| Authorised form of name | Tennant; James Francis (1829 - 1915); army officer and astronomer |
| Dates | 1829 - 1915 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Calcutta, West Bengal, India, Asia |
| Date of birth | 10 January 1829 |
| Place of death | 11 Clifton Gardens, Maida Hill, London |
| Date of death | 06/03/1915 |
| Occupation | army officer astronomer |
| Research field | Spectroscopy |
| Solar physics |
| Astronomy |
| Mathematics |
| Activity | Education: Private schools and East India Company's Military Seminary at Addiscombe (1845-1847).
Career:
Joined the trigonometrical survey team of the Bengal Engineers, tasked with triangulating the western section of the great longitudinal series from the Sironj base to Karachi (1849); became prominent in the fields of eclipse and transit studies (1855); temporary director of the Madras Observatory from October (1859-1860); entered the service of the East India Company; started as second lieutenant and later promoted to captain and then major (1858); whilst on leave in England, in consultation with other scientist such as William Huggins (FRS 1865), George Gabriel Stokes (FRS 1851), and Warren De La Rue (FRS 1850), he organized an observing programme (1867); promoted to lieutenant-colonel (1869); colonel (1875); major-general (1883); and lieutenant-general (1884); served in Bengal during the Indian Mutiny; Master of the Calcutta Mint (1875-1885); retired on a pension (1882); served as a British delegate to the 1887 Paris Astrographic Conference; as a member of the council of the Royal Astronomical Society (1885), and as its president (1890–1); died of bronchial catarrh and cardiac failure (1915).
Honours:
CIE 1879
Memberships:
FRAS; FGS; Royal Photographic Society |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 03/06/1869 |
| Age at election | 40 |
| Proposer | John Couch Adams; Arthur Cayley; Jon Cape; Warren De La Rue; Balfour Stewart; Edward William Brayley; Charles Pritchard |
| Henry James; David Thomas Ansted; Andrew Scott Waugh; Isaac Todhunter; George Biddell Airy; Alexander Ross Clarke; Charles Piazzi Smyth; James Challis |
| Relationships | Parents: Sir James Tennant (1789–1854), Brigadier-General of the Bengal Artillery, and Elizabeth Louisa (1803–1882), daughter of Charles Pattenson, of the Bengal civil service.
Spouse: 1) Augusta, daughter of William Fleming Dick, of the Bengal civil service, and his wife, Emily Anne, née Shakespear (1852); 2) Selina Tudor Crawford, daughter of James Henry Crawford, of the Bengal civil service, and Charlotte Mary Anne, née Shakespear.
Children: 1st marriage) James Blair; William Francis; Robert Hamilton; Mary Augusta. 2nd marriage) three daughters. |
| Published works | RCN R65836
RCN R65837
RCN R65838 |
| General context | Pioneer in solar physics, through his observations of the total eclipses of 1868 and 1871 and the transit of Venus of 1874; of spectroscopy; and of astronomical photography.
Considered an early authority on the black drop effect
Tennant gained recognition as an observer for the Royal Astronomical Society during significant astronomical events. He contributed observations for the solar eclipse of 17 August 1868 over the Indian peninsula, the eclipse of 11 December 1871 in southern India, and the transit of Venus in 1874. Notably, these observations marked the extensive use of photographic equipment for the first time. Tennant, with his expertise in photography, played a crucial role in enhancing the accuracy of eclipse observations, particularly in capturing details of the solar corona. |
| Related images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
| Sources | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB
Obituaries:
Proc Roy Soc Series A 1915-1916 vol 92 pp x-xiv signed by H H T |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/34849192 |
| Royal Society code | NA6352 |
| Reference number | Title | Date |
| NLB/2/18 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to General James Francis Tennant, Fellow of the Royal Society, 27 Hamilton Road, Ealing, W. | 7 December 1887 |
| NLB/3/482 | Copy letter from an unknown correspondent, to Harrison & Sons | 21 June 1889 |
| NLB/6/302 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to General James Francis Tennant, Fellow of the Royal Society | 8 April 1892 |
| NLB/5/597 | Copy letter from Theodore E James, to Messrs Harrison & Sons | 20 July 1891 |
| NLB/14/59 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to the Secretaries of the Joint Permanent Eclipse Committee, Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House, W. | 18 December 1896 |
