William Crabtree

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William Crabtree (1610–1644?) was an astronomer, mathematician and merchant from Salford, Lancashire, England. He was one of only two people to observe the first recorded transit of Venus in 1639.

Crabtree was born in Broughton, Salford, Lancashire and was educated at the Manchester Grammar School. He married into a wealthy family and worked as a merchant. However, in his spare time, his great interest was astronomy. He carefully measured the movements of the planets and undertook precise astronomical calculations. With improved accuracy, he rewrote the existing Rudolphine Tables of Planetary Positions.

He met Jeremiah Horrox, another enthusiastic amateur astronomer, in 1636. They observed, plotted and recorded the transit of the planet Venus across the Sun, as predicted by Horrox, on November 24, 1639 (Julian calendar, or December 4 in the Gregorian calendar). They also predicted the next occurrence on 8 June 2004. Unfortunately Horrox died early in 1641, abruptly ending their collaboration.

Crabtree is celebrated in Manchester Town Hall, where he can be seen in a mural entitled Crabtree Rapt in Contemplation by the artist Ford Madox Brown.

[edit] Book

Chapman, Allan, William Crabtree 1610–1644: Manchester's First Mathematician, Allan Chapman. Manchester Statistical Society, 1996. ISBN 0-85336-132-0.