Sir Francis Graham Smith | |
|---|---|
 Smith in 2009 | |
| Born | (1923-04-25)25 April 1923 |
| Died | 20 June 2025(2025-06-20) (aged 102) |
| Education | Rossall School |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Graham Smith (died 2021) |
| Awards | Royal Medal (1970) Richard Glazebrook Medal and Prize (1991) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Radio astronomy |
| Institutions | |
| Doctoral students | Andrew Lyne[1] |
| 13th Astronomer Royal | |
| In office 1982–1990 | |
| Preceded by | Martin Ryle |
| Succeeded by | Arnold Wolfendale |
Sir Francis Graham-SmithFRS (25 April 1923 – 20 June 2025) was a Britishastronomer. He was the 13thAstronomer Royal from 1982 to 1990 and was knighted in 1986.[2][3][4]
Graham-Smith was born on 25 April 1923. He was educated atRossall School,[5] andDowning College, Cambridge from 1941.[6]
In the late 1940s, Graham-Smith worked at theUniversity of Cambridge on theLong Michelson Interferometer.
In 1964, he was appointed Professor of Radio Astronomy theUniversity of Manchester and in 1981 director of the Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratories, part of the University of Manchester atJodrell Bank. He was alsoDirector of the Royal Greenwich Observatory from 1975 to 1981.
He appeared in Episode 13 of Series 4 ofTreasure Hunt when the show visited Jodrell Bank, giving presenterAnneka Rice a piggyback to allow her to reach a clue.[7] His doctoral students includedAndrew Lyne.[1] His published work includes
Graham-Smith was an avid bee-keeper and kept up this hobby well into his 90s, looking after the hives at Jodrell Bank. He also inspired the creation of theSt Andrews Amateur Beekeeping Society.[14]
He lived with his wife Elizabeth in the Old School House inHenbury, Cheshire, from 1981 until her death in 2021. They had met when they were both working withMartin Ryle in 1945–6 in Cambridge in the early days of radio astronomy.[15]
Graham-Smith was a Patron ofHumanists UK[16] was the President ofMacclesfield Astronomical Society and was a patron ofMansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society.
Graham-Smith celebrated his100th birthday on 25 April 2023,[17] and died on 20 June 2025, at the age of 102.[18][19]
Graham-Smith's awards and honours include:
In 1965, he was invited to co-deliver theRoyal Institution Christmas Lecture onExploration of the Universe.
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