862
MC/1Volume 1 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1800-1831
MS/257/2/338Letter from [William Stephen] Jacob, Madras Observatory, [Chennai] to [Thomas Romney] Robinson13 March 1850
RR/5/218Referee's report by James Clerk Maxwell, on a paper 'On spectra of electric of light, as modified by the nature of the electrodes and the media of discharge' by Thomas Romney Robinson14 July 1862
MC/4/295Letter from [Thomas Romney] Robinson, President of the British Association [for the Advancement of Science], to the Earl of Rosse, [President of the Royal Society]15 October 1849
MC/4/329Letter from Humphrey Lloyd, President of the Royal Irish Academy, Trinity College Dublin, to Reverend [Thomas Romney] Robinson, President of the British Association5 March 1850
MC/4/346Letter from [Samuel] Hunter Christie, Secretary of the Royal Society, to Reverend [Thomas Romney] Robinson, President of the British Association [for the Advancement of Science]19 April 1850
MC/4Volume 4 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1844-1850
MC/5/80Letter from Edward Sabine, [Treasurer of the Royal Society], Woolwich, to Thomas Bell, [Secretary of the Royal Society]4 January 1853
MC/5/307Letter from H [Humphrey] Lloyd, President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, to Lord Wrottesley, President of the Royal Society6 November 1857
MC/5Volume 5 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1851-1858
MC/6/141Letter from James Parkin, 12 Henry Street, Avenue Road, St Johns Wood, to C R [Charles Richard] Weld, [Assistant] Secretary of the Royal Society, Burlington House 13 May 1861
MC/6Volume 6 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1859-1863
MC/6/259Letter from C B [Charles Beaumont] Phipps, Buckingham Palace, to Dr [William] Sharpey, [Secretary of the Royal Society]12 November 1862
MC/7/97Letter from T R [Thomas Romney] Robinson, Observatory, to [Sir Edward Sabine], President of the Royal Society15 June 1864
MC/7/297Letter from T R [Thomas Romney] Robinson, Observatory [Armagh], to the Royal Society16 January 1866
MC/7Volume 7 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1864-1866
MC/8/142Letter from T R [Thomas Romney] Robinson, North Great George Street, Dublin, to General [Edward] Sabine, [President of the Royal Society]17 February 1868
RR/4/219Referee's report by Thomas Romney Robinson, on a paper 'On the construction of specula of six-feet aperture; and a selection from the observations of nebulae made with them' by William Parsons, Lord Rosse14 August 1861
RR/5/235Referee's report by Thomas Romney Robinson, on a paper 'Results of hourly observations of the magnetic declination made by Sir Francis Leopold M‘Clintock, R. N., and the Officers of the Yacht 'Fox,' at Port Kennedy, in the Arctic Sea, in the winter of 1858-59; and a comparison of these results with those obtained by Captain Maguire, R. N., and the Officers of H. M. S. 'Plover,' in 1852, 1853, and 1854, at Point Barrow' by Edward Sabine26 January 1864
RR/5/250Referee's report by Thomas Romney Robinson, on a paper 'Experiments, made at Watford, on the vibrations occasioned by railway trains passing through a tunnel' by James South12 August 1863
MC/9/7Letter from T R [Thomas Romney] Robinson, Observatory Armagh, to W [Warren] de la Rue11 January 1870
MC/8/436Letter from T R [Thomas Romney] Robinson, Observatory Armagh, to W [Warren] De La Rue28 October 1869
MC/9/50Draft letter from T R [Thomas Romney] Robinson to Sir Edward [Sabine], [President of the Royal Society]March 1870
MC/9/70Letter from T R [Thomas Romney] Robinson, Observatory Armagh, to Sir Edward Sabine, [President of the Royal Society]7 May 1870
MC/9/75Letter from T R [Thomas Romney] Robinson, Observatory Armagh, to Sir Edward Sabine, [President of the Royal Society]15 May 1870
MC/9/60Letter from Geo [George] Verdon, 8 Victoria Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, to Sir Edwd [Edward] Sabine, President of the Royal Society23 April 1870
MC/9/240Letter from T R [Thomas Romney] Robinson, Observatory Armagh, to Walter White, [Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society]21 July 1870
MC/9/242Letter from T R [Thomas Romney] Robinson, Observatory Armagh, to Walter White, [Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society]27 July 1870
MC/9/312Letter from T R [Thomas Romney] Robinson, Observatory Armagh, to Walter White, [Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society]26 January 1872
MC/9/317Letter from T R [Thomas Romney] Robinson, Observatory Armagh, to W [Walter] White, [Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society]29 January 1872
