William Denning celebrated inPunch magazine Vol. 102, 9 April 1892, on the occasion ofThe Times newspaper commenting on Denning's discovery of asmall faintcomet on Friday 18 March 1892 atBishopston, Bristol
Born
(1848-11-25)25 November 1848
Died
9 June 1931(1931-06-09) (aged 82)
Bristol, England
Occupation
Accountant
William Frederick Denning (25 November 1848 – 9 June 1931) was a Britishamateurastronomer who achieved considerable success without formal scientific training.[1][2][3] He is known for his catalogues ofmeteor radiants, observations ofJupiter's red spot, and for the discovery of fivecomets.[4] Outside astronomy, as a young man, Denning showed prowess atcricket to the extentW G Grace invited him to play forGloucestershire. However Denning's retiring nature made him decline the offer.[1]
Denning devoted a great deal of time to searching for comets, and discovered five of them, including theperiodic comets72P/Denning–Fujikawa and489P/Denning. The latter was the last comet discovered on British soil until the discoveries ofGeorge Alcock, and its recovery was announced by the Minor Planet Center with MPEC 2024-Q14.
Denning also studiedmeteors andnovae, discoveringNova Cygni 1920 (V476 Cyg). From 1869 Denning held the combined post of secretary and treasurer of the short-lived Observing Astronomical Society.[5] Denning was elected to theRoyal Astronomical Society on 8 June 1877.[6] He was first elected to theBritish Astronomical Association on 24 June 1891 and rejoined in 1898, being elected as a member on 16 October of that year.[7] He directed its Comet Section (1891–1893) and Meteor Section (1899–1900).[8] He won thePrix Valz of theFrench Academy of Sciences for 1895.[9]
^"Prix Valz".Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences. Vol. Tomes XCII à CXXI, 3 Janvier 1881 à 30 Décembre 1895. Paris: Gauthier-Villars. 1900. pp. 1574–1575.
Works by or aboutWilliam Frederick Denning atWikisource