President of the Royal Astronomical Society
President of the Royal Astronomical Society | |
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Appointer | Elected by the Fellows of the RAS |
Term length | Two years |
Precursor | President of the Astronomical Society of London |
Formation | 1821 |
First holder | Sir William Herschel |
Website |
www |
The President of the Royal Astronomical Society (prior to 1831 known as President of the Astronomical Society of London) chairs the Council of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) and its formal meetings. They also liaise with government organisations (including the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the UK Research Councils), similar societies in other countries, and the International Astronomical Union on behalf of the UK astronomy and geophysics communities. Future presidents serve one year as President Elect before succeeding the previous president.[2]
There have been 89 RAS presidents. The first president was William Herschel in 1821,[1] though he never chaired a meeting, and since then the post has been held by many distinguished astronomers. The post has generally had a term of office of two years, but some holders resigned after one year e.g. due to poor health. Francis Baily and George Airy were elected a record of four times each. Baily's eight years in the role are a record (Airy served for seven). Since 1876 no-one has served for more than two years in total.
Presidents
# | Image | Name | Start year | End year | Note | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
01 | ![]() | William Herschel | 1821 | 1823 | [1] | |
02 | ![]() | Henry Thomas Colebrooke | 1823 | 1825 | [1] | |
03(a) | ![]() | Francis Baily | 1825 | 1827 | First term | [1] |
04(a) | ![]() | John Herschel | 1827 | 1829 | First term | [1] |
05 | James South | 1829 | 1831 | [1] | ||
06 | John Brinkley | 1831 | 1833 | [1] | ||
03(b) | ![]() | Francis Baily | 1833 | 1835 | Second term | [1] |
07(a) | ![]() | George Airy | 1835 | 1837 | First term | [1] |
03(c) | ![]() | Francis Baily | 1837 | 1839 | Third term | [1] |
04(b) | ![]() | John Herschel | 1839 | 1841 | Second term | [1] |
08 | John Wrottesley | 1841 | 1843 | [1] | ||
03(d) | ![]() | Francis Baily | 1843 | 1845 | Fourth term | [1] |
09 | ![]() | William Henry Smyth | 1845 | 1847 | [1] | |
04(c) | ![]() | John Herschel | 1847 | 1849 | Third term | [1] |
07(b) | ![]() | George Airy | 1849 | 1851 | Second term | [1] |
10(a) | ![]() | John Couch Adams | 1851 | 1853 | First term | [1] |
07(c) | ![]() | George Airy | 1853 | 1855 | Third term | [1] |
11 | Manuel John Johnson | 1855 | 1857 | [1] | ||
12 | George Bishop | 1857 | 1859 | [1] | ||
13 | Reverend Robert Main | 1859 | 1861 | [1] | ||
14 | John Lee | 1861 | 1863 | [1] | ||
07(d) | ![]() | George Airy | 1863 | 1864 | Fourth term | [1] |
15 | ![]() | Warren De la Rue | 1864 | 1866 | [1] | |
16 | ![]() | Charles Pritchard | 1866 | 1868 | [1] | |
17 | Admiral Manners | 1868 | 1870 | [1] | ||
18 | ![]() | William Lassell | 1870 | 1872 | [1] | |
19 | ![]() | Arthur Cayley | 1872 | 1874 | [1] | |
10(b) | ![]() | John Couch Adams | 1874 | 1876 | Second term. Last president to serve for more than 2 years in total. | [1] |
20 | ![]() | William Huggins | 1876 | 1878 | [1] | |
21 | ![]() | Lord Lindsay | 1878 | 1880 | [1] | |
22 | ![]() | John Russell Hind | 1880 | 1882 | [1] | |
23 | Edward Stone | 1882 | 1884 | [1] | ||
24 | Edwin Dunkin | 1884 | 1886 | [1] | ||
25(a) | ![]() | James Whitbread Lee Glaisher | 1886 | 1888 | First term | [1] |
26 | ![]() | William Christie | 1888 | 1890 | [1] | |
27 | James Francis Tennant | 1890 | 1892 | [1] | ||
28(a) | ![]() | Edward Ball Knobel | 1892 | 1893 | First term | [1] |
29 | William de Wiveleslie Abney | 1893 | 1895 | [1] | ||
30 | ![]() | Andrew Ainslie Common | 1895 | 1897 | [1] | |
31 | ![]() | Robert Stawell Ball | 1897 | 1899 | [1] | |
32 | ![]() | George Darwin | 1899 | 1900 | [1] | |
28(b) | ![]() | Edward Ball Knobel | 1900 | 1901 | Second term | [1] |
25(b) | ![]() | James Whitbread Lee Glaisher | 1901 | 1903 | Second term | [1] |
33 | Herbert Hall Turner | 1903 | 1905 | [1] | ||
34 | ![]() | William Maw | 1905 | 1907 | [1] | |
35 | Hugh Frank Newall | 1907 | 1909 | [1] | ||
36 | ![]() | David Gill | 1909 | 1911 | [1] | |
37 | ![]() | Frank Watson Dyson | 1911 | 1913 | [1] | |
38 | Edmond Herbert Grove-Hills | 1913 | 1915 | [1] | ||
39 | ![]() | Ralph Allen Sampson | 1915 | 1917 | [1] | |
