John Russell Hind | |
|---|---|
 John Russell Hind c. 1860s | |
| Born | (1823-05-12)12 May 1823 |
| Died | 23 December 1895(1895-12-23) (aged 72) Twickenham, London |
| Known for | Discovery of asteroids and variable stars |
| Awards | Lalande Prize(1847, 1850–1854) Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society(1853) Royal Medal(1855) |
John Russell HindFRSFRSELLD (12 May 1823 – 23 December 1895) was anEnglishastronomer.
John Russell Hind was born in 1823 inNottingham, the son of lace manufacturer John Hind and Elizabeth Russell,[1] and was educated atNottingham High School. At age 17 he went toLondon to serve an apprenticeship as a civil engineer, but through the help ofCharles Wheatstone he left engineering to accept a position at theRoyal Observatory, Greenwich underGeorge Biddell Airy.[2][3]Hind remained there from 1840 to 1844, at which time he succeededW. R. Dawes as director of the privateGeorge Bishop's Observatory. In 1853 Hind became Superintendent of theNautical Almanac, a position he held until 1891.
Hind is notable for being one of the early discoverers ofasteroids. He also discovered and observed thevariable starsR Leporis (also known as Hind's Crimson Star),U Geminorum, andT Tauri (also called Hind's Variable Nebula), and discovered the variability ofμ Cephei. Hind discoveredNova Ophiuchi 1848 (V841 Ophiuchi), the first object of its type discovered since 1670.[4]
Hind's naming of the asteroid12 Victoria caused some controversy. At the time, asteroids were not supposed to be named after living persons. Hind somewhat disingenuously claimed that the name was not a reference toQueen Victoria, but the mythological figureVictoria.
He was elected aFellow of the Royal Society in June 1863[5] and President of theRoyal Astronomical Society in 1880.[6]
He died in 1895 inTwickenham, London. Hind had married Fanny Fuller in 1846; he and his wife had six children.
| 7 Iris | 13 August 1847 | MPC |
| 8 Flora | 18 October 1847 | MPC |
| 12 Victoria | 13 September 1850 | MPC |
| 14 Irene | 19 May 1851 | MPC |
| 18 Melpomene | 24 June 1852 | MPC |
| 19 Fortuna | 22 August 1852 | MPC |
| 22 Kalliope | 16 November 1852 | MPC |
| 23 Thalia | 15 December 1852 | MPC |
| 27 Euterpe | 8 November 1853 | MPC |
| 30 Urania | 22 July 1854 | MPC |
Some sources give his name asJohn Russel Hind with only one "L". However, civil records[8] and 19th-century British astronomical magazines consistently spell his name with two "L"s.
In the table of discovered asteroids, MPC links to theMinor Planet Center database for more information about the asteroid, along with the background on its name.
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