Revd George Fisher: Arctic Astronomer – by Mike Frost

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Revd George Fisher: Arctic Astronomer - a talk by Mike Frost

This talk tells the life story of  Reverend George Fisher (1794-1873), a little-known but accomplished figure from the 19th century.

Although from a wealthy family, the early death of Fisher's father meant that he started work at an early age in the Westminster Fire Company. His mathematical skills and enthusiasm brough him to the attention of members of the Royal Society, and he became an undergraduate at St Catherine's College, Cambridge. His undergraduate career was interrupted by a year on a naval expedition to try to find a path across the Arctic Ocean north of Spitzbergen, After graduation he became a naval chaplain who served as astronomer on Captain William Parry's 1821-3 expedition to find the north-west passage out of Hudson's Bay, Canada. Parry (a notable figure n astronomy in his own right) published a fascinating journal of the expedition which acknowledged Fisher's many accomplishments.

After his naval career finished, he became headmaster of the Naval College School, Greenwich, where he built an observatory. He retired to my home town in Midlands, which is how I came to find out about him.

Next Talk  Erwin Finlay Freundlich: Einstein's Collaborator

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