JAMES DUNLOP
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'James Dunlop' (31 October 1793 – 22 September 1848) was an astronomer and superintendent of the New South Wales (Australia) government observatory.
Dunlop was the son of John Dunlop, a weaver; he was born in Dalry, Ayrshire, Scotland. He was educated at a school in Dalry and went to work at a thread factory in Beith when he was 14. He also attended a night-school kept by a man named Gardiner. He became interested in astronomy at an early age and was constructing telescopes in 1810. In 1820 he made the acquaintance of Sir Thomas Brisbane, who appointed him as second scientific assistant when he went to Sydney as governor in 1821.
Soon after his arrival, Brisbane built an observatory at Parramatta, and Dunlop was employed there. Karl Rümker, who had been first assistant, left the observatory in 1823, and Dunlop was put in charge of it. He was not a trained astronomer, but he had learned much from Rümker and his employer, and between June 1823 and February 1826 he made 40,000 observations and catalogued 7385 stars. At the beginning of March, he left the observatory and continued working at his own home, Thomas Brisbane having sold his instruments to the government when he left Australia in December 1825. In May 1826, Rümker returned to the observatory, and seven months later he was appointed government astronomer.
Dunlop left Sydney for Scotland in February 1827 and was employed for four years at the observatory of Sir Thomas Brisbane. He had done very good work as an observer in New South Wales, and was associated with Rümker in the discovery of Encke's comet at Parramatta in June 1822. He was later to be the first in Great Britain to rediscover this comet on 26 October 1829. He had been awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society of London on 8 February 1828. Sir John Herschel, when making the presentation, spoke in the highest terms of the value of the work done by Dunlop in New South Wales.
In April 1831 Dunlop was appointed superintendent of the government observatory at Parramatta in succession to Rümker at a salary of £300 a year. He arrived at Sydney on 6 November 1831 and found the observatory in a deplorable condition; rain had come in, plaster from the roof had fallen down, and many records were destroyed. Dunlop succeeded in getting the building repaired and started on his work with energy, but around 1835 his health began to fail; he had no assistant, and the building, having been attacked by white ants, fell gradually into decay. In August 1847, he resigned his position, and went to live on his farm on Brisbane Water, an arm of Broken Bay. He died on 22 September 1848. In 1816 he'd married his cousin Jean Service, who survived him. In addition to the medal of the Royal Astronomical Society Dunlop was awarded medals for his work by the King of Denmark in 1833, and the Institut Royal de France in 1835. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1832. Papers on, and references to, the work of Dunlop will be found in the ''Monthly Notices'' of the Royal Astronomical Society, in the ''Edinburgh Journal of Science'', and in the ''Transactions'' of the Royal Society between the years 1823 and 1839.
He made several noteworthy discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere sky and wrote ''A Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars in the Southern Hemisphere observed in New South Wales'', which listed 629 objects. That said, only half the objects he discovered in this proved to be real, with the other half being double stars and other phenomena that appeared differently due to telescope problems. His most famous discovery is the radio galaxy NGC 5128.
James Dunlop is currently buried in St. Paul's Anglican Church in Kincumber, New South Wales.
★ A catalogue of nebulae and clusters of stars in the southern hemisphere, observed at Parramatta in New South Wales. ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'', Vol. 118, p. 113--151, 1828.
★ He also wrote a work on the life of double stars for the ''Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society'' in 1829.
★ Bright Sparcs Bio at University of Melbourne
★ University of Arizona SEDS
★ SPACETEC (Dunlop pictures)
★ Harley Wood, 'Dunlop, James (1793 - 1848)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, MUP, 1966, p. 338.
| Contents |
| Early life |
| Career in Australia |
| Back to Scotland |
| Return to Australia |
| Publications |
| Reference |
| External links |
Early life
Dunlop was the son of John Dunlop, a weaver; he was born in Dalry, Ayrshire, Scotland. He was educated at a school in Dalry and went to work at a thread factory in Beith when he was 14. He also attended a night-school kept by a man named Gardiner. He became interested in astronomy at an early age and was constructing telescopes in 1810. In 1820 he made the acquaintance of Sir Thomas Brisbane, who appointed him as second scientific assistant when he went to Sydney as governor in 1821.
Career in Australia
Soon after his arrival, Brisbane built an observatory at Parramatta, and Dunlop was employed there. Karl Rümker, who had been first assistant, left the observatory in 1823, and Dunlop was put in charge of it. He was not a trained astronomer, but he had learned much from Rümker and his employer, and between June 1823 and February 1826 he made 40,000 observations and catalogued 7385 stars. At the beginning of March, he left the observatory and continued working at his own home, Thomas Brisbane having sold his instruments to the government when he left Australia in December 1825. In May 1826, Rümker returned to the observatory, and seven months later he was appointed government astronomer.
Back to Scotland
Dunlop left Sydney for Scotland in February 1827 and was employed for four years at the observatory of Sir Thomas Brisbane. He had done very good work as an observer in New South Wales, and was associated with Rümker in the discovery of Encke's comet at Parramatta in June 1822. He was later to be the first in Great Britain to rediscover this comet on 26 October 1829. He had been awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society of London on 8 February 1828. Sir John Herschel, when making the presentation, spoke in the highest terms of the value of the work done by Dunlop in New South Wales.
Return to Australia
In April 1831 Dunlop was appointed superintendent of the government observatory at Parramatta in succession to Rümker at a salary of £300 a year. He arrived at Sydney on 6 November 1831 and found the observatory in a deplorable condition; rain had come in, plaster from the roof had fallen down, and many records were destroyed. Dunlop succeeded in getting the building repaired and started on his work with energy, but around 1835 his health began to fail; he had no assistant, and the building, having been attacked by white ants, fell gradually into decay. In August 1847, he resigned his position, and went to live on his farm on Brisbane Water, an arm of Broken Bay. He died on 22 September 1848. In 1816 he'd married his cousin Jean Service, who survived him. In addition to the medal of the Royal Astronomical Society Dunlop was awarded medals for his work by the King of Denmark in 1833, and the Institut Royal de France in 1835. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1832. Papers on, and references to, the work of Dunlop will be found in the ''Monthly Notices'' of the Royal Astronomical Society, in the ''Edinburgh Journal of Science'', and in the ''Transactions'' of the Royal Society between the years 1823 and 1839.
He made several noteworthy discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere sky and wrote ''A Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars in the Southern Hemisphere observed in New South Wales'', which listed 629 objects. That said, only half the objects he discovered in this proved to be real, with the other half being double stars and other phenomena that appeared differently due to telescope problems. His most famous discovery is the radio galaxy NGC 5128.
James Dunlop is currently buried in St. Paul's Anglican Church in Kincumber, New South Wales.
Publications
★ A catalogue of nebulae and clusters of stars in the southern hemisphere, observed at Parramatta in New South Wales. ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'', Vol. 118, p. 113--151, 1828.
★ He also wrote a work on the life of double stars for the ''Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society'' in 1829.
Reference
External links
★ Bright Sparcs Bio at University of Melbourne
★ University of Arizona SEDS
★ SPACETEC (Dunlop pictures)
★ Harley Wood, 'Dunlop, James (1793 - 1848)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, MUP, 1966, p. 338.
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