John GoodrickeFRS (17 September 1764 – 20 April 1786) was an English amateur astronomer. He is best known for his observations of the variable starAlgol (Beta Persei) in 1782.
John Goodricke, named after his great-grandfather Sir John Goodricke 1617–1670 (see Goodricke baronets of Ribston Hall), was born in Groningen in the Netherlands, but lived most of his life in England. He became deaf in early childhood due to a severe illness.[1] His parents sent him to Thomas Braidwood's Academy, a school for deaf pupils in Edinburgh, and in 1778 to the Warrington Academy.
After leaving Warrington, Goodricke returned to live with his parents in York. There, he became friends with his neighbour Edward Pigott, whose father Nathaniel Pigott had built a sophisticated private observatory. Edward was already interested in variable stars, and he gave Goodricke a list of those that he thought were worthy of observation.
Goodricke is credited with discovering the periodic variation of β Lyrae[2] and δ Cephei, the prototypical example of the Cepheid variable stars.[3]
Although several stars were already known to vary in apparent magnitude, Goodricke was the first to propose a mechanism to account for this. He suggested that Algol is what is now known as an eclipsing binary. He presented his findings to the Royal Society in May 1783, and for this work, the Society awarded him the Copley Medal for that year. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 16 April 1786. He never learned of this honour however, as he died four days later from pneumonia.[4] He never married.
Goodricke in Yorkshireedit
Marker for John Goodricke in York, EnglandGoodricke family vault on the grounds of Hunsingore Church.
Today there is a marker in York near the site of John Goodricke's observatory.
In 1949, Sidney Melmore[6] showed that Goodricke worked from the Treasurer's House (now owned by the National Trust) very near York Minster, and concluded that he had observed from the north window of the top floor of the south-east wing, looking south towards the Minster. However, records indicate that the Goodricke family had rented rooms from Edward Topham, the then owner of the northwest wing of the house.[7]
The University of York has a Goodricke College named after John Goodricke.[9]
The Goodricke-Pigott Observatory is a private astronomical observatory in Tucson, Arizona, named after both Goodricke and Pigott. It was formally dedicated on 26 October 1996.[10]
Referencesedit
^BBC News Magazine (18 December 2012). "Disability history month: John Goodricke the deaf astronomer". BBC. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
^"XXVI. A series of observations on, and a discovery of, the period of the variation of the light of the bright star in the head of medusa, called algol. In a letter from John Goodricke, Esq. to the Rev. Anthony Shepherd, D. D. F. R. S. and Plumian Professor at Cambridge". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 73: 474–482. January 1783. doi:10.1098/rstl.1783.0027. ISSN 0261-0523.
^Hoskin, M. (1979), "Goodricke, Pigott and the Quest for Variable Stars", Journal for the History of Astronomy, 10: 23–41, Bibcode:1979JHA....10...23H, doi:10.1177/002182867901000103, S2CID 118155505.
^. Archived from the original on 22 June 2006. Retrieved 23 April 2006.
Gilman, Carolyn (1978). "John Goodricke and His Variable Stars". Sky and Telescope. 56 (11): 400–403. Bibcode:1978S&T....56..400G.
Goodricke, John (1784). "On the Periods of the Changes of Light in the Star Algol. In a Letter from John Goodricke, Esq. to the Rev. Anthony Shepherd, D.D.F.R.S. Professor of Astronomy at Cambridge". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 74: 287–292. doi:10.1098/rstl.1784.0023.
Goodricke, John; Englefield, H. C. (1785). "Observations of a New Variable Star. By John Goodricke, Esq.; Communicated by Sir H. C. Englefield, Bart. F. R. S. and A. S." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 75: 153–164. Bibcode:1785RSPT...75..153G. doi:10.1098/rstl.1785.0009.
Goodricke, John (1786). "A Series of Observations on, and a Discovery of, the Period of the Variation of the Light of the Star Marked δ by Bayer, Near the Head of Cepheus. In a Letter from John Goodricke, Esq. to Nevil Maskelyne, D.D.F.R.S. and Astronomer Royal". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 76. Printed by T.N. for J. Martyn and J. Allestyry, Printers to the Royal Society: 48–61. doi:10.1098/rstl.1786.0002.
External linksedit
. Archived from the original on 22 June 2006. Retrieved 23 April 2006. Features animations of different types of variable stars.
Goodricke, Michael. . Archived from the original on 25 May 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
Anda, Rune. "Goodricke's handwritten letters and tables of observations". Retrieved 12 January 2019. Features scans of his notes retrieved from the York City Archives and other biographical information. Website in Norwegian, scans in English.