40 | ![]() | Percy Alexander MacMahon | 1917 | 1919 | [1] | |
41 | ![]() | Alfred Fowler | 1919 | 1921 | [1] | |
42 | ![]() | Arthur Eddington | 1921 | 1923 | [1] | |
43 | ![]() | John Louis Emil Dreyer | 1923 | 1925 | [1] | |
44 | ![]() | James Jeans | 1925 | 1927 | [1] | |
45 | Theodore Evelyn Reece Phillips | 1927 | 1929 | [1] | ||
46 | ![]() | Andrew Claude De Lacherois Crommelin | 1929 | 1931 | [1] | |
47 | Harold Knox-Shaw | 1931 | 1933 | [1] | ||
48 | Frederick John Marrian Stratton | 1933 | 1935 | [1] | ||
49 | ![]() | John Henry Reynolds | 1935 | 1937 | [1] | |
50 | Harold Spencer Jones | 1937 | 1939 | [1] | ||
51 | Henry Crozier Keating Plummer | 1939 | 1941 | [1] | ||
52 | ![]() | Sydney Chapman | 1941 | 1943 | [1] | |
53 | Arthur Milne | 1943 | 1945 | [1] | ||
54 | Harry Hemley Plaskett | 1945 | 1947 | [1] | ||
55 | William Michael Herbert Greaves | 1947 | 1949 | [1] | ||
56 | William Marshall Smart | 1949 | 1951 | [1] | ||
57 | Herbert Dingle | 1951 | 1953 | [1] | ||
58 | John Jackson | 1953 | 1955 | [1] | ||
59 | Harold Jeffreys | 1955 | 1957 | [1] | ||
60 | William Herbert Steavenson | 1957 | 1959 | [1] | ||
61 | Roderick Oliver Redman | 1959 | 1961 | [1] | ||
62 | William McCrea | 1961 | 1963 | [1] | ||
63 | Richard van der Riet Woolley | 1963 | 1965 | [1] | ||
64 | Thomas George Cowling | 1965 | 1967 | [1] | ||
65 | Donald Sadler | 1967 | 1969 | [1][3] | ||
66 | ![]() | Bernard Lovell | 1969 | 1971 | [1] | |
67 | Fred Hoyle | 1971 | 1973 | [1] | ||
68 | Donald Blackwell | 1973 | 1975 | [1] | ||
69 | ![]() | Francis Graham-Smith | 1975 | 1977 | [1] | |
70 | Alan Cook | 1977 | 1979 | [1] | ||
71 | Michael Seaton | 1979 | 1981 | [1] | ||
72 | ![]() | Arnold Wolfendale | 1981 | 1983 | [1] | |
73 | Raymond Hide | 1983 | 1985 | [1] | ||
74 | Donald Lynden-Bell | 1985 | 1987 | [1] | ||
75 | Rod Davies | 1987 | 1989 | [1] | ||
76 | Roger John Tayler | 1989 | 1990 | Astronomer: stellar evolution, galaxy evolution, plasma physics. Resigned his presidency a year early when he was diagnosed with myeloma. | [1][4] | |
77 | Kenneth Pounds | 1990 | 1992 | [1] | ||
78 | ![]() | Martin Rees | 1992 | 1994 | [1] | |
79 | Carole Jordan | 1994 | 1996 | First female president | [1] | |
80 | Malcolm Longair | 1996 | 1998 | [1] | ||
81 | David Williams | 1998 | 2000 | [1] | ||
82 | Nigel Weiss | 2000 | 2002 | [1] | ||
83 | ![]() | Jocelyn Bell Burnell | 2002 | 2004 | [1] | |
84 | Kathryn Whaler | 2004 | 2006 | [1] | ||
85 | Michael Rowan-Robinson | 2006 | 2008 | [1] | ||
86 | Andrew Fabian | 2008 | 2010 | [1] | ||
87 | ![]() | Roger Davies | 2010 | 2012 | [1] | |
88 | ![]() | David Southwood | 2012 | 2014 | Astronomer | [1][5] |
89 | ![]() | Martin Barstow | 2014 | Astronomer: white dwarfs, interstellar medium, UV instrumentation | [1][2][6][7] |
Further reading
- Dreyer, John L. E.; Turner, Herbert H. (1923). History of the Royal Astronomical Society, 1820-1920 1. London: Royal Astronomical Society. p. 250.
- Tayler, Roger (1987). History of the Royal Astronomical Society, 1920-1980 2. London: Royal Astronomical Society. pp. 235–241.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 1.38 1.39 1.40 1.41 1.42 1.43 1.44 1.45 1.46 1.47 1.48 1.49 1.50 1.51 1.52 1.53 1.54 1.55 1.56 1.57 1.58 1.59 1.60 1.61 1.62 1.63 1.64 1.65 1.66 1.67 1.68 1.69 1.70 1.71 1.72 1.73 1.74 1.75 1.76 1.77 1.78 1.79 1.80 1.81 1.82 1.83 1.84 1.85 1.86 1.87 1.88 1.89 1.90 1.91 1.92 1.93 1.94 1.95 1.96 1.97 1.98 1.99 1.100 1.101 1.102 "List of presidents and dates of office". A brief history of the RAS. Royal Astronomical Society. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "University of Leicester Professor elected President of the Royal Astronomical Society". University of Leicester. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ↑ Wilkins, G. A. (1991). "Obituary - 1908-1987 Donald Sadler". Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 32: 59. Bibcode:1991QJRAS..32...59W.
- ↑ Mestel, L. (1997). "A tribute to Roger J. Tayler (25 October 1929 - 23 January 1997)". Bulletin of the Astronomical Society of India 25: 143. Bibcode:1997BASI...25..143M.
- ↑ "Profile: David Southwood". Astronomy & Geophysics 53 (4): 10. 2012. Bibcode:2012A&G....53d..10.. doi:10.1111/j.1468-4004.2012.53410.x.
- ↑ "Election results: new President and Council". Royal Astronomical Society. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ↑ "Elections 2014". Royal Astronomical Society. 9 May 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
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