Abraham Sharp
Abraham Sharp (1653 – 18 July 1742) was an English mathematician and astronomer.
Life
[change | change source]Sharp was born in Bradford. He was the son of a well-to-do merchant, and was educated at Bradford Grammar School.[1]
He became a schoolmaster in Liverpool and later a bookkeeper in London. His wide knowledge of mathematics and astronomy attracted Flamsteed's attention. Sharp was invited, in 1688, to enter the Royal Observatory. There he improved instruments and worked as a calculator. He published Geometry Improved and logarithm tables.
He returned to Bradford in 1694. The Atlas Coelestis was the largest star map of its time.[2] It had 26 maps of the major constellations visible from Greenwich, and two planispheres designed by Sharp.[3]
The crater Sharp on the Moon is named after him.[4]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Abraham Sharp". Archived from the original on 9 November 2019. Retrieved 2011-03-14.
- ↑ Linda Hall Library (ed.). "Flamsteed, John. Atlas coelestis. London, 1729". Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-05-12.
- ↑ Davide Neri. "John Flamsteed, Atlas coelestis". Retrieved 2011-05-08.
- ↑ The crater is a large and ancient crater with several more recent small craters inside it. [1]