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Born West Harnham near Salisbury, England, 31 October 1695 (or 10 November 1695)
Died London, England, 6 November 1771
John Bevis is best known for his discovery in 1731 of the Crab Nebula, subsequently classified byCharles Messier as M1, though Bevis also merits recognition for his important but stillborn atlas,Uranographia Britannica.
Bevis was born into a well‐to‐do family. He studied at Christ Church, Oxford, gaining his B.A. on 13 October 1715 and M.A. on 20 June 1718. It is said thatIsaac Newton'sOpticks was his favorite book during this period. Before settling in London in 1729 and becoming a successful medical practitioner, he traveled widely throughout France and Italy for several years gaining medical information and practical experience.
Astronomy was Bevis's passion; he became friendly withEdmond Halley, whom he assisted at Greenwich in observing the transit of Mercury on 31 October 1736. Bevis observed Mercury occulted by Venus at Greenwich in the late...
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Selected References
Ashworth, William B., Jr. (1981). “John Bevis and his Uranographia (ca. 1750).”Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 125, no. 1: 52–73. (This is by far the most comprehensive study of Bevis and his Uranographia.)
Bevis, J. (1743). “Epistola Johannis Bevis … de Transitibus Mercurri sub Sole, Oct. 31. 1736. & Oct. 25. 1743.”Philosophical Transactions 42: 622–626. (Regarding transit‐of‐Mercury observations with Halley.)
——— (1759). “An Account of the Comet seen in May 1759.”Philosophical Transactions 51: 93–94. (Regarding observations of Halley's comet.)
Clerke, Agnes M. (1921–1922). “Bevis or Bevans, John.” InDictionary of National Biography, edited by Sir Leslie Stephen and Sir Sidney Lee. Vol. 2, pp. 451–452. London: Oxford University Press. (Biographical summary of Bevis and his scientific works, including a comprehensive list of his publications.)
Gingerich, Owen (1987).Introduction to the facsimile edition of Atlas Celeste,by John Bevis. Alburgh, Norfolk: Archival Facsimiles. (This gives a concise biography of Bevis together with a description of his intendedUranographia Britannica. This modern facsimile is a compilation of the atlas in the British Library map collection, catalog number C.21.c.5, together with examples of some of the proof plates. Augmented with the star catalogs and tables found in the A.P.S. copy.)
Hawkes, Nigel. “The Unluckiest Stargazer of All.”Times (London), 24 February 1999, p. 18.
Kilburn, Kevin J., Michael Oates, and Anthony W. Cross. (1998). “The Ghost Book of Manchester.”Sky & Telescope 96, no. 5: 83–86. (Describes the discovery of the most recent and possibly the most completeAtlas Celeste. Also offers evidence that Bevis may have observed Uranus in 1738.)
Kilburn, Kevin J., Jay M. Pasachoff, and Owen Gingerich (2003). “The Forgotten Star Atlas: John Bevis'sUranographia Britannica.”Journal for the History of Astronomy 34: 125–144. (This paper lists and compares all currently known copies of Bevis's atlas. The list is maintained by M. Oates on the website of the Manchester Astronomical Society.)
Sinnott, Roger W. and Jean Meeus (1986). “John Bevis and a Rare Occultation.”Sky & Telescope 72, no. 3: 220–222. (Analyzes Bevis's observation of the occultation of Mercury by Venus.)
Wallis, Ruth (1982). “John Bevis, M. D., F.R.S., (1693–1771), Astronomer Loyal.”Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London 36: 211–225.
Yeoman, Thomas (11 April 1748 ). “Uranographia Britannica.”Northampton Mercury, p. 7, col. 2. (This is the first public proposal to publish the atlas.)
- Kevin J. Kilburn
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Department of Earth Science, University of Northern Iowa, Office: Latham 112, 50614, Cedar Falls, IA, USA
Thomas Hockey (Professor of Astronomy) (Professor of Astronomy)
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Kilburn, K.J. (2007). Bevis [Bevans], John. In: Hockey, T.,et al. The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30400-7_146
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