See also John Burnside's poem, 'Sense Data', a tribute to Goodricke in Burnside's collection, The Asylum Dance, Cape (2000)
January 01, 1970
john, goodricke, other, people, named, disambiguation, september, 1764, april, 1786, english, amateur, astronomer, best, known, observations, variable, star, algol, beta, persei, 1782, born, 1764, september, 1764groningendied20, april, 1786, 1786, aged, nation. For other people named John Goodricke see John Goodricke disambiguation John Goodricke FRS 17 September 1764 20 April 1786 was an English amateur astronomer He is best known for his observations of the variable star Algol Beta Persei in 1782 John GoodrickeBorn 1764 09 17 17 September 1764GroningenDied20 April 1786 1786 04 20 aged 21 NationalityBritishKnown forStudies of variable starsAwardsCopley Medal 1783 Scientific careerFieldsAstronomy Contents 1 Life and work 2 Goodricke in Yorkshire 3 Honours 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksLife and work editJohn Goodricke named after his great grandfather Sir John Goodricke 1617 1670 see Goodricke baronets of Ribston Hall was born in Groningen in the Netherlands but lived most of his life in England He became deaf in early childhood due to a severe illness 1 His parents sent him to Thomas Braidwood s Academy a school for deaf pupils in Edinburgh and in 1778 to the Warrington Academy After leaving Warrington Goodricke returned to live with his parents in York There he became friends with his neighbour Edward Pigott whose father Nathaniel Pigott had built a sophisticated private observatory Edward was already interested in variable stars and he gave Goodricke a list of those that he thought were worthy of observation Goodricke is credited with discovering the periodic variation of b Lyrae 2 and d Cephei the prototypical example of the Cepheid variable stars 3 Although several stars were already known to vary in apparent magnitude Goodricke was the first to propose a mechanism to account for this He suggested that Algol is what is now known as an eclipsing binary He presented his findings to the Royal Society in May 1783 and for this work the Society awarded him the Copley Medal for that year He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 16 April 1786 He never learned of this honour however as he died four days later from pneumonia 4 He never married Goodricke in Yorkshire edit nbsp Marker for John Goodricke in York England nbsp Goodricke family vault on the grounds of Hunsingore Church Goodricke was buried at Hunsingore Church then in West Yorkshire along with many of his relatives 5 Today there is a marker in York near the site of John Goodricke s observatory In 1949 Sidney Melmore 6 showed that Goodricke worked from the Treasurer s House now owned by the National Trust very near York Minster and concluded that he had observed from the north window of the top floor of the south east wing looking south towards the Minster However records indicate that the Goodricke family had rented rooms from Edward Topham the then owner of the northwest wing of the house 7 Goodricke College at the University of York is named after Goodricke There is also a modern sculpture named Algol in the grounds Honours editAsteroid 3116 Goodricke is named for John Goodricke 8 The University of York has a Goodricke College named after John Goodricke 9 The Goodricke Pigott Observatory is a private astronomical observatory in Tucson Arizona named after both Goodricke and Pigott It was formally dedicated on 26 October 1996 10 References edit BBC News Magazine 18 December 2012 Disability history month John Goodricke the deaf astronomer BBC Retrieved 11 February 2013 XXVI A series of observations on and a discovery of the period of the variation of the light of the bright star in the head of medusa called algol In a letter from John Goodricke Esq to the Rev Anthony Shepherd D D F R S and Plumian Professor at Cambridge Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 73 474 482 January 1783 doi 10 1098 rstl 1783 0027 ISSN 0261 0523 Hoskin M 1979 Goodricke Pigott and the Quest for Variable Stars Journal for the History of Astronomy 10 23 41 Bibcode 1979JHA 10 23H doi 10 1177 002182867901000103 S2CID 118155505 John Goodricke The Discovery of the Occultating Variable Stars Archived from the original on 22 June 2006 Retrieved 23 April 2006 Goodricke C A 1912 Letter accompanying the gift to the Society of a portrait of John Goodricke Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 73 1 3 4 Bibcode 1912MNRAS 73 3G doi 10 1093 mnras 73 1 1 Melmore Sydney 1949 The Site of John Goodricke s Observatory The Observatory 65 95 99 Bibcode 1949Obs 69 95M French Linda 2019 Explaining Algol Sky and Telescope 137 2 36 40 IAU Minor Planet Center minorplanetcenter net Retrieved 23 May 2023 College History Goodricke College Retrieved 21 January 2015 Goodricke Pigott Observatory Archived from the original on 26 June 2020 Further reading editGilman Carolyn 1978 John Goodricke and His Variable Stars Sky and Telescope 56 11 400 403 Bibcode 1978S amp T 56 400G Goodricke John 1784 On the Periods of the Changes of Light in the Star Algol In a Letter from John Goodricke Esq to the Rev Anthony Shepherd D D F R S Professor of Astronomy at Cambridge Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 74 287 292 doi 10 1098 rstl 1784 0023 Goodricke John Englefield H C 1785 Observations of a New Variable Star By John Goodricke Esq Communicated by Sir H C Englefield Bart F R S and A S Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 75 153 164 Bibcode 1785RSPT 75 153G doi 10 1098 rstl 1785 0009 Goodricke John 1786 A Series of Observations on and a Discovery of the Period of the Variation of the Light of the Star Marked d by Bayer Near the Head of Cepheus In a Letter from John Goodricke Esq to Nevil Maskelyne D D F R S and Astronomer Royal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 76 Printed by T N for J Martyn and J Allestyry Printers to the Royal Society 48 61 doi 10 1098 rstl 1786 0002 External links edit Goodricke s life and astronomical work Archived from the original on 22 June 2006 Retrieved 23 April 2006 Features animations of different types of variable stars Goodricke Michael John Goodricke Archived from the original on 25 May 2009 Retrieved 13 May 2009 Anda Rune Goodricke s handwritten letters and tables of observations Retrieved 12 January 2019 Features scans of his notes retrieved from the York City Archives and other biographical information Website in Norwegian scans in English John Goodricke at Find a Grave See also John Burnside s poem Sense Data a tribute to Goodricke in Burnside s collection The Asylum Dance Cape 2000 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Goodricke amp oldid 1179854017, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
