John Flamsteed

Timeline

1. 1646–1675Denbigh · DerbyshireHe left school young due to illness, taught himself mathematics around Derby and persisted in observing planets, corresponding with the Royal Society, which drew the attention of Jonas Moore and others and paved the way for his later move to London.
2. 1675–1676Greenwich · GreenwichIn March 1675 Charles II appointed him 'King's Astronomical Observer' by royal charter with an annual salary of one hundred pounds; in August of the same year the foundation of Greenwich Observatory was laid, with the task of correcting celestial tables to aid the determination of longitude at sea.
3. 1676–1712Greenwich · GreenwichAfter moving into the observatory he persisted in meridian observations with his own instruments, compiling star positions far more precise than Tycho's; regarding the observations as his own property, he delayed publishing them in full, deepening conflict with Newton's need for lunar motion data.
4. 1712–1719Greenwich · GreenwichIn 1712 Newton and Halley published the unfinished Historia Coelestis against his opposition; Flamsteed bought back and destroyed most of the printed copies. The complete Historia Coelestis Britannica was published by his widow in 1725, containing the positions of nearly three thousand stars.