John tebbutt biography

John Tebbutt (– 29 November 1916) was an Australian astronomer and meteorologist, famous for discovering the Great Comets of 1861 and 1881.
John Tebbutt was an Australian astronomer and meteorologist, famous for discovering the Great Comets of 1861 and 1881.
John Tebbutt (1834-1916), astronomer, was born on at Windsor, New South Wales, only son of John Tebbutt, farmer, and his wife Virginia.

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John Tebbutt

19th and 20th-century Australian astronomer

John Tebbutt (25 May 1834 – 29 November 1916) was an Australian astronomer and meteorologist, famous for discovering the Great Comets of 1861 and 1881.

Early life

Tebbutt was born at Windsor, New South Wales, the only son of John Tebbutt, then a prosperous store keeper. His grandfather, John Tebbutt, was one of the early settlers in Australia; he arrived at Sydney about the end of 1801. Tebbutt was educated first at the Church of England parish school, then at a private school kept by the Rev. Mathew Adam of the local Presbyterian church, and finally at a small but excellent school under the Rev. Henry Tarlton Stiles, where he had a sound training in Latin.

Career

In 1845 Tebbutt's father purchased a tract of land at the eastern end of the town of Windsor known as the peninsula, and built a residence there. In 1853 John Tebutt purchased a sextant and using this along with an ordinary marine telescope and a watch began his observations of the heavens.^[1]

About nine years later, o

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Starry Night

Who was John Tebbutt?

John Tebbutt was widely considered the leading Australian astronomer of the 19th century. He is best known for his work in cometary astronomy, including his discovery of the Great Comet of 1861. As well as his work in astronomy, he undertook important meteorological observations in Windsor. This work is covered in more detail in other sections of this website.

In this section, we start at the beginning of Tebbutt's story and consider his family background, early life, education and personality.

Early Life and Background

John Tebbutt was born in Windsor, New South Wales on the 25^th of May 1834. He was the eldest child of John Tebbutt Senior and Virginia Saunders. His only sibling, a younger sister named Ann, died in infancy.

The Tebbutt family came to Australia from England as free settlers on the ship the Nile. Tebbutt’s grandfather (also John), his wife Ann and their three children, John (Tebbutt’s father), Thomas and Elizabeth, all arrived in Sydney in late 1801. The land promised to the Tebbutts by the g

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John Tebbutt

John Tebbutt (1834-1916), astronomer, was born into a family of pioneering free settlers and was well educated. In 1861, having long observed the heavens, Tebbutt pinpointed the '1861 comet'. Although there was no means by which he could quickly communicate the news to England, where it became visible about six weeks later, he was acknowledged as its discoverer. In 1862 he was offered the position of New South Wales Government Astronomer, but turned it down. Instead, two years later, he built his own observatory and installed his instruments at home, at the eastern end of Windsor, where his father had purchased land some twenty years before. In 1868 he published his Meteorological Observations made at the Private Observatory of John Tebbutt, Jnr. For more than three decades he continued to publish his findings, as well as a plethora of papers, journal articles and press contributions. In 1881, with the aid of a bigger scope, he discovered another comet; more equipment acquired over the 1880s enabled him to observe and describe further marvels. In 1887 he published th