| NLB/14/547 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to General James Francis Tennant, Fellow of the Royal Society | 26 March 1897 |
| MC/25/247 | Letter from [James Francis] Tennant, 11 Clifton Garden, Maida Hill, W, to The Assistant Secretary, [Royal Society] | 21 January 1910 |
| NLB/44/289 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Lieutenant General J [James] F [Francis] Tennant FRS | 8 June 1911 |
| NLB/45/653 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Lt-Gen J [James] F [Francis] Tennant, RE, FRS, 11 Clifton Gardens, Maida Hill, W | 20 April 1912 |
| NLB/47/450 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to J [James] F [Francis] Tennant FRS | 1 February 1913 |
| NLB/47/367 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Lt. Gen. J [James] F [Francis] Tennant, CIE, FRS | 23 January 1913 |
| EC/1869/16 | Tennant, James Francis: certificate of election to the Royal Society | |
| NLB/3/916 | List of corrections in the addresses of Royal Society Fellows | 8 November 1889 |
| NLB/12/393 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Andrew Ainslie Common, Fellow of the Royal Society, Secretary, Joint Permanent Eclipse Committee, Royal Astronomical Society | 13 February 1896 |
| MC/8/393 | Letter from Lieutenant Colonel J F [James Francis] Tennant, Woolton, to the Secretary of the Royal Society | 10 July 1869 |
| MC/9/311 | Copy letter from J F [James Francis] Tennant, Honorary Secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Asiatic Society's Rooms, Calcutta, to the Secretary of the Government of India, Department of Agriculture, Revenue & Commerce | 25 January 1872 |
| MC/9/315 | Letter from J F [James Francis] Tennant, Calcutta, to Dr [William] Sharpey, Secretary of the Royal Society | 26 January 1872 |
| MC/10/256 | Letter from J F [John Francis] Tennant, Royal Engineers, Roorkee Observatory, to Professor [John] Tyndall, President of the British Association | 13 May 1875 |
| MC/10/7 | Letter from J F [John Francis] Tennant, Lieutenant-Colonel Royal Engineers, Roorkee, North West Provinces, to W [Walter] White, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society | 4 August 1873 |
| MC/9 | Volume 9 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1870-June 1873 |
| MC/10/8 | Letter from J F [John Francis] Tennant, Lieutenant-Colonel Royal Engineers, Roorkee, North West Provinces, to [Thomas Henry Huxley and George Gabriel Stokes], Secretaries of the Royal Society | 23 September 1873 |
| MC/10 | Volume 10 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | July 1873-1876 |
| MC/11/263 | Letter from J F [James Francis] Tennant, Colonel Royal Engineers, HM Mint, Calcutta, to [Thomas Henry Huxley and George Gabriel Stokes], Secretaries of the Royal Society | 1 November 1878 |
| MS/257/5/5 | Letter from James Francis Tennant, 22 Henrietta Street to Edward Sabine | 1 March 1867 |
| MS/257/5/7 | Letter from James Francis Tennant, Ilfracombe to Edward Sabine | 25 May 1867 |
| MC/11 | Volume 11 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1877-1879 |
| MC/8 | Volume 8 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1867-1869 |
| MS/257/5/9 | Letter from James Francis Tennant, Calcutta to Edward Sabine | 27 October 1868 |
| MS/257/5/8 | Letter from James Francis Tennant, London to [Edward Sabine] | 28 June 1867 |
| MS/257/5/6 | Letter from James Francis Tennant, 22 Henrietta Street to Edward Sabine | 16 March 1867 |
| MC/14/12 | Letter from [James Francis] Tennant, 37 Hamilton Road, Ealing, to the Secretary of the Royal Society | 29 January 1885 |
| NLB/38/497 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to General [James Francis] Tennant, Fellow of the Royal Society, 11 Clifton Gardens, Maida Hill, N. | 14 August 1908 |
| MC/23/455 | Letter from [James Francis] Tennant, 11 Clifton Gardens, Maida Hill, W, to [Assistant] Secretary, [Royal Society] | 13 August 1908 |
| MC/28/275 | Letter from [James Francis] Tennant, 11 Clifton Gardens, Maida Hill, W, to [Robert] Harrison, Assistant Secretary, [Royal Society] | 31 January 1913 |
| MC/28/276 | Letter from [James Francis] Tennant, 11 Clifton Gardens, Maida Hill, W, to [Robert] Harrison, [Royal Society] | 4 February 1913 |
| NLB/47/461 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Lt. General J [James] F [Francis] Tennant FRS | 3 February 1913 |
| HSF/2/1/88 | Copy letter from Major [James Francis] Tennant, Calcutta [Kolkata], to J H [John Herschel] | 6-9 November 1868 |