MC/9Volume 9 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1870-June 1873
MS/119/1/125Memo from Humphrey Lloyd to [Thomas Charles] Robinson19th century
MC/12/227Letter from T R [Thomas Romney] Robinson, Observatory Armagh, to Walter White, [Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society], Burlington House16 December 1881
RR/5/186Referee's report by Thomas Romney Robinson, on a paper 'On the spectra of ignited gases and vapours, with especial regard to the different spectra of the same elementary gaseous sub­stance' by Julius Plücker4 April 1864
MC/12Volume 12 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1880-1883
RR/5/121Referee's report by Thomas Romney Robinson, on a paper 'On the spectra of some of the fixed stars' by William Huggins and William Allen Miller21 June 1864
RR/5/70Referee's report by Thomas Romney Robinson, on a paper 'On the magnetic character of the armour-plated ships of the royal navy, and on the effect on the compass of particular arrangements of iron in a ship' by Frederick John Owen Evans and Archibald Smith22 April 1865
RR/5/257Referee's report by Thomas Romney Robinson, on a paper 'An account of experiments on the change of the elastic force of a constant volume of atmospheric air, between 32° F. and 212° F., and also on the temperature of the melting-point of mercury' by Balfour Stewart2 August 1862
MC/8Volume 8 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1867-1869
MS/257/3/340Letter from Thomas Romney Robinson, Armagh Observatory to Edward Sabine12 February 1864
MS/257/2/294Letter from John Frederick William Herschel, Collingwood to [Thomas Romney] Robinson21 August 1869
RR/4/163Referee's report by Thomas Romney Robinson, on a paper 'Report to the Royal Society of the expedition into the Kingdom of Naples to investigate the circumstances of the earthquake of the 16th December 1857' by Robert Mallet7 December 1860
RR/5/236Referee's report by Thomas Romney Robinson, on a paper 'A comparison of the most notable disturbances of the magnetic declination in 1858 and 1859 at Kew and at Nertschinsk; preceded by a brief retrospective view of the progress of the investigation into the laws and causes of the magnetic disturbances' by Edward Sabine19 May 1864
RR/7/400Referee's report by Robert Henry Scott, on a paper 'Reduction of anemograms taken at the armagh observatory in the years 1857-63' by Thomas Romney Robinson9 September 1875
RR/8/250Referee's report by Balfour Stewart, on a paper 'On the determination of the constants of the cup anemometer by experiments with a whirling machine—part II' by Thomas Romney Robinson27 July 1880
RR/8/251Referee's report by John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, on a paper 'On the determination of the constants of the cup anemometer by experiments with a whirling machine—part II' by Thomas Romney Robinson2 August 1880
HS/14/378Draft letter, from Sir John Herschel to Thomas Romney Robinson, dated at [Collingwood]11 May 1850
HS/14/375Letter, from Thomas Romney Robinson to Sir John Herschel, dated at Castle, Parsonstown21 October 1849
HS/14/379Letter, from Thomas Romney Robinson to Sir John Herschel, dated at Edgeworthstown27 May 1850
HS/14/374Letter, from Thomas Romney Robinson to Sir John Herschel, dated at Armagh6 March 1832
HS/14/380Letter, from Thomas Romney Robinson to Sir John Herschel, dated at Armagh19 September 1867
HS/14/382Letter, from Thomas Romney Robinson to Sir John Herschel, dated at Armagh1828
HS/14/381Letter, from Thomas Romney Robinson to Sir John Herschel, dated at Exeter20 August 1869
HS/23/245Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Thomas Romney Robinson, dated at Collingwood19 June 1858
HS/21/53Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Thomas Romney Robinson, dated at Slough7 December 1829
HS/23/87Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Thomas Romney Robinson, dated at Collingwood31 May 1850
HS/24/278Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Thomas Romney Robinson, dated at Collingwood21 August 1869
HS/14/377Letter, from Thomas Romney Robinson to Sir John Herschel, dated at Edgeworthstown1 November 1849
HS/14/376Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Thomas Romney Robinson, dated at Collingwood27 October 1849
HS/23/288Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Thomas Romney Robinson, dated at 37 Tavistock Place17 November 1859
HS/23/73Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Thomas Romney Robinson, dated at Collingwood27 October 1